Songs for the River

Over the course of a year, filmmaker Charlotte Ginsborg filmed the London housing co-operative that she lives in, looking to chart the residents’ diverse experiences of the pandemic, across the daily life of numerous national lockdowns. Some experienced the illness itself, while others faced the stress of work on the front line. Each Saturday, the residents came together to sing with each other from their communal balconies and walkways, and these songs permeate throughout the film. Increasingly frustrated by the government, residents experienced an emotional rollercoaster that is reflected in a film wherein the personal and political interweave, to create an intimate and moving portrait of a unique community during an extraordinary time.