Finding My Voice: How These 4 Films Helped Me Express Life in Foster Care

Trying to capture the tone and essence of my life in foster care wasn’t easy, especially with so little media to draw inspiration from back in 2012. But that challenge also made me realise I was onto something that felt unique—something that could speak to a community searching for art that reflects an element of their care experiences.

Seeing films show themes of abandonment, loneliness, abuse, resilence and the complexies of belonging really help me process thoughts I didnt quite have the words to express yet.

Here are 4 films based on the foster care experience that spoke to me and helped me find clarity in my self expression.

• The Unloved (2009)

Felt sad to watch but so many relatable elements from my childhood.

• Ladybird Ladybird (1994)

Pretty sure I cried when I watched this, so powerful, relatable and great casting. I even sample a small element of this on A Boy Called Ric.

• Farming Film (2019)

I was lucky to see the pilot for this before Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje got funding for the full feature film. This spoke to my black British experience so deeply that I wrote a song directly inspired by it when the full-feature film came out in 2019.

• The Last Tree (2019)

The Last Tree came out the same year as Farming and it felt so good to have films that represented the Black British care experience so poignantly.

Representation matters because it shows that we are not invisible in society.

We don’t want to be labeled or pigeonholed by our care experience, but acknowledgment and understanding are key—not just for ourselves, but for the wider conversation. Seeing art and media that speak to your experience helps you own it in your own way, without shame or embarrassment.

If there are films that truly resonated with your care experience, share them below! I’d love to have more references.. and who knows, if something deeply inspires me, it might even influence my next song.

That’s what I love about the feedback loop of art. Sometimes, it feels like we’re searching in the dark for something, but through sharing our experiences, we gain clarity from reflection and the perspectives of others.

For those who have lived through foster care, art can be a way to tell our own stories—even when the world doesn’t always reflect them back at us.