‘The Human Shelter’ is produced by Creative Alliance and Good Company Pictures and supported by IKEA
The Human Shelter was screened in Lagos, Nigeria, on October 10 in partnership with the IREP Documentary Film Festival and UN-Habitat, followed by a Q/A with members of the Makoko waterfront community portrayed in the film and the director Boris B. Bertra

Nairobi, 19 October – In the context of the ‘Housing for All’ Campaign run by UN-Habitat, the acclaimed Danish film director Boris B. Bertram continues to explore the notion of ‘home’ revisiting the characters from his original documentary film ‘The Human Shelter’.

The documentary was shared for the first time in all UN-languages with a global audience on UN-Habitat’s corporate website at the start of the five-week long UN-Habitat Campaign focusing on the importance of adequate housing around the world.

As the original documentary was shot before the pandemic, the director  decided to again interview  some of those featured in the original documentary and ask them how their life has been since they participated in the film. He asked  in particular, how the past months under the COVID-19 pandemic have affected their lives and the way they feel about their home.

Godfrey Kato: Farmer and environmental activist, Wakiso District, Uganda

From the challenges of the nomadic life following your reindeer herd in Norway, to an important message sent to the world from a tree house in Uganda, to a floating community in the megacity of Lagos, and finally, a fairy tale from Iceland, this new virtual journey explores how people have experienced the pandemic in the different setting of their homes.

The testimonies make it clear that home is not just the physical space people live in. Home is about the people who surround them, the environment, landscapes and nature which make up everyday life.

The director of ‘The Human Shelter’ says he will continue to explore the fundamental human values behind homes around the notions of community, family and nature.  Boris Bertram said that going ‘beyond the meaning of individual homes, this journey is about our common home - the Earth’.

Andri Snær Magnason: Poet and writer, Reykjavik, Iceland
Elle Márjá Eira: Sámi musician and reindeer herder, Kautokeino, Norway