In these four films we meet the people who find themselves in need of temporary accommodation and explore the reasons why.

Young people, refugees, victims of domestic violence and ex-offenders talk movingly about what has led them to seek a temporary home, and what it means to them to have a safe and private place to call their own. They contemplate the future direction of their lives in the world outside the hostel or refuge’s walls.

Set on and around a single bed, each film highlights the impermanence and yet importance of such spaces, offering a unique insight into the larger social problems that cause homelessness.

The Young Persons’ Refuge
Teenagers Dean and Coral explain how being made homeless at such a young age cut short their childhoods and how a future that seemed headed for criminality has now been replaced by one of hope and promise.

The Refugee Hostel
Refugees Clarice and Abdulla talk graphically about their experiences of imprisonment and torture, and compare the freedoms enjoyed in the UK with those denied to them in their countries of origin and look for a way to make sense of all the horrors they have been through.

The Women’s Refuge
Victims of domestic violence talk about the emotional and physical abuse they suffered at the hands of their partners and how being given a space in the refuge literally saved their lives.

The Ex-Offenders’ Hostel
Ex-offenders talk openly about life behind bars, and consider how being given a place in the hostel has allowed them to turn their lives around.