The Man Who Fell From the Sky

In 2015, Carlito Vale and Themba Cabeka stowed away in the landing gear of a British Airways flight from Johannesburg to Heathrow, an 11-hour journey where temperatures drop to -60C. The story made worldwide news when, devastatingly, Carlito fell to his death in Richmond, London. Miraculously, Themba survived.

At the time the world was experiencing the worst migrant crisis since World War II and increasingly divisive attitudes towards immigration. Rich, who is the co-founder of POSTCARD, an independent studio creating content for social good, wanted to create a film that'd reach a wide audience; was asking himself “how do we make 2 million people in the UK watch a film about immigration?”. The shocking story, global headlines, and the fact that so little was known about the two men provided an opportunity to reframe the conversation and highlight the individual stories.