''Oranges and Sunshine'' is a 2010 Australian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Jim Loach James Loach (born 6 June 1969) is a British film director. Early life Jim Loach was born in London to Ken Loach and Lesley Ashton in June 1969, one of five children. He studied philosophy at University College London. Career Loach intended t ...

as his

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many film makers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

. It stars

Emily Watson Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English 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 Wa ...

Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving (born 4 April 1960) is an English actor. Born in Colonial Nigeria to English parents, he has resided in Australia for the entirety of his career. He is the recipient of six Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts ...

and

David Wenham David Wenham (born 21 September 1965) is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Friar Carl in '' Van Helsing'', Dilios in '' 300'' ...

, with a screenplay by

Rona Munro Rona Munro (born 7 September 1959) is a Scottish writer. She has written plays for theatre, radio, and television. Her film work includes Ken Loach's '' Ladybird, Ladybird'' (1994), ''Oranges and Sunshine'' (2010) for Jim Loach and ''Aimée & J ...

, based on the 1994 book ''Empty Cradles'' by

Margaret Humphreys Margaret Humphreys, (born 1944) 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 19 ...

Plot

The film is based on the true story of

, a social worker from

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

who uncovered the scandal of " home children", a scheme of forcibly relocating poor children from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to Australia and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Margaret reunites estranged families, who are situated in Australia and the UK, and brings worldwide attention to the cause. Deported children were promised "oranges and sunshine" but they got hard labour and life in institutions such as Keaney College in Bindoon,

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Many were given to the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened i ...

, where they suffered physical and sexual abuse.

Cast

as Jack *

as Len *

Richard Dillane Richard Dillane (born 1964) is a British actor. He appears in a lead role of the Netflix series ''Young Wallander'', based on the character Kurt Wallander created by novelist Henning Mankell. He played British intelligence agent Peter Nicholls i ...

as Merv Humphreys *

Tara Morice Tara Morice (born 23 June 1964) is an Australian actress. Background Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Morice also lived in Sydney, Alice Springs and Adelaide as a child. She is a fifth-generation Australian and is of English, Irish, Scottish, Latvia ...

as Pauline * Stuart Wolfenden as Bill *

Kate Rutter Kate Rutter is an English actress, best known for '' I, Daniel Blake'', ''Peterloo'' and ''River City''. Filmography Personal life Kate Rutter was born and raised in Leeds, Yorkshire, she trained as an actress at Rose Bruford College in ...

as Vera *

Lorraine Ashbourne Lorraine Ashbourne (born 10 April 1961) is an English actress. Career Ashbourne has appeared on British series and television films, including: '' The Street'', ''True Dare Kiss'', '' Thin Ice'', ''In a Land of Plenty'', ''Boon'', '' Playing th ...

as Nicky * Federay Holmes as Charlotte * Helen Grayson as Bureaucrat * Ruth Rickman as Orphan * Harvey Scrimshaw as Ben *

Molly Windsor Molly Windsor (born 19 June 1997) is an English actress. Her breakthrough role was in the 2009 Channel 4 television film ''The Unloved'', and has appeared in ''Oranges and Sunshine'' (2010), and '' The Runaways'' (2019). She is best known for her ...

as Rachel *

Neil Pigot Neil Pigot (born 28 December 1961) is an Australian actor who is perhaps best known in Australia for his role as Inspector Falcon Price in the highly successful television series ''Blue Heelers''. Pigot has appeared in over 100 episodes of televi ...

as James * Tammy Wakefield as Susan * Adam Morgan as the Intruder * Neil May as the Commuter * Adam Tedder as the Doctor *

Greg Stone Gregory "Greg" Jonathon Stone (born 23 June 1961 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian actor who has appeared in films, television and on stage. Early life Stone was born in Perth, Western Australia to parents Roy and Jennifer Stone ...

as Bob * Aisling Loftus as Susie * Geoff Morrell as Walter * Chandran Owen as Pointing man in the street

Production

Filming

Filming took place in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, in Nottingham, and at

Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mar ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. Some interior scenes were filmed at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...

, Leicestershire, in Nottingham County Hall and in the

porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; , late 17th century, literally 'coach gateway'; plural: porte-cochères, portes-cochères) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like ...

Nottingham railway station Nottingham station, briefly known as Nottingham City and for rather longer as Nottingham Midland, is a railway station and tram stop in the city of Nottingham. It is the principal railway station of Nottingham. It is also a nodal point on the ...

. Other locations that appear are a train on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway;

Australia House The High Commission of Australia in London is the diplomatic mission of Australia in the United Kingdom. It is located in Australia House, a Grade II listed building. It was Australia's first diplomatic mission and is the longest continuously ...

in London and an overview of

Nottingham Council House Nottingham Council House is the city hall of Nottingham, England. The high dome that rises above the city is the centrepiece of the skyline and presides over the Old Market Square which is also referred to as the "City Centre". It is a Grade ...

and the

Old Market Square The Old Market Square (Slab Square) is an open, pedestrianised city square in Nottingham, England, forming the heart of the city, and covering an area of approximately , or about 3 acres. It is one of the largest paved squares in the United K ...

. A casting session was held in Nottingham to find one boy and one girl for the roles of Margaret's children.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gives the film a score of 71% based on reviews from 68 critics.

Accolades

References

External links

* *
Sixteen Films

orangesandsunshine.com.au

Child Migrants Trust
Official website for reuniting children {{DEFAULTSORT:Oranges And Sunshine 2010 films 2010 drama films 2010s English-language films Australian drama films British drama films Drama films based on actual events Films about forced migration Films about post-traumatic stress disorder Films set in the 1980s 2010s British films