Jaywick Escapes

Once the favorite holiday destination for London's Eastenders, Jaywick in Essex is now the third poorest place in the UK, suffering from unremittingly high levels of crime, unemployment, dependency and family breakdown. Shot across more than a year, this observational film follows a handful of the town's inhabitants, showing with empathy the uncomfortable, unseen and unspeakable causes and effects of poverty and social exclusion. Contrasting with exquisitely shot footage of Jaywick's extraordinarily characterful town-scape - a homage to British DIY ingenuity despite its decay - are gritty observational scenes of the lives lived behind the closed doors of each seaside shack.