Nick Hedges: Home In The Shadows
Film Screening and Directors Talk with Dan Watts
FESTIVAL Event
LOCATION: Oriel Colwyn Gallery
Date/time: 16th OCTOBER - 7pm (doors 6.30pm)
We are pleased to welcome director DAN WATTS to this year’s Northern Eye Festival events line-up. Dan will be with us on Thursday 16th October for a one-off screening of his short film Nick Hedges: Home in The Shadows (2025) - followed by a director’s talk by Dan.
The screening will be held in Oriel Colwyn - Tickets are released on a pay what you can basis (FREE or donation based) to keep this event accessible to all, but will be limited to 30 people capacity.
Dan’s documentary chronicles the work of the photographer Nick Hedges, who revealed the reality of the atrocious living conditions of the UK’s urban poor in the 1960s and 70s. His compassionate work transformed perceptions, and helped galvanise social change.
Post-war, families across the UK were left abandoned, living in poor-quality social housing across the city, originally built in the Victorian era for factory workers. Although these houses were condemned for demolition in the ‘30s, families were still trapped living in slum-like conditions up until the ‘70s due to a lack of newly built social housing. Some were left waiting for 2 or 3 years to move whilst building was in progress.
There was a lack of societal awareness that communities had to live like this in such poor conditions, but Nick Hedges didn’t let them go unnoticed. In 1967, the photographer was commissioned by the charity Shelter to document and uncover the shocking realities of living conditions for working-class families in cities across the UK. His impactful photos raised awareness and sparked important conversations about the right to decent quality housing.
This retrospective documentary shines a light on the man behind the lens, whose eye-opening works sparked a catalyst for change.
Nick Hedges’ photography is a powerful documentation of poverty in 1960s-1970s Britain, capturing the harsh living conditions of working-class communities to raise awareness and inspire change. His legacy feels especially urgent today, with rising inequality, falling living standards, and a worsening housing crisis.
This film Nick Hedges: Home In The Shadows (2025), asks a simple but vital question: Why is housing so important?
Unfortunately, Nick (Rupert Nicholas Wilmore) Hedges, born 31 December 1943, passed away on 8th June 2025, not long after the release of this film. There was an obituary written about his life in the Guardian by Greg Whitmore.
In 2021, Bluecoat Press published Hedges' work for Shelter in a book titled Home, alongside another titled Street.
Credits:
Contributor - Nick Hedges
Director / DP / Editor/ Drone Op - Dan Watts
Producer - Isobel Grove / Ian Francis
Dan Watts is a Birmingham-based Director and Director of Photography working across documentaries, commercials, branded content, and factual television.
His work explores individuals, places, and communities, often focusing on traditions, subcultures, the arts, and people on the fringes of society. Blending satire with serious subject matter, he seeks to challenge stereotypes and shift perspectives.
His latest film, Nick Hedges: Home In The Shadows, is a retrospective documentary that shines a light on the photographer whose images sparked a catalyst for change for families living in Britain’s back-to-back houses. The film premiered at the BAFTA-qualifying Flatpack Festival.
Alongside his documentary work, Dan has produced commercial and branded content for clients including BBC Philharmonic, Timberland, MINI, Bentley, Regatta, Keep Britain Tidy, Carlsberg, and Sky Sports, creating content that fuses striking visuals with meaningful storytelling.
He is the founder of New Wave, a production company where he brings together storytelling, strategic thinking, and a network of collaborators to create content that not only cuts through the noise but moves people.