The poem ‘Children’ was first published in 1990 when it was written for a volume of poems, Thistledown, produced in aid of UNICEF by the Dedalus Press. Since then ‘Children’ has had a number of incarnations in anthologies and other publications.
This new film version, with accompanying music by the author, is something of an experiment, a departure from the realism of some of his more recent films — part of a continuing stylistic exploration but also a response to the sensitive issue of how to portray children in film, especially online.