When we met him, he was living in a van.

He told us about growing up with an alcoholic mother and learning from an early age to fend for himself. His story raises difficult questions about the relationship between childhood experiences, family, prison and reoffending - without pretending that understanding someone's past removes responsibility for their actions.

We often encounter somebody in the criminal justice system through their offence or conviction. This film asks us to stay a little longer. To consider the child who came before, the relationships that shaped him and the circumstances waiting for him when he walked back through the prison gates.

Family, relationships and reoffending

Leaving prison doesn't necessarily mean leaving behind the circumstances that contributed to somebody being there. Housing, employment, family relationships, stability and a sense of purpose can all matter when someone is trying to rebuild a life after prison.

For this man, those relationships were particularly striking.

Just three weeks after his own release, he was back outside the prison waiting for his stepson. One generation had walked out. Another was about to follow.

And one simple thing he told us stayed with us: "If you've got nothing to live for, what have you got?"

This is a film about prison and reoffending. But it's also a film about childhood, family and the relationships that shape the lives we return to.