Stephenson Harwood LLP

Client Brief

This video is a celebration of SH Legal’s partnership with Rainbow Migration – where their lawyers assist LGBTQ+ asylum seekers to secure refugee status in the UK. The video was launched during the intersection of Pride Month and Refugee Week.

The Approach

Given the sensitivity of the subject it was important that we met Anel beforehand to discuss the intricacies of her situation and what she was comfortable with. We worked to make this project collaborative, letting her know what we were thinking and asking for her input with archive and locations that spoke to the story.

When working with potentially vulnerable contributors we always endeavour to hire crew with lived experience. On the shoot day we used a female and queer team and this continued into the edit. This ensured that we were able to create a space in which Anel and Uulzhan were comfortable being themselves and that more distressing parts of the story were told with the utmost care.

Mediorite produced a micro-documentary about some legal work my firm has taken on – I was adamant that I didn’t want it to feel like a promo video and instead be a human story about real people. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to bring that vision to life: not only did Ava and the team put together a beautiful film, they were so sensitive and thoughtful about how to portray the story, they were lovely and patient to work with, and made the experience so positive for our team and the clients who were involved in sharing their story. I couldn’t recommend them more highly.

Olivia Loxley, Senior Lawyer, Stephenson Harwood

Learn more about Rainbow Migration  and read more about Stephenson Harwood’s partnership with Rainbow Migration.