Shelter’s Christmas mission

For all children, Christmas should be a time of magic and imagination, but make-believing becomes a means of survival for the young girl in this touching campaign created by Don't Panic for homelessness charity Shelter.   

Blending live action and VFX, World Of Our Own, directed by DOM&NIC through Outsider, opens in an imaginary land where a father and his little daughter, Mia, walk across an alien landscape. On their adventures, the pair search the planet for the Space Palace, Father Christmas waves to them as he flies towards Earth and they high-five an alien octopus voiced by comedian, podcaster and writer Adam Buxton.  

Suddenly, the harsh reality of living in temporary accommodation intrudes and brings them back to earth – because this is a world of make believe, created by Dad as an escape from their unsettling reality. At the end of the film Mia and Dad return to the fantasy world, before a flicker of emotion on his face shows the constant stress he’s bravely hiding from his daughter, while trying to make her feel safe. 

The campaign comes as figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show that over 150,000 children in England are currently homeless and living in temporary accommodation, an increase of 20,000 since last year and the record highest ever. 

Directors Nicholas Goffey and Dominic Hawley added: “When the opportunity came along to work with Shelter and Don’t Panic it immediately stood out as the sort of work we strive to make. This really was a labour of love from start to finish and we’re so proud and grateful to have made something that reflects the harsh reality as so many people experience the housing emergency.”