Private Project

ONENESS

The Barber P.G.R. has been living and cutting hair for the homeless in Dalston, London, for 22 years. As part of his philosophy of 'Oneness' – that "all humans are equal, 100% individual" – he has created a space for the homeless who have nowhere else to go: cutting their hair for free, and making them tea and sandwiches. But with a shortage of paying customers, rising housing prices, and an increasingly rundown shop, his future there is precarious. This short documentary follows P.G.R. in the barber shop he also called home, until an unexpected tragedy changes everything.

  • Kate V Lewis
    Director
  • Kate V Lewis
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 50 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 1, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    0 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Kate V Lewis

After graduating in Philosophy, Kate started working as a researcher and assistant producer on a range of documentaries, from observational TV series to high profile feature documentaries, including the BAFTA nominated ‘Listen to Me Marlon,’ and ‘Keep Quiet,’ which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2016.

Kate has just completed her first documentary short 'Oneness' - about a barber cutting hair for the homeless in East London - which she has spent the past year directing and producing independently.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

It was surprisingly easy to miss the barber shop on the busy Ball's Pond Road, Dalston. Despite being covered in Pat's writing and political propaganda, the shop somehow managed to blend into its surroundings - a mass of 'To Let' signs, coffee shops, cafes. When I first popped in and met Pat, I was amazed that a place like this had managed to survive. And on hearing that he was facing eviction after having lived there for 22 years, I felt a need to capture the space before it was inevitably lost to a constantly mutating and unsympathetic city.

I of course did not expect such a tragic ending to Pat's shop. But the devastating way in which it was eventually destroyed plays as a cruel reminder of what has been lost not only to Pat and the local people he helped but to the city and its occupants at large - encapsulated perfectly in Pat's philosophy of 'Oneness'.