Bust

Bust is an intimate portrait of families struggling to cope with personal debts, as the credit crunch unfolds during one of the worst recessions for decades. Like many other families in Britain, Tracy and Melvyn opted to buy their council house on a cheap mortgage. Then, despite their best endeavours to make their books balance, they gradually sunk more and more into the quagmire of debt. Over a year, we witness their emotional roller coaster as they fight to keep everything they have worked so hard for: their jobs, their car, their home, and their sanity. What options do they have to keep their family together and a roof over their heads? Michael, a retired chef, is struggling to afford the help he needs to cope with his lung and heart disease. Maria is a social worker who took out a loan when she and her partner could easily afford the repayments; that relationship is now over, and she is on maternity leave, with her creditors threatening to send in the bailiffs. Both are facing the terrifying prospect of declaring themselves bankrupt. We follow them as they struggle with the burden of admitting they cannot cope, and battle through the bureaucracy of bankruptcy. Is it really the answer they all expect it to be? Bust is the emotional journey of debt and bankruptcy.