Oranges and Sunshine | |
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Directed by | Jim Loach |
Screenplay by | Rona Munro |
Based on | Empty Cradles by Margaret Humphreys |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Denson Baker |
Edited by | Dany Cooper |
Music by | Lisa Gerrard |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Icon Film Distribution |
Release dates |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Box office | $6,299,747 [1] |
Oranges and Sunshine is a 2010 biographical drama film directed by Jim Loach, in his directorial debut, with a screenplay by Rona Munro, based on the 1994 book Empty Cradles by Margaret Humphreys. [2] The film stars Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham.
The film is based on the true story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham who uncovered the scandal of "home children", [3] a scheme of forcibly relocating poor children from the United Kingdom to Australia and Canada. [4]
Deported children were promised "oranges and sunshine" but they instead got hard labour and life in institutions such as Keaney College in Bindoon, Western Australia. Many were given to the Congregation of Christian Brothers, where they suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the brothers. [5] [6]
Despite the numerous death threats from those who try to stop her, Margaret is successful in reuniting estranged families, who are situated in Australia and the UK, and brings worldwide attention to the cause.
Filming took place in Adelaide, South Australia, in Nottingham, and at Wirksworth in Derbyshire. Some interior scenes were filmed at the University of Leicester, Leicestershire, in Nottingham County Hall and in the porte-cochère of Nottingham railway station. Other locations that appear are a train on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway; Australia House in London and an overview of Nottingham Council House and the Old Market Square.
A casting session was held in Nottingham to find one boy and one girl for the roles of Margaret's children. [7]
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 71% based on reviews from 73 critics. The website's critics consensus reads, "Grounded in a heartwrenching fact-based story, steered by Loach's sensitive direction, and led by a powerful performance from Watson, Oranges and Sunshine sidesteps its pacing problems and occasionally clichéd screenplay." [8]
Award | Category | Subject | Result |
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AACTA Award (1st) | AFI Members' Choice Award | Camilla Bray, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman | Nominated |
Best Film | Nominated | ||
Best Actor | David Wenham | Nominated | |
Best Actress | Emily Watson | Nominated | |
Best Supporting Actor | Hugo Weaving | Won | |
Best Editing | Dany Cooper | Nominated | |
Best Costume Design | Cappi Ireland | Nominated | |
AFCA Awards | Best Australian Film | Nominated | |
Best Actor | David Wenham | Nominated | |
Hugo Weaving | Nominated | ||
Best Actress | Emily Watson | Won | |
ASE Award | Best Editing in a Feature Film | Dany Cooper | Won |
ASSG Award | Best Achievement in Mixing in a Feature Film | Gethin Creagh | Won |
Sam Hayward | Won | ||
FCCA Awards | Best Film | Camilla Bray, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman | Nominated |
Best Actor | David Wenham | Nominated | |
Best Actress | Emily Watson | Won | |
Best Supporting Actor | Hugo Weaving | Won | |
Inside Film Awards | Best Feature Film | Camilla Bray, Iain Canning, Jim Loach, Emile Sherman | Nominated |
Best Script | Rona Munro | Nominated | |
Best Actor | David Wenham | Nominated | |
Best Actress | Emily Watson | Won | |
Best Editing | Dany Cooper | Nominated | |
Best Music | Lisa Gerrard | Nominated | |
Best Sound | Gethin Creagh | Nominated | |
James Currie | Nominated | ||
John Hughes | Nominated | ||
Andrew Plain | Nominated | ||
Best Production Design | Melinda Doring | Won | |
Rome Film Festival | Golden Marc'Aurelio Award | Jim Loach | Nominated |
Satellite Award | Best Actress | Emily Watson | Nominated |
Best Supporting Actor | Hugo Weaving | Nominated | |
Hugo Wallace Weaving is a British actor. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and has been recognised as an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career.
Emily Margaret Watson is a British actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse, and was nominated for the 2003 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the latter. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her debut film role as Bess McNeil in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (1996) and for her role as Jacqueline du Pré in Hilary and Jackie (1998), winning the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress for the latter. For her role as Margaret Humphreys in Oranges and Sunshine (2010), she was also nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Home Children was the child migration scheme founded by Annie MacPherson in 1869, under which more than 100,000 children were sent from the United Kingdom to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. The programme was largely discontinued in the 1930s but not entirely terminated until the 1970s.
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Margaret Humphreys, is a British social worker and author from Nottingham, England. She worked for Nottinghamshire County Council operating around Radford, Nottingham and Hyson Green in child protection and adoption services. In 1986, she received a letter from a woman in Australia who, believing she was an orphan, was looking to locate her birth certificate so she could get married.
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