Watch Poet Russeni Show A Different Side Of Homelessness In Short Film “Sorry Fi Disturb Yuh”
‘Sorry Fi Disturb Yuh’ is a short film written by spoken word artist Russeni Fisher that subtly tells a story of homelessness. The project is backed by an impressive team of talent - produced by Caroline Wilson, founder of UndrLndn, and Angela Moneke, co-founder of T A P E Collective, who both support new talent and emerging Filmmakers and directed by Georgia Goggin, of Teng Teng Films.
Caroline, who had worked with Russeni before on past poetry projects, approached Russeni to write a story around the topic. Russeni didn’t want to do the forced, obvious take of imagining himself or one of his friends being homeless and went through three different versions of how to do a story on homelessness, with none hitting the right nuances - “how can you [tell this story] if you haven’t actually experienced homelessness yourself?” he says. In the end, it was unrelated conversation with one of the film’s producers who had commented to Russeni about his frequent nights out. It then occurred to him to tell the story from his own, true perspective – his interactions with homeless people on nights out.
“ “how can you [tell this story] if you haven’t actually experienced homelessness yourself?””
In fact, a homeless man at London Liverpool Street station approached Russeni who was on his way home from a night out. The man had recognised Russeni as a Jamaican (he moved to London from Jamaica at the age of 8) and approached him, opening with the words “sorry fi disturb yuh”. It was this chance encounter that inspired the story and title for the film. The first idea for a film title was ‘Spare Change Please’ but like the other ideas for the short, for Russeni, “it didn’t ring the same. It didn’t blend as well. It was too in your face as what it was but ‘Sorry Fi Disturb Yuh’ was not.”
The majority of Russeni’s work is inspired by true life and the experiences of those around him – his family, friends, those in his local community - “I just document; I’m telling the story of what I thought happened.” He’s continuing to document in his current project – a narrative about four young black boys, which he is considering doing in EP form - inspired by experiences of young people he met at London Bubble Theatre Company, where he currently facilitates workshops for young people alongside performing and writing.
Since he began his career in 2011, Russeni has been passionate about creating work that isn’t just from those like himself, but enjoyed by the masses.
“‘Actors don’t make films for actors, so why poetry just for poets?”
When ‘Sorry Fi Disturb Yuh’ was premiered by Reform The Funk, Undr Lndn and T A P E Collective with a screening at Miranda London, Russeni called in actor Deshaye Gayle to add an additional element; an elongated live performance of the story. Adding in narratives such as grief, crime and friendship, amongst others, Russeni creates a story that is relatable and topical but doesn’t stray from the original message. He says, “We live the height of something like a night out and don’t realise people don’t have it. When they say, ‘sorry to disturb you’, they just need your help.”
He says the purpose of the story “was to tell something different – to not just talk about it as I’ve never been homeless. It’s about how it’s right there and we don’t notice it – we just go over it. I don’t want to perform preachy. Just what I saw and creating a picture - taking you on a journey.”
The film was funded by: Signature Pictures, Working Title Films, Lush Film Fund and DMC Film.
Follow Russeni on Instagram @russeni
Credits
Film Directed by: Georgia Goggin (Teng Teng Films)
Produced by: Caroline Wilson (@undrlndn) & Angela Moneke (@tapecollective)
Photography: Matt Marsh
Interview & Words: Reshma Madhi
