Acclaimed actors Olivia Colman and Adrian Lester are starring in a gritty new Amnesty International spot which highlights the deterioration of human rights in Great Britain.
Created by Shape History, and entitled ‘Before Our Eyes’, the campaign challenges viewers to reconsider their perspective on human rights, and how they impact the lives of people in the UK, with a focus on health and access to housing, food and healthcare.
Set to be released in partnership with Pearl & Dean across all UK cinemas and promoted across social media platforms, the Amnesty International film endeavours to inspire dialogue around safeguarding human rights in the UK, particularly regarding social housing conditions.
The ad, which appears to be for a drama featuring the Oscar-winning and Laurence Olivier Award-winning actors, tells the story of a young woman (Bea Svistunenko) who is living in temporary accommodation. Her newborn daughter dies as a result of poor conditions in the social housing property, illustrating issues caused by the UK housing crisis.
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However, the Amnesty International spot ends with a twist which reveals that the trailer is not in fact for a new drama, but instead reveals the harsh reality that: “this isn’t drama, this is real life”.
“Having the opportunity to work with household talent was too good to waste on delivering another charity message in the expected format. We believe that using these familiar faces creatively can make people pay attention to human rights abuses in the UK,” said Shape History creative lead Zoë Dawson.
Amnesty International UK head of economic social and cultural rights Jen Clark added: “We hope the trailer will be a catalyst for people across the UK to join the fight for rights and say that safe housing, enough food, dignity, good and timely healthcare, aren’t “nice to haves” — these are basic human rights which the government must deliver.”
“The need to focus on the human rights of people living in the UK is terrifyingly urgent. The brutal real-life suffering that people are facing before our very eyes is something we are all aware of and it will continue to get worse unless we act.”
“We need new, firm commitments from the government to protect people’s basic rights and effective ways to enforce those commitments. It’s clear from the hundreds of people we have met around the country that they feel the system is broken. They feel trapped and powerless with no real way to get justice. People who are struggling the most are being left behind, it’s time to stand with them.”
The Amnesty International campaign will be supported by adverts in train stations, the London Underground and billboards across the UK.
