People I Could Have Been and Maybe Am (2010)

What would it be like, to enter into the life of a complete stranger? The film evolved from two chance encounters in the streets of London. It was entirely shot on a mobile phone camera. Sandrine is an attractive young woman on a mission to find a husband. Steve is a seasoned beggar, struggling with drug addiction. Precious is a poet who became Steve's girlfriend. Originally begun as a documentary, the film developed its own distinct dynamic where the confines between fact and fiction became blurred. This raises questions about the relationship between filmed and filmmaker. The closer he gets to his subjects, the more the obstruction of his camera seems to distance him from them. Yet ultimately People... reveals a personal and humane space that only came into existence precisely because it had been filmed.