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The Children's Film Unit was a unique British film production unit which offered children from the ages of 10 to 16 the opportunity to learn about all aspects of filmmaking, and to participate as part of the crew in the making of professional-quality feature films. The children were directly involved from the initial concept of a film right through to the completed product.
CFU films had a theatrical release, as well as being shown on British and overseas television, and were exhibited (and sometimes winners) at international film festivals.
The CFU was a registered educational charity.
[Charity Commission Website]
Entry for charity no. 283918
/ref> Official patrons included Lord Attenborough, Steven Spielberg, Susannah York, Lord Puttnam
David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (born 25 February 1941) is a British film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include ''Chariots of Fire'', which w ...
, and Sir John Mortimer CBE, QC. The President of the CFU was Prince Edward.
Origins
The Children's Film Unit was formed in 1981 by schoolteacher and ex- Avengers writer, Colin Finbow. It had begun life as the film studies department at Forest Hill School in South East London. The standard of the work Finbow and his students produced so excited professional film makers due to its quality and freshness that, after one of their films, "The Custard Boys" (1979) received critical acclaim, it was suggested that more children should benefit from this unique experience.
The 1980s and 1990s
The CFU operated outside of normal school hours, when during regular weekend and holiday workshops the children were trained to a high level of competence in all aspects of filmmaking, including camera-work, lighting, sound, acting, writing, and costume. Although some of the CFU's children did perform in their films, they only played the roles of children. All adult characters were performed by professional adult actors.
Generally the CFU produced one feature-length film per year, with the bulk of the production schedule occurring during the summer holidays. After principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
was completed, pick-ups would be shot during weekends. Although all the films were then edited by director Colin Finbow, the children were given the opportunity to participate in the post-production process, within the limits of the post-production facilities and their own school schedules. Between features, the children's training consisted of making short films, and attending regular lectures and demonstrations from industry experts, such as Bryan Forbes
Bryan Forbes CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2013 and ...
, Lord Attenborough, Lord Puttnam
David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (born 25 February 1941) is a British film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include ''Chariots of Fire'', which w ...
and others.
The CFU's tiny premises at Studio 4, Berrytime Studios, Queenstown Road, Battersea, was organised with the children learning acting skills working upstairs in the area used for administration, tea-making, and toilets, while those studying the technical aspects of film-making worked downstairs in two small rooms filled with old props and a plethora of donated equipment, which included a Moviola
A Moviola () is a device that allows a film editor to view a film while editing. It was the first machine for motion picture editing when it was invented by Iwan Serrurier in 1924.
History
Iwan Serrurier's original 1917 concept for the Moviola ...
, a Steenbeck
Steenbeck is a company that manufactures flatbed editors. Steenbeck is brand name that has become synonymous with a type of flatbed film editing suite which is usable with both 16 mm and 35 mm optical sound and magnetic sound film.
The Steen ...
, two Arriflex 16SR
The Arriflex 16SR is a motion picture camera product line created by Arri, introduced in 1975. This 16SR camera series is designed for 16 mm filmmaking in Standard 16 format. 'SR' Stands for Silent Reflex.
In 1982, Arri released the 16SR2, for i ...
cameras, one Arriflex 16BL camera, a 16mm Bolex
Bolex International S. A. is a Swiss manufacturer of motion picture cameras based in Yverdon located in Canton of Vaud. The most notable products of which are in the 16 mm and Super 16 mm formats. Originally Bol, the company was founded by C ...
camera, a Nagra
Nagra is a brand of portable audio recorders produced from 1951 in Switzerland. Beginning in 1997 a range of high-end equipment aimed at the audiophile community was introduced, and Nagra expanded the company’s product lines into new markets. ...
III, and assorted lights, legs, lenses
A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
, microphone
A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publ ...
s, and booms. Grip equipment ( dollys, cranes etc.) was usually hired-in as needed, along with much other additional hardware. But despite the cramped conditions, the children of the CFU still found space to build interior sets when required. The CFU later moved to Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden
Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden is an studio complex in Leavesden in Watford, Hertfordshire, in South East England. Formerly known as Leavesden Film Studios and still colloquially known as Leavesden Studios or simply Leavesden, it is a film ...
, in Hertfordshire.
The CFU frequently employed the services of friends in the film and television industry, both in the creative fields, and also the areas of equipment hire, post-production facilities, and distribution/publicity, who regularly donated their time or equipment. One regular collaborator was composer, Dave Hewson, who composed the original music for most of the CFU's films. Ray and Tom Harris from special effects company ''Any Effects'' created the on-set effects for many of the films, and were among the industry professionals who gave lectures and demonstrations during weekend workshops.
During production of ''How's Business'' (1991), the CFU crew were followed by a BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary crew for an episode of the popular children's series ''
The Lowdown''. This episode covered the filming of ''How's Business'' and featured several members of the CFU in interviews and voice-over. The documentary concluded with scenes of the Royal Premiere at
Leicester Square, and merged its own credits with the credits from ''How's Business''. This episode was first broadcast on
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
at 17:10 on 5 May 1992.
Exhibition and Distribution
Several films by the Children's Film Unit received Royal Premieres, including:
Under The Bed at the
Odeon Leicester Square
The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...
, on Saturday 17 September 1988
Doombeach at
BAFTA,
Piccadilly, on Sunday 4 November 1990
How's Business at the
Odeon West End
The Odeon Luxe West End is a two-screen cinema on the south side of Leicester Square, London. It has historically been used for smaller film premieres and hosting the annual BFI London Film Festival. The site is on an adjacent side of the squa ...
,
Leicester Square, on Sunday 15 March 1992.
Willie's War at The
Prince Charles Cinema
The Prince Charles Cinema (PCC) is a repertory cinema located in Leicester Place, 50 yards north of Leicester Square in the West End of London. It shows a rotating programme of cult, arthouse, and classic films alongside recent Hollywood relea ...
, WC2, on Thursday 4 May 1995
The Gingerbread House at
BAFTA,
Piccadilly, on Monday 3 March 1997
Almost all of their films have been shown on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
, had a theatrical release, and been distributed in territories around the world.
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
financed and televised most of the CFU's output, and Watchmaker Films handled worldwide distribution. However, ''How's Business'' was produced in collaboration with the
Children's Film and Television Foundation (with which the CFU often was confused in popular media) and was never shown on TV in the UK, while the last three films in the filmography listed below were only ever shown in the small hours of the morning, as Channel 4 shifted its focus in the later 1990s.
Festivals and awards
Daemon – ''Munich''
Dark Enemy – ''London & Munich''
Hard Road – ''Frankfurt, Chicago, Dulu, and Duisburg'' – Awarded Lucas Prize, Frankfurt
Mister Skeeter – Awarded Prix Danube, Bratislava
School For Vandals – ''London & Chicago''
A Swarm in May – ''Moscow''
Under The Bed – ''Chicago''
Doombeach – ''Frankfurt, Sydney, Chicago, London''
[Article about the CFU in its decline. Page 38, issue 65444]
Emily's Ghost – ''Frankfurt, Belfast, Brighton, Edinburgh''
Willie's War – First prize at the Youth Film Festival of Flanders
Selected filmography
Captain Stirrick (1982) A
musical based on the 1840 press account of a real case. Captain Stirrick leads a gang of child
pickpockets
Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A th ...
in
Victorian London, but their attempt to rob a Lord ends in murder and a trip to the
gallows
A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...
. ''Cast includes: Julian Silvester,
Freddie Jones
Frederick Charles Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005.''; at ancestry.com (12 September 1927 – 9 July 2019) was an English actor who had an extensive career in television, theatre and cinema productions for a ...
, Douglas Storm''
A Swarm in May (1983)
[Review of ''A Swarm in May''. Page 15, issue 61513] Returning to the school where he is a chorister, after an unhappy Easter holiday, John Owen faces the daunting task of singing the Beekeeper's solo in an ancient ritual at Whitsuntide. After refusing his duty, he is helped by the Head Chorister and the organist to uncover the 400-year-old mystery behind the beekeeper's service, and to regain his self-esteem by laying a ghost to rest. ''Cast includes: Oliver Hicks,
Jack May,
Frank Middlemass
Francis George Middlemass (28 May 1919 – 8 September 2006) was an English actor, who even in his early career played older roles. He is best remembered for his television roles as Rocky Hardcastle in '' As Time Goes By'', Algy Herries in '' To ...
, Douglas Storm''
Mister Skeeter (1984) Lisa and Jamie are residents in a children's home, which is threatened with closure. They escape to the seaside, where they encounter Mr. Skeeter, an elderly eccentric who befriends them. Jamie is convinced that Skeeter is a millionaire in disguise and that all their troubles are over. But in fact they are just beginning. ''Cast includes:
Peter Bayliss
Peter Bayliss (27 June 1922 – 29 July 2002) was an English actor. Bayliss was born in Kingston upon Thames and trained at the Italia Conti Academy and the John Gielgud Company. More than six feet tall, with a voice to match, he supplemente ...
, Louise Rawlings,
Orlando Wells
Orlando Wells (born 9 June 1973) is an English actor and writer.
Career
As an actor, Wells is best known for starring as Alex Stanton in the Channel 4 drama '' As If'', and playing Irwin in Alan Bennett's '' History Boys''.
Wells has written fi ...
''
Dark Enemy (1984) Set in an idyllic valley, the story centres around a group of children surviving after the death of their elders. Three boys set out on a quest to determine who will be the tribe's next leader, and the discoveries of the youngest reveal the alarming truth behind their primitive existence. ''Cast includes:
David Haig
David Haig Collum Ward (born 20 September 1955) is an English actor and playwright. He has appeared in West End productions and numerous television and film roles over a career spanning four decades.
Haig wrote the play '' My Boy Jack'', w ...
, Douglas Storm''
Daemon
Daimon or Daemon (Ancient Greek: , "god", "godlike", "power", "fate") originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit such as the daimons of ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and Hell ...
(1985) Unhappy schoolboy, Nick Foster, is sent to a psychiatrist after developing sores and hearing strange voices. She is at hand when a series of terrifying supernatural events threaten to destroy him. ''Cast includes: Arnaud Morell,
Susannah York,
Bert Parnaby
James Bertram "Bert" Parnaby (4 March 1924 – 30 July 1992) was a British actor who was notable for a string of TV and Film roles from the 1960s through the 1980s. His TV roles included performances in ''Blackadder'', ''By the Sword Divided' ...
''
School For Vandals (1986) Having taught for fifteen years in Inner London schools, Neil and Penny are delighted when a pools win enables them to buy a school in the country to develop as a healthy centre of private education. But its past history as a reform school and their unruly children do not endear them to the locals. When funds threaten to run out, the children lend a hand... by kidnapping an old lady. ''Cast includes: Jenni Barrand, Jeremy Coster,
Peter Bayliss
Peter Bayliss (27 June 1922 – 29 July 2002) was an English actor. Bayliss was born in Kingston upon Thames and trained at the Italia Conti Academy and the John Gielgud Company. More than six feet tall, with a voice to match, he supplemente ...
, Sebastian Knapp''
Under The Bed (1988) Adapted from a story by
Bill Oddie
William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies.
A birder since his childhood in Quinto ...
and Laura Beaumont, this is the story of Felicity, whose habit of throwing things under her bed, including an uneaten bowl of cereal, moldy apples cores, family heirlooms, and even elderly relatives, leads to the birth of "Heap", a monster with an insatiable appetite. ''Cast includes: Nicola Stewart, Thomas Arnold,
Tim Brooke-Taylor
Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE (17 July 194012 April 2020) was an English actor and comedian best known as a member of The Goodies.
He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at the University of Cambridge and became president ...
,
Bill Oddie
William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies.
A birder since his childhood in Quinto ...
,
Graeme Garden
David Graeme Garden OBE (born 18 February 1943) is a Scottish comedian, actor, author, artist and television presenter, best known as a member of The Goodies and a regular panellist on ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''.
Early life and education ...
,
Peter Corey,
Maria Charles
Maria Charles (born 22 September 1929) is an English film, television and stage actress, director and comedian. She is probably best known for her TV performance as the overbearing mother Bea Fisher in the ITV sitcom '' Agony''. Charles has als ...
''
Hard Road (1988) An accidental meeting between bored schoolgirl, Kelly, and suicidal schoolboy, Max, leads to the two children stealing a Ferrari and running away together in it. They briefly enjoy a love-hate relationship before the real world catches up with them. ''Cast includes: Francesca Camillo, Max Rennie,
John Louis Mansi
John Louis Mansi (born John Patrick Adams; 8 November 1926 – 6 August 2010) was a British television and film actor whose career spanned the years from the early 1950s to the early 1990s.
Born in London to an Italian father and an Irish moth ...
, Amanda Murray,
Peter Bayliss
Peter Bayliss (27 June 1922 – 29 July 2002) was an English actor. Bayliss was born in Kingston upon Thames and trained at the Italia Conti Academy and the John Gielgud Company. More than six feet tall, with a voice to match, he supplemente ...
, Jenni Barrand, Luke Jones''
Infantile Disorders (1988) ''Cast includes:
Mark Heatley, Gavin May''
Doombeach (1989) When an administrative error causes 13-year-old Gavin to be sent to the wrong school, he begins truanting with a "gang" of younger kids. After his new friend Mark is hospitalised following a swimming race in the ocean, Gavin begins to suspect a nearby power station of leaking its waste into the sea. After organising a protest and gaining media attention, Gavin enlists the aid of a sympathetic teacher to help him break into the power station with a
Geiger counter. ''Cast includes: Jeremy Coster,
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson (born 9 May 1936) is an English actress and former Member of Parliament (MP). She has won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice: for her role as Gudrun Brangwen in the romantic drama ''Women in Love'' (1970); and again for ...
,
Michael Sheard
Michael Sheard (18 June 1938 – 31 August 2005) was a Scottish character actor who featured in many films and television programmes, and was known for playing villains. His most prominent television role was as strict deputy headmaster Mauric ...
,
Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to:
Entertainment
* Peter Marshall (entertainer) (born 1926), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981
* Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ''Th ...
,
Emma Freud
Emma Vallencey Freud (born 25 January 1962) is an English broadcaster and cultural commentator.
Early life
Freud was born in London on 25 January 1962 and is the daughter of politician and broadcaster Sir Clement Freud (1924–2009) and June ...
''
Survivors (1990) A group of teenage boys are tricked into accompanying their teacher on a survival holiday to a deserted island, but after he suffers a nervous breakdown and turns hostile, the boys are forced to fend for themselves. ''Cast includes:
Ian Hogg, Susan Curnow, Michael Bond, Damian Hodges, David Issacs, Danny Joy, Russell Lyesight, Hayden Peters, Carlton Taylor, Ben Wheeler''
How's Business (1991) Adapted from the book by
Alison Prince
Alison Prince (26 March 1931 – 12 October 2019) was a British children's writer, screenwriter and biographer, who settled on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. Her novels for young people won several awards. She was the scriptwriter of the much re ...
, this
wartime drama follows young Howard Grainger as he is
evacuated from London during
the Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
and relocated to the countryside, where he begins a series of schemes to try and accrue sufficient funds to return home. ''Cast includes: Ben Brazier,
Ron Moody
Ron Moody (born Ronald Moodnick; 8 January 1924 – 11 June 2015) was an English actor, composer, singer and writer. He was best known for his portrayal of Fagin in ''Oliver!'' (1968) and its 1983 Broadway revival. Moody earned a Golden Globe ...
,
Paul Brightwell
Paul Brightwell is an English actor and director. He has acted in many different plays, films and TV shows since the late 1980s. Theatre direction includes the British premieres of Heiner Muller's '' Hamletmachine'' at the Gate Notting Hill, and ...
,
Paul Copley
Paul Mackriell Copley (born 25 November 1944) is an English actor and voiceover artist. From 2011 to 2015 he appeared as Mr. Mason, father of William Mason, in 16 episodes of ''Downton Abbey'', and from 2020 to 2021, he appeared in the ITV so ...
, Sara Clee,
Richard Digance
Richard Digance (pronounced DYE-jance; born 24 February 1949) is an English comedian and folk singer.
Early life
Digance was born in Plaistow, East London. After his family moved to nearby East Ham, he attended Vicarage Lane Primary Sch ...
,
Don Henderson
Donald Francis Henderson (10 November 1931 – 22 June 1997)Ancestry/Find My Past (his birth was registered in the December 1931 quarter) was an English actor. He was known for playing both "tough guy" roles and authority figures, and is remem ...
,
Brett Fancy
Brett Fancy (born 4 January 1964 in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England) is an English film, TV, and theatre actor.
Early life
Born and raised in Portsmouth, he is the son of Brian Fancy, a HMNB Portsmouth dockyard worker, and is the grandson of ...
,
Emily Richard
Emily Richard (born 25 January 1948) is a British actress and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
One of three sisters, Richard was born in London, where she attended drama school in 1966, aged 18, but she was asked to leave afte ...
,
Ann Way
Ann Way (14 November 1915 – 13 March 1993) was an English film and television character actress. Born in Wiveliscombe, Somerset, she began her career in repertory in Birmingham in the 1950s moving from there to the Dundee Rep.
Her petite build ...
,
Carol MacReady
Carol MacReady is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for the role of Mrs Dribelle in Bodger and Badger. Carol is married to actor James Laurenson.
Other television shows she appeared in include:
*''Agatha Christie's Poirot'' - Milly C ...
''
Emily's Ghost (1992) Edwardian drama about a girl who dreams of becoming a doctor, but is unable to pursue her ambitions due to the social constraints of the era. By supernatural means she encounters a girl from the 1990s who is also unhappy, and the two friends swap places. ''Cast includes: Anna Jones,
Rosalind Ayres
Rosalind Ayres (born 7 December 1946) is an English actress, director and producer. Active since 1970, Ayres is well known for her role in the 1997 film ''Titanic'', in which she played Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon. Her husband, Martin Jarvis, playe ...
,
Martin Jarvis, Toby Gregory,
Anna Massey
Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 19373 July 2011) was an English actress. She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel ''Hotel du Lac'', a role that one of her co-stars, Julia McKenzie, h ...
,
Ron Moody
Ron Moody (born Ronald Moodnick; 8 January 1924 – 11 June 2015) was an English actor, composer, singer and writer. He was best known for his portrayal of Fagin in ''Oliver!'' (1968) and its 1983 Broadway revival. Moody earned a Golden Globe ...
,
Patsy Byrne
Patricia Anne Thirza Byrne (13 July 1933 – 17 June 2014) was an English actress, best known for her role as "Nursie" in '' Blackadder II'' as well as Malcolm's domineering Mother, Mrs Stoneway in all seven series of the ITV comedy '' Watchin ...
,
Peter Bayliss
Peter Bayliss (27 June 1922 – 29 July 2002) was an English actor. Bayliss was born in Kingston upon Thames and trained at the Italia Conti Academy and the John Gielgud Company. More than six feet tall, with a voice to match, he supplemente ...
, Lally Percy, Gordon Griffin''
The Higher Mortals
''The Higher Mortals'' is a film produced by the Children's Film Unit in 1993, directed by Colin Finbow and distributed by Channel Four Films. It was filmed in south Suffolk and north Essex, and received its sole TV transmission on Channel 4 o ...
(1993) Crabbe College faces closure when parents start withdrawing their children (and fees) due to the recession. A possible solution is found in the shape of truants and young offenders who, it is hoped, will benefit from the rural surrounds and return to society the better for it. ''Cast includes:
Jemima Rooper
Jemima Rooper (born 24 October 1981) is a British actress. Having started as a child actress in television series, she has appeared in numerous film and theatre roles.
Background
Born in Hammersmith, London, Rooper is the daughter of TV journ ...
, Gordon Griffin,
Susannah York,
Patsy Byrne
Patricia Anne Thirza Byrne (13 July 1933 – 17 June 2014) was an English actress, best known for her role as "Nursie" in '' Blackadder II'' as well as Malcolm's domineering Mother, Mrs Stoneway in all seven series of the ITV comedy '' Watchin ...
, Tat Whalley,
John Altman,
Paula Wilcox
Paula Wilcox (born 13 December 1949) is an English actress. With a career spanning over 50 years, she is best known for her role as Chrissy in the popular ITV sitcom ''Man About The House'' from 1973 to 1976. She has also had roles in TV shows ...
''
Willie's War (1994) 10-year-old Willie is
evacuated from
East London to the posh country house of 13-year-old Zander, where he is forced to endure Zander's snobbery and bullying. His only friends are Zandar's nanny and a young soldier named Blake. When Willie's father unexpectedly turns up in the woods having deserted the army, disaster strikes. ''Cast includes: Lee Turnbull,
Jean Alexander
Jean Margaret Hodgkinson (11 October 1926 – 14 October 2016), known by the stage name Jean Alexander, was a British television actress. She was best known to television viewers for her long running role of Hilda Ogden in the soap opera ''Co ...
, Philip Boddy, Gordon Griffin,
Edward Highmore
Edward Thomas Highmore (born 3 April 1961) is an English actor. He was born in Kingston upon Thames, London.
Life and career
Best known for playing Leo Howard in the 1980s BBC drama ''Howards' Way''. He also appeared in '' Doctor Who'', playing ...
,
Jemima Rooper
Jemima Rooper (born 24 October 1981) is a British actress. Having started as a child actress in television series, she has appeared in numerous film and theatre roles.
Background
Born in Hammersmith, London, Rooper is the daughter of TV journ ...
, Tat Whalley''
Nightshade (1995) A break in the country has sinister repercussions for the Brady Family. ''Cast includes:
Emily Richard
Emily Richard (born 25 January 1948) is a British actress and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
One of three sisters, Richard was born in London, where she attended drama school in 1966, aged 18, but she was asked to leave afte ...
,
Simon Ward
Simon Anthony Fox Ward (16 October 194120 July 2012) was a British stage and film actor. He was known chiefly for his performance as Winston Churchill in the 1972 film ''Young Winston''. He played many other screen roles, including those of Sir ...
, Jarrah Venables''
The Gingerbread House (1996) Two children are left alone in the house of their dead grandfather. ''Cast includes: Danielle Hawley, Danny Barnham, Ian Johnstone, Gordon Griffin,
Brian Sibley, Wendy Jones,
Patsy Byrne
Patricia Anne Thirza Byrne (13 July 1933 – 17 June 2014) was an English actress, best known for her role as "Nursie" in '' Blackadder II'' as well as Malcolm's domineering Mother, Mrs Stoneway in all seven series of the ITV comedy '' Watchin ...
''
Awayday (1997) ''Cast includes: Daniel Cogan, David Comerford, Tom Golding, Shanie Hanley, Rachel Malin''
21st century
The CFU continued to operate for the first decade of the new millennium, but lack of funding prevented them from making any further feature films. On 9 August 2011 the Children's Film Unit was removed from the register of UK charities.
See also
*
Children's Film Foundation
The Children's Film Foundation (CFF) was a non-profit organisation which made films for children in the United Kingdom originally to be shown as part of childrens' Saturday morning matinée cinema programming. The films typically were about 55 ...
References
{{Reflist
Film production companies of the United Kingdom
Mass media companies established in 1981
Mass media companies disestablished in 2011
Television production companies of the United Kingdom
Educational charities based in the United Kingdom
1981 establishments in the United Kingdom
2011 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
British children's entertainment