''You've Been Trumped'' is a 2011 documentary by British filmmaker Anthony Baxter. The film documents the construction of a luxury golf course on a beach in Balmedie,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, by developer

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and the subsequent struggles between the locals, Donald Trump, and Scottish legal and governmental authorities.

Production

''You've Been Trumped'' is a documentary film directed by Anthony Baxter and is one hour and 19 minutes long.

Synopsis

The film documents Donald Trump's efforts to build a US$1.5 billion golf-course and resort on a beach that has been declared a site of scientific interest on the East Coast of Scotland. It follows legal battles between

Aberdeenshire Council Aberdeenshire Council is the local authority for Aberdeenshire, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council has been under no overall control since its creation in 1996. It is based at Woodhill House, which is outside its own territory ...

, Trump's lawyers, and the involvement of the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

. The documentary captures the anger of local residents, including local farmer Michael Forbes, and the arrest of the film maker.

Critical reception

ReelScotland reviewed the film, concluding "an emotive film which shows both what can happen when a Government considers money over its own laws and how those at the sharp end remain resilient throughout".

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' gave the film three stars out of four, writing that the most fascinating aspect of the documentary is "Trump's almost joyous rudeness" and that "the underlying message is that if you are rich and powerful enough, you can run roughshod over tradition and private property rights and buy your place at the table."

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

wrote in the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

that the documentary is an "unabashedly hostile portrait" of Trump, depicting him as "an insensitive, lying bully" who tried to pressure the golf course's neighbours into sell their properties to him, including threatening them with compulsory purchase orders.

Bill Forsyth William David Forsyth (born 29 July 1946) is a Scottish film director and writer known for his films '' Gregory's Girl'' (1981), '' Local Hero'' (1983) and '' Comfort and Joy'' (1984) as well as his adaptation of the Marilynne Robinson novel ...

, the director of '' Local Hero'' (from which the film used footage), reacted to the film positively. Forsyth saw the film at the Shetland Film Festival. The documentary and its director won several awards: * The Sheffield Green Award at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival, Sheffield, England, in 2011 * The Audience Award at the Dakino – Bucharest International Film Festival, Romania, in 2011 * The Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary Film at the Denver Film Festival, Denver, Colorado, US, in 2011 * The Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice at the

Hamptons International Film Festival The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October ...

, East Hampton, NY, US, in 2011 * The Directors' Choice Award for Best Environmental Film at the Sedona International Film Festival, Sedona, Arizona, US, in 2012

Legal response

When it was announced that the documentary was to be given its British television premiere on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

on 21 October 2012, Trump's lawyers contacted the corporation to demand that the film should not be shown, claiming that it is "defamatory" and "misleading". The screening went ahead. The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

defended its decision, noting that Trump had repeatedly refused to be interviewed in conjunction with the film.

Sequels

''A Dangerous Game'' (2014)

A follow-up documentary called ''A Dangerous Game'' was released in September 2014. The film continues the story of the locals' struggle against Donald Trump but goes further afield also. It documents Trump's plans to build a luxury golf course in

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, on Mount Srđ overlooking Dubrovnik, against which local residents campaign. The residents win a referendum on the matter but this is ignored by officials.

''You've Been Trumped Too'' (2016)

In October 2016, Baxter announced the release of ''You've Been Trumped Too'', a sequel to the film timed for release before the

2016 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...

. The film focussed on the problems experienced by neighbours of the Trump International Golf Links, including a 92-year-old woman who claimed that she was forced to collect water from a nearby stream in a bucket after construction workers had cut off her supply. In response to the film, lawyers representing Trump International threatened legal action against anybody who screened the film.

References

External links

* * {{Trump media 2011 films 2011 documentary films British documentary films Documentary films about business Documentary films about Donald Trump 2010s English-language films 2010s American films 2010s British films English-language documentary films