Before Our Eyes: This Isn't Drama

Client: Amnesty International

Human rights in the UK are deteriorating. Millions are struggling to access basic needs – safe housing, healthcare, a decent standard of living – and people are dying as a result. Since launching the campaign, the original figure of 34 child who have died in temporary housing since 2019 has now risen to 55 in the same period, according to the latest National Child Mortality Database figures released. Still, most of the British public aren’t paying attention to the rights violations happening before their eyes. To get them to tune in, we launched Before Our Eyes: a new drama starring Olivia Colman and Adrian Lester. The trailer, shown in cinemas and advertised on digital screens across the UK, was for a gritty British drama about a young mother’s fight for justice after the tragic death of her daughter. But as Olivia Colman reveals, it isn’t drama. It’s real life.

Before Our Eyes may not really be coming to your screens, but it did capture the attention of the nation and spark conversations about human rights in the UK. The film was seen by over 120,000 cinema goers, millions on social media and on digital screens in London, Manchester and Newcastle, in addition to press coverage with a combined viewership of 1.4 billion, which included The Independent, The Evening Standard, The Daily Mail and a feature on ITV News.