A stunning short film about the Grenfell Tower tragedy can be viewed free of charge in Cardiff

Martin Shipton

A highly unusual and deeply moving short film that shows the state of the Grenfell Tower apartment block after a devastating fire in which 72 people perished can be seen free of charge at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff from May 10 until June 15.

In the months after the tragedy, acclaimed director Steve McQueen decided to shoot drone footage of Grenfell before it was covered in scaffolding so there would be a permanent record of the destruction caused.

A police investigation is underway to see whether charges could be brought for corporate manslaughter in view of the defective nature of cladding used on the building.

The film has no dialogue and no characters, and simply depicts the progress of the drone as it travels towards Grenfell. When it reaches the tower block, all sound is muted as it is circled by the drone.

At a preview showing of the 24-minute film on May 9, the audience was left in stunned silence.

In February 2025 Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, told bereaved relatives and survivors that a decision had been made to demolish Grenfell Tower. Dismantling of the tower is expected to take two years. In April 2025, the contract to demolish the tower was awarded to Deconstruct, the company currently maintaining the site, due to its knowledge of the building’s structure and surrounding area.

‘Visceral’

Among the audience at Chapter watching the film was Mark Thomas, the lead campaigner with the group Welsh Cladiators (sic), which seeks justice for leaseholders trapped in defective homes.

Responding to the impact of the film, he said: “It’s almost visceral – very, very powerful when you see the absolute total devastation of the entire building. There’s not a piece of the building that is not touched by that voracious fire.

“Very very dramatic, and the fact that there’s no sound track other than noise around it is very, very powerful, and brings home the true nature of the tragedy, and the fact that again, eight years on, no one’s been made accountable for what was an absolutely shocking, horrific disaster.”

Was the film more powerful because of its silence, than it would have been if it had been polemical in tone? “I think so,” he said. “I’m slightly biased because I know a lot of the story behind it and what led to the fire – but I think the silence makes you just think. There’s the notion that sometimes less is more, and the picture tells a story – and it’s incredibly powerful.”

Asked what lessons there were for politicians, Mr Thomas said: “I would insist that every Senedd Member should be made to watch that film, quite frankly.

“It’s just the total obliteration of the building. No place is untouched, and to think that 72 people died in that and very little has been done since to prevent that possibly happening again is a huge message to all politicians, and from my point of view particularly in Wales.”

Failure

Asked what it was about the reaction of the Welsh Government that he found so bad, Mr Thomas said: “I think their failure to get to grips with the need for real urgency in resolving the defects in these buildings.

“We’re eight years on now in Wales, and I can speak for the private sector: the latest figures show that only three buildings out of, I think, 163 have actually been remediated. Yes there are plans in place for those other buildings, but anybody involved in the crisis knows that these plans often take years to come to fruition.

“And I think the only thing that developers understand is the force of law and sanctions – and at the moment those are not in place. So the whole crisis is just endlessly dragging on and on and on, and trapping thousands of people who cannot move on.”

Asked how he would rate the likelihood of a similar tragedy happening, Mr Thomas said: “I wouldn’t want to alarm people, and since the crisis I know in the development I’m involved with a lot of hard work has gone in to put a lot of contingencies in place, to hopefully prevent a tragedy like Grenfell ever happening again. But the fact remains that under the current regulatory regime, all of the un-repaired buildings remain unsafe. So that has to be a concern.

“It’s quite clearly all about money, sadly. Developers are a reluctant party to remediation. They’ve only been forced to come to the table by the likes of Michael Gove, who changed the Building Safety Act. We’ve been advised by some people that developers will try to get away with doing the bare minimum – and that’s not good enough. They need to be held to account.”

Impacted

Discussing what more steps should be taken, Mr Thomas said: “Many people I know who are impacted would like to see sanctions applied against developers. The most obvious one is restrictions on planning permission. And then I think timelines should be introduced.

“You’re already beginning to see in England that the courts take a more consumer position, a victims’ position, and say the need for urgency is what should drive remediation. Nothing else but the need to repair these buildings. And that, as I say, currently isn’t happening. So the way it can be accelerated, I think, is by the force of law – legislation. But at the moment there doesn’t seem to be any real will to do that.

“We have a [UK] government now that is into a ‘build, build, build’ boom, which we’re all for – everyone wants more housing – but those houses must be safe, they must be of quality, and they must be durable and ultimately affordable. And that isn’t happening.”

Free showings of the film will take place five times a day every day between May 10 and June 15, except for May 30. Booking is essential and can be made via this link.