On Our Doorstep delves deep into an aspect of the refugee crisis that rarely reached the press. With NGOs being blocked by red tape and the absence of any positive action by French or British authorities, the film is a behind-the-scenes look at the unprecedented grassroots movement that rose to aid the refugees in Calais, and the community that sprang up there, before it was forcefully demolished. This is the story of what happens when young and inexperienced citizens are forced to devise systems and structures to support 10,000 refugees; and are left unguided to face the moral and emotional conflicts, blurred lines and frequent grey areas of giving aid to vulnerable people. People who do not want to be there. It questions whether the aims of the volunteers were met, and whether these aims ultimately served the refugees' needs.
Editing
Intimate access that makes you feel complicit.
Direction
Laurance never lets volunteers off the hook.
Director
Thomas Laurance
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Calais Jungle became a symbol of EU border failure, with British volunteers crossing daily while their government funded walls.
The film reveals how aid work attracted young middle-class Brits seeking purpose, creating tensions with refugees who needed infrastructure, not saviors.
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