Movies

'Dagenham' is 'populist, not political'

Published Friday, Sep 17 2010, 11:16 BST | By Mayer Nissim
Made in Dagenham, release diary
The producers of Made In Dagenham have claimed that they wanted the upcoming film to be populist rather than political.

The British movie starring Sally Hawkins is based on the true story of 187 female workers who went on strike at a Ford plant in Dagenham to get their sewing work graded as "skilled".

Producer Stephen Woolley told The Daily Telegraph: "We could have tried to make a Ken Loach-style film, but we knew we didn’t want to make a political movie. We wanted a populist piece."

His wife and business partner Elizabeth Karlsen added: "And we tried to avoid making class a major issue. We worked hard to make sure that issues crossed class barriers."

Of comparisons to The Full Monty and Billy Elliot, Woolley said: "You can’t stop people saying that. Certainly it’s about little guys who win.

"I feel great if people are saying it’s as pleasurable as those films. They’re the films I’d compare it to as well."

> Trailer: Sally Hawkins's Made In Dagenham
Spec Ops: The Line war movie poll
Vote and see your favourite war movies free on the big screen
S12 T6.2286739349365 {run_id}