A documentary about Norwood & Brixton Foodbank has been nominated for a Charity Film Award.
The film explores the day-to-day running of the centre and the impact their work has on the community and is regularly shown in schools in the community to raise awareness.
It is the inaugural Charity Film Awards and they were created to increase exposure of the wonderful work done by charities around the world and to encourage donations to good causes.
The Norwood & Brixton Foodbank documentary is one of 97 films in ‘Band C’, a category for charities with an annual turnover of between £100,001 and £500,000.
Filmmaker Dan Robb approached the food bank earlier this year asking if his company, Perspective Films, would be able to produce a film about the work they do.
“I’d read an article about food banks and the Trussell Trust and felt I wanted to do something to help promote the fantastic work they do, as well as counter some of the misconceptions some people seem to have about food banks,” said Mr Robb.
“I got to step behind the headlines and the assumptions and see the reality of the sharp end of life.
“I don’t think I’ve met a nicer group of people than the volunteers at the food bank and they renewed my faith in humanity.
“They don’t judge, they just help and I can’t speak highly enough of them and the work they do.”
The food bank opened in 2011 and since then has fed more than 30,000 people in Lambeth – almost half of which are children.
Norwood & Brixton Food Bank has received and given out more than 200 tonnes of food since it opened.
Mr Robb said: “Producing the film taught me that we are all just one pay cheque, mortgage payment or medical diagnosis from needing a food bank.
“The people who use them aren’t scroungers. They are me, or you, in crisis.
“The film really was a passion project for me and I think I can safely say that of everything I have ever made, this is what I’m most happy with.
“Winning a Charity Film Award would just be amazing and I’m hoping to do another film with the food bank in the near future.”
The awards are currently in a public vote that closes on November 30, before a panel of judges will choose a winner from a shortlist, to be announced in February.
To watch the film and cast your vote, visit www.charityfilmawards.com/videos/norwood-and-brixton-foodbank.
