Anna Maxwell Martin shines spotlight on child poverty in ‘Santaland’
Action for Children Ambassador, Anna Maxwell Martin, highlights the reality of child poverty in our Christmas appeal film.
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With Christmas around the corner, award-winning actress and Action for Children Ambassador, Anna Maxwell Martin, stars in our short festive film 'Santaland'.
Best known for her roles in Motherland, Line of Duty and Ludwig, Anna is also a passionate advocate for children and young people.
Santaland takes its title inspiration from Anna's iconic role in Motherland.
In the film, she plays a busy Christmas elf working at Santa's grotto.
As her shift draws to a close, she's approached by a curious child called Lily.
Lily wants answers to some very important questions she has for Santa.
Does he go on holiday? Does he like toast?
What begins as a heart-warming conversation soon takes a devastating turn, as the elf begins to understand the reality of Lily's situation.
Mum said Santa might not come this year and I really wanted a present.
Lily admits that her family doesn't have much. She's afraid that Santa will forget her.
With hopeful eyes, all she wants is reassurance that Santa will visit her this Christmas.
With 4 million UK children living in poverty, Santaland is a powerful reminder that for many children like Lily, Christmas is just another day.
They wake up disappointed to find no presents beneath the tree.
I wanted to collaborate with Action for Children on this special film to shout about the shocking levels of poverty across the UK which are shattering childhoods.
Anna Maxwell Martin
At Action for Children, we have over 2,500 frontline workers supporting children.
We’ve seen children sleeping on the floor with just blankets, and families.
But you could help change that.
By making a donation, you could help make Christmas feel magical for a child like Lily.
You could change a life
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