What is the Big Issue | Big Issue

In 1991, John Bird and Gordon Roddick founded The Big Issue, a magazine designed to give a helping hand to homeless people. The concept is simple: vendors buy the magazine for half the cover price and sell it to customers on the street. From the outset, it attracted high-profile cover stars and soon became a publishing revolution with editions all over the world. The Big Issue now has a bank, an online shop and more, all with the ethos of giving people a hand up not a handout. For the first time, The Big Issue commissioned a short documentary about its history, that focused on its continuing relevance. Chocolate Films wrote the script in conjunction with Lord Bird, who narrates much of the video. We filmed with vendors and beneficiaries of the Big Issue foundation, showing the impact of this great organisation.