How did you discover the community in the film?

Somebody started talking about the tunnels, how there were places where you could go and live underground and build yourself a house. I became fascinated and went exploring. I found the tunnel owned by Amtrak which had about 100 people living in it. Three months later we were sitting around when one of the guys said somebody should make a film about this. We figured that we could make the film, sell it and get them out of the tunnel. With them as the film crew at least they'd be able to feel that they were helping themselves.

They have a tremendous sense of dignity.

They never allowed themselves to wallow in self-pity and took action to build themselves houses and create the best they could from their situation. They chose to fight rather than let themselves go.

This is the first time you'd picked up a camera.

I never dreamed of being a film maker. It just came out of the time I was spending on the street and I wanted people to get a glimpse of the reality of the situation.

With the housing vouchers and the social work that you did events turned out quite fortuitously.

It's the first time in the history of homelessness in New York that a whole community has been offered housing. It probably will never happen again.

Do you keep in touch with the people in the film?

The ones still living in New York I see at least once a week. Others have moved away but we keep in touch. They're all doing really well, beyond my wildest dreams. Ralph is now the kitchen manager of a large hotel and has just come back from his holiday in Puerto Rico. The best thing for me was seeing them get their confidence and their pride back. For me that was really what it was all about, whatever happens with the film now is just the icing on the cake.

Read our review of "Dark Days".