Love Without Walls: The cost of living film that took 13 years to make
BBC By Peter Walker
BBC News, Essex
A director has said her award-winning indie film about the cost of living - 13 years in the making - has become more relevant than she ever imagined.
Jane Gull was working with homeless people in 2011 during government austerity measures, when she first wrote a script for Love Without Walls.
The film, shot in Ms Gull's home city of Southend, hits cinema screens on Friday.
"It's about holding a mirror up to what's going on," she said.
"What I didn't realise even when we were shooting this film two years ago, is how now, I look at this film, and I think blimey, this really is a film of its time.
"I mean in years to come, when people ask what was the UK like in 2023, I think this film pretty much captures it."
The film - the first feature-length that she has written - follows a young married couple in Camden, north London, who are made homeless after a series of misfortunes and the rising cost of living.
Paul (singer-songwriter Niall McNamee) and Sophie (Shana Swash, EastEnders) try their luck sofa surfing in Southend-on-Sea but end up rough sleeping.
