THE highly anticipated debut of Laura Carreira’s On Falling, winner of the Sutherland Award for Best First Feature at the 2024 BFI London Film Festival, has finally been released in UK cinemas. On Falling is a powerful critique of the capitalist system and is highly commendable. It tells a compelling working-class story of immigration, isolation, and poverty.

The main character, Aurora, works at a Scottish fulfilment warehouse, tirelessly walking down aisles and picking items from shelves to be sent to online shoppers. Her shifts begin early in the morning and end late in the evening. Her productivity is constantly monitored, and her wages are low, barely enough to cover rent, food, electricity, and fuel costs. With little joy in her life, a glimmer of hope appears when her new Polish flatmate, a van driver, invites her out for a drink.

“I naturally made Aurora a female character,” explains Carreira, “because I perceive the world as a woman, which felt more authentic. There are distinct aspects, like her connection with food possibly tied to her menstrual cycle. A male director might miss such nuances, but they stem from my own experiences.”

Carreira, a young film director from Portugal, moved to Britain to pursue her dream. She created two short films, Red Hill and The Shift, focusing on workers’ stories in the gig economy that led her to explore precarious work, particularly in the logistics industry. She discovered the role of a picker, which inspired her story of Aurora. 

She explains: “The story began to take shape when I discovered that job, with its metaphors — a character working alone for long shifts, timed by the second.”

She struggled with the film’s story until warehouse workers shared experiences of outages, which humanised the story and influenced the film. Laura includes moments like winning a “best worker” award, based on real stories where workers received trivial rewards like chocolate bars. She also highlighted the absurdity of performance rates, where workers were unaware of targets and felt alienated, unsure if they were performing well.

Many people highlighted the psychological difficulties of the job, including feelings of despair. Research indicates that warehouse workers frequently endure mental stress, which can lead to suicide attempts. The isolation and constant monitoring associated with the job impact self-esteem, making it hard to break free. 

Carriera explains how this existential situation became her narrative: “Aurora faces financial challenges, which we illustrate through her eating habits. Her connection to food symbolises the warmth and comfort she lacks.” And yet “more than half of warehouse employees face financial difficulties every month, with 15 per cent depending on food banks, even though they work for affluent companies.”

Laura drew inspiration from Ken Loach and the Dardenne Brothers, striving to depict reality and challenge cinema’s escapism. About the casting process she states that: “Half of them were nonprofessional, which enhanced authenticity. We adjusted the script during rehearsals to include a variety of perspectives.” 

Regarding moments of solidarity in the film, Laura said, “in a film about hardships, it’s crucial to depict kindness. The antagonists aren’t Aurora’s co-workers, reflecting how society often sets us against one another.”

Reflecting on moving to the UK before Brexit, Laura mentioned, “It would be tougher now. My experiences led me to portray Aurora as Portuguese, emphasising the contributions of migrants in the UK.”

Carreira’s films delve deeply into moral integrity and personal artistic authenticity, immersing the audience in the story with a remarkable sense of place and emotion. The movie’s poetic and artistic significance is found in its capacity to evoke empathy and stimulate reflection, marking it as an important addition to modern cinema. 

On Falling is on general release in cinemas