Thursday 27 April 2017
Fran Robertson | UK, 2016 | 60 mins | No rating
Situated beside the beautiful Welsh Harp Reservoir, the West Hendon Estate was built in the 1960s to provide housing for families on low incomes. But Barnet council deemed the estate’s ‘grotty’ buildings to be beyond repair and sold the land to Barratt Homes for a pittance with the intention to demolish the estate to make way for a luxury housing development.
Filmed over a year, The Estate We’re In follows homeowners and council tenants as they fight to save their homes and campaign against the planned multi-million pound ‘regeneration’ that will force low-income families out of London. Katrina, who has lived on the estate all her life, has been told that she and her daughter are being evicted; pensioner Joe is faced with a compulsory purchase order for the maisonette he has lived in for 30 years, and unless the council increase their offer he will have to leave London and three generations of his family behind.
Through the experiences of the residents, this beautifully shot documentary gives an intimate perspective on the housing crisis while raising broader questions: What makes a community? Is it possible to fight the system? And are the rights of the poor being ignored for the benefit of the rich?
To give a local perspective, the film will be followed by a discussion with speakers from local groups, including campaigners against the Haringey Development Vehicle, who are taking action to tackle different aspects of the housing crisis.