Richard House Video Project

Lifelites helps bring Hollywood to London Docklands

“Shaken not stirred”, quips the young actor to a beautiful blonde before a high octane chase takes place. Nothing new in the movie plot – only this time the spies on the run are in electric wheel chairs and Mr Bond is a sixteen year old boy with a life limiting condition and a passion for the silver screen.

“Spies on the Run”, scripted, directed, edited and starring Daniel and his friends, is another creative production from ‘Living Films’, the brainchild of Bernie Wighton, a care worker at Richard House, London’s first children’s hospice which opened its doors to overnight stays in 2002. Daniel and his cast are all regular visitors to Richard House.

Bernie, who has spent more than 30 years in the caring profession, has been at Richard House for nearly four years and has taken a little bit of Hollywood to Beckton, East London. “We started making living digital photo albums for families using a digital camera and computer equipment from Lifelites. Video was an obvious progression,” he explained. “The film making has built up children’s self-esteem, helped team build and has given young people here opportunities they perhaps didn’t have before”.

Daniel, for example, took comfort in computer games when he arrived. He could only move his hands and felt his horizons were very limited. “I can’t do anything else,” he told Bernie with great frustration one day. Film making has opened up a whole new world for Daniel and he is now making an animation, based on his favourite sport – wrestling.  “Film has given him a real quality of life and a way of interacting with other young people at the hospice,” Bernie explained, “and his parents can’t believe the change in him.”

Richard House is an unassuming purpose built brick building at the end of a cul-de-sac. Built in the round, Richard House with its eight bedrooms is wrapped in a warm, family feeling.  The computer room, housing three PCs and several flavours of games consoles (all donated and maintained by Lifelites) is about as far away from Spielberg’s DreamWorks studio as you can get. But the creativity and enthusiasm generated by the young people is just as infectious.

“Children who come here have complex needs, this can be very isolating.  Some go to mainstream school, where integration is often difficult, and some don’t. The hospice is a chance to catch up with friends,” explained Bernie. “We’ve found through Living Films children arrange to come in at the same time so they can see each other and work on projects together –  and it gives them a change to have regular conversations with other young people in the same boat and confide in them on issues they may not want to discuss with parents or carers. It gives them a real sense of freedom – they now have a social life”.

The computer room is plastered with publicity posters of the various productions that Living Films has made, all produced entirely by the children with guidance from Bernie. This year, Richard House had its first Oscar ceremony, turning the community room into a movie theatre for the night complete with red carpet and the de rigeur glitz and glam one associates with LA. “Including the palm trees,” laughed Bernie.

“We had categories ranging from best actor and supporting actor to best special effects. Everyone dressed up and Victoria Wood presented some of the awards,” recalled Bernie. “The parents were thrilled seeing their children on the big screen – it was a real celebration of life and that is what Living Films is all about”.

The majority of Living Films productions are shot in and around the hospice, but young people have been out on location. “We shot some of the 007 spoof footage at the Motor Show. Words can’t explain the excitement on those young people’s faces that day,” recalled Bernie.

At the same time Bernie is aware that the film making slots neatly into the mainstream curriculum for schools.  “The young people have a lot of fun, but they also learn a lot of new skills, particularly in terms of using new technology”, he said.

Living Films has big ambitions. Next step is to stream video on to the hospice website that the young people have made. It also plans to step up production of animation projects, which are very popular with the young people who visit Richard House, by utilising more advanced movie making software. “And of course we will be dusting down the red carpet and polishing up the Richard House Oscars for next year, “smiled Bernie.