'' Tash Force'' is a 2012 Independent British

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

film directed by Michael Booth and starring Mark Woodward and Ian Wiggins with Ranj Nagra, Rebecca-Clare Evans, Clive Bonnelle and John Robb.

Plot

Tash McDermott is Head of Lancashire Constabulary's Football Intelligence Unit, dedicating his career to capturing the elusive

hooligan Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...

ring leader 'Nightmare'. In a nod to long running TV shows such as Police, Camera, Action!, McDermott grants a film-making journalist unrestricted access to cover his on-going case. Tash however, is stuck in the past with his old-fashioned views such as when football was 'a man's game' and when 'women knew their place'.

Development

Whilst working for

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

, Ian Wiggins and Mark Woodward took an interest in film making, producing short films mostly for fun with the original Tash Force being moderately successful online in 2001. In 2009 Ian Wiggins was approached by Safe Cracker Pictures at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

with a distribution deal to remake Tash Force, he re-wrote and produced the film with Michael Booth as

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

Production

''Tash Force'' was shot mostly in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

and took 15 days to shoot. Locations included Station Mews newsagents in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. Because the filmmakers could not secure location clearance from

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

, interior shots of

Ewood Park Ewood Park () is a football stadium in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, and the home of Blackburn Rovers F.C., founding members of the Football League and Premier League, who have played there since 1890. It is an all seater multi-sports facili ...

were filmed at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional football ...

, the home of Blackburn's rivals

Burnley FC Burnley Football Club () is an English association football club based in Burnley, Lancashire, that competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football, following relegation from the 2021–22 Premier League. Founded on 18 M ...

. The film allowed students at the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

School of Sound Recording develop practical skills in audio production. Tutor Dean Covill (MPSE) acted as the

Supervising Sound Editor A sound editor is a creative professional responsible for selecting and assembling sound recordings in preparation for the final sound mixing or mastering of a television program, motion picture, video game, or any production involving recorded ...

on the feature with SSR graduate Kelly Young acting as Sound Editor and Norbert Weiher working as Re-Recording Mixer in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Score

The film's soundtrack is composed by Verbal Vigilante

Release

The premiere was held at King Georges Hall in

on 19 April 2012 and was attended by stars of the film, with Mark Woodward thanking the audience as Tash McDermott. The event raised £700 for terminally ill McCauley Riley, a boy from Blackburn living with

Adrenoleukodystrophy Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is a disease linked to the X chromosome. It is a result of fatty acid buildup caused by peroxisomal fatty acid beta oxidation which results in the accumulation of very long chain fatty acids in tissues throughout the bo ...

(ALD). Another charity to benefit from the Premiere was the Glove Project, the event raised money to fund a well for a village in Cheesay,

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

, as the one they had was contaminated. The

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

and

Video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

release for ''Tash Force'' was on 23 April 2012 and was available in-store at

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

and currently available on various online retailers such as

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

. Special Features on the DVD include * Baddest Bastards – Tash runs through his captured hooligans * Boardroom Extra – Tash and Terry have a boardroom spat * John Robb TV Interview * Tash's Christmas Message 2011 * Tash's webcam * Tash McDermott Hardcore Drinker – a featurette The

BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

rates Tash Force as a 15 certificate citing that the film contains strong language, once very strong, and strong sex references.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, tt1688701, Tash Force 2012 films British independent films 2012 comedy films British comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films