HOME IS; IDENTITY
A holder of our memories and helps shape who we are. Imagine your life without a home…. Can you do that?
Hundreds of thousands of homeless people in Australia are hidden and go unrecognised as homeless. The majority of them are women.
In fact, women over 50 are the fastest growing demographic of homeless in the developed world and are increasingly referred to as the hidden homeless. These women live in their cars, stay on friend’s couches or sofa beds, or live in short-term accommodation.
They find themselves in this uncertain and terrifying position primarily due to the gender pay gap and the lifelong gendered expectation of unpaid labour; where women often find themselves left doing the caring roles in their homes, in their extended family and in their communities.
UNDER COVER follows ten of these women. For these women, life hasn’t panned out the way they expected. They've lived in nice houses, worked good jobs, some educated their children and then suddenly... life unravelled and through no fault of their own, they found themselves unable to pay their rent or mortgage.
The women featured in UNDER COVER, are all over 50, and are a diverse group from varied backgrounds - wealthy, poor, middle class, working, unemployed, migrant and indigenous. Faced with the hardships of housing stress and ageing, these women are seeking to find a home to call their own, for the final chapter of their lives. They are complex and compelling stories that reflect the years of living ordinary lives, until a catastrophe or a series of circumstances knocked them off their feet.
ABOUT THE FILM
Writer/Director Sue Thomson first read about this crisis in a newspaper article back in 2018. What struck her was how similar her story could have been to those she was reading about. Despite being over 50 and working non stop, Sue had very little superannuation and accumulated debt. The shock of reading about these women whose lives paralleled her own, prompted Sue to look into the issue further. As a documentary filmmaker, a decision to make a film to highlight these women’s stories felt timely and important. Sue and her producer Adam Farrington-Williams always wish for their films to affect change and are optimistic that UNDER COVER will be a rallying point for conversation within Australia.
UNDER COVER is narrated by Margot Robbie. The filmmakers targeted Margot from the beginning of the project and are delighted to have her on board.
Filmed over the course of two and a half years, UNDER COVER follows the stories of Linda, Sarah-Jane, Claire, Cheryl, Suzelle, Nada, Susan, Margaret, Mary and Rama, as they find themselves too old to be employed, struck down with illness, unable to get back into the workforce and dealing with the aftermath of difficult breakups and divorces. As if this wasn’t enough to worry about, they must then try to navigate through the strain and uncertainty of a global pandemic.
These women never considered they would be homeless and even today, many refuse to identify as homeless, and will do anything to avoid using that word to describe their situation. They often keep their day to day existence hidden from their friends, families, work colleagues… everyone. The film is being theatrically released along with an ambitious social impact strategy coordinated by impact producer Diana Fisk.
UNDER COVER received key production funding from SCREEN AUSTRALIA, VICSCREEN, THE AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, THE MIFF PREMIERE FUND and THE POST LOUNGE, alongside multiple philanthropic partners.
The social impact campaign has been supported by QUEST HOTEL APARTMENTS and CANVA SEESAW STUDIO, alongside private donors.
MEET THE CREATIVE TEAM
SUE THOMSON
Sue is a writer/director whose credits include BOYS AND BALLS (ABC), THE FIFTH SET (ABC), THE LAST GREAT AMATEURS with Magda Szubanski (ABC). Sue produced & directed the feature films TEMPEST AT THE DROP-IN narrated by Eric Bana (ABC), TALKING TURKEY with Brian Nankervis & Colin Lane and THE COMING BACK OUT BALL MOVIE (NETFLIX) (Closing Night Film of MIFF 2018).
WRITER / DIRECTOR / PRODUCER
In amongst filmmaking, Sue works for the MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL as a consultant and has Executive Produced THE COMEDY ROADSHOW SERIES for SBS TV and been the Associate Producer for DEADLY FUNNY and the OXFAM GALA & ALLSTARS (ABC) for the last 5 years. Sue is committed & passionate about human rights and equality.
ADAM FARRINGTON-WILLIAMS
Adam is an Australian independent producer whose producing credits include WINTER AT WESTBETH (Metropolis Special Jury Prize DOC NYC 2016), THE COMING BACK OUT BALL MOVIE (Closing Night Film of MIFF 2018) and recently completed feature GEETA (MIFF 2021).
Adam is passionate about helping tell stories that encourage social cohesion, equality and drive change, as well as ushering the works of emerging and diverse talent.
PRODUCER
DIANA FISK
Specialising in bringing real stories to life, Diana Fisk is passionate about projects that lead with human connection.
Diana was a recipient of Film Victoria’s Key Talent Placement for producing in 2018 and in 2019 became a recipient of the Screen Australia Enterprise People Fund.
Diana wrote, directed and produced TRUE VISION, was marketing manager for ANONYMOUS CLUB, and is the impact producer of documentaries THE SHOW MUST GO ON, BRAZEN HUSSIES and UNDER COVER.
IMPACT PRODUCER
URI MIZRAHI
Uri is one of Melbourne’s most highly regarded editors, whose work over thirty years includes drama for cinema and television as well as documentaries. His documentary work has garnered him numerous nominations and awards including the Best Editing AFI Award for RAINBOW BIRD & MONSTER MAN (2002) and the AFI Award for Best Visual Design with John Hughes for AFTER MABO (1998).
Uri’s recent work includes the telemovies, SISTERS OF WAR (2010) & PARER’S WAR (2014) and the documentaries, PUTUPARRI & THE RAINMAKERS (2015), ON RICHARD’S SIDE (2016), MY MOTHER’S LOST CHILDREN (2017), GUILTY (2017) & THE COMING BACK OUT BALL (2018), GEETA (2019), NERROW BRIDGE (2021) and UNDER COVER (2022).
EDITOR
