Paul Coore, State Ward Boy

Like every good 21st century adventure, it started on Instagram.

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Paul and I are family, connected through a circuitous route that even I struggle to fully understand. An Australian native, he's spent over ten years of his life in the UK, where I was born and still live. He has built relationships with many of my close relatives over the years, largely thanks to his trademark openness and desire to connect.

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But despite these connections, he was a stranger to me in one real respect. I didn't know his story, his full story. The story of a boy taken into care aged 9, never to return home because his parents could not care for him. A boy taken into care, by a system that did not care. That did not protect him from his carers when it needed to. That could not prevent him suffering several counts of child sexual abuse, affecting him for the rest of his life. A boy.

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Three months after that first Instagram message, Paul and I met in London and went for a long walk on a sunny afternoon in east London. I was immediately struck by his candour, his generosity of spirit and his wise perspective on life. He had a grateful and optimistic take on life, despite (because of?) his trauma.

"I think the key thing is your loss of innocence. And you can't get that back..."

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But there was something else, something holding him together that was largely unspoken.

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"I choose not to forgive people who did bad things, even my father. Why should I? I can't do it. Having that sort of anger, I'm happy to carry that"

Naturally Paul had every right to be angry and remain angry. But that this would be what keeps him calm, centred and grateful was an irresistible paradox I wanted to explore more. And our film was born.​