Reviews
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THE MURDER OF STEPHEN LAWRENCE
Winner Bafta 2000 Best Single Drama A film by Paul Greengrass starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Hugh Quarshie, a Vanson co-production with Granada for ITV transmitted February 1999. YV - Executive Producer. "Gut wrenching, this drama touches raw nerves, both personal and political. Magnificently restrained, it is a shaming document." Independent Review |
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HOPING FOR A MIRACLE - The Stephen Lawrence Story II
A Vanson Production with Lee-Wright Productions for Channel 4, 1999 “This film exclusively follows the Lawrences through the McPherson judicial inquiry into the police investigations of Stephen’s murder and charts Neville’s transformation from plasterer to unofficial President of Black Britain.” Daily Mail |
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DOOMWATCH
A Vanson Production with Working Title for C5, 1998 A two hour science thriller written by John Howlett and Ian McDonald starring Trevor Eve, directed by Roy Battersby. YV - Executive Producer; Peter Lee Wright - Producer. |
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THE STEPHEN LAWRENCE STORY
A Vanson Production with Lee-Wright Productions for Channel 4, 1997 Winner of the Commission for Racial Equality Best Documentary Race in the media Awards. “This documentary skilfully and sensitively explores the issues behind the Stephen Lawrence case.” Daily Mirror “Intimate, revealing and at times extremely moving.” Time Out |
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COCK O' THE NORTH
Granada Television, 1996
A film about Barrie Rutter's award-winning Northern Broadsides theatre company.
"A funny, fast and furious look at this ground-breaking company which presents classic texts with an authentic northern voice on a shoe-string budget."
The Guardian
Granada Television, 1996
A film about Barrie Rutter's award-winning Northern Broadsides theatre company.
"A funny, fast and furious look at this ground-breaking company which presents classic texts with an authentic northern voice on a shoe-string budget."
The Guardian
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VIOLENCE AND THE CENSORS
Battered Britain, Channel 4, 1995 "In this enthralling documentary, British Board of Film Classification censors explain the thinking behind their work and how they view film violence." Today |
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TAKEN FOR GRANTED
Education Special, BBC 2, 1994 "This film presents a disturbing and timely report into the hardships faced by British students..." Today |
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TOO YOUNG TO CARE
First Sight, BBC 2, 1994
A film which shocks and angers as it peers into a world where children, some as young as four years old, take on adult responsibilities, often unaided, looking after severely disabled parents.
"Another indictment of the topsy-turvy state we're in, where kids become carers and the authorities turn a purblind eye."
The Guardian
First Sight, BBC 2, 1994
A film which shocks and angers as it peers into a world where children, some as young as four years old, take on adult responsibilities, often unaided, looking after severely disabled parents.
"Another indictment of the topsy-turvy state we're in, where kids become carers and the authorities turn a purblind eye."
The Guardian
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BREAKING THE MOLD
The Slate, BBC Wales, 1993 "From first read-through to first night, this enlightening film follows the casts as they develop their characters and polish their performances. Developing alongside the theatrical production is a financial crisis spawned by cutbacks and local government reorganisation which could bring down the curtain on Theatr Clwyd's production company. The Independent |
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MAKING ADVANCES
Winner of RTS Adult Education and Training Award. BBC 1, 1993 Emma Freud presents this award winning five part series, taking a close look at the disturbing effects of sexual harassment in the workplace. "The programme is well-handled and well-intentioned .... an important new series." The Independent |
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HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?
Critical Eye, Channel 4, 1992
"It is an enraging tale of ripped-off chicken packers, underpaid postmen and exploited hotel workers - all too desperate to leave their badly paid employment. If you don't already feel that Britain is a third-world country, this should make up your mind."
Time Out
"It was a stroke of genius to invite Geordie comedian Mike Elliott, rather than some weightier figure, to present the film. The effect was electric."
The Daily Telegraph
Critical Eye, Channel 4, 1992
"It is an enraging tale of ripped-off chicken packers, underpaid postmen and exploited hotel workers - all too desperate to leave their badly paid employment. If you don't already feel that Britain is a third-world country, this should make up your mind."
Time Out
"It was a stroke of genius to invite Geordie comedian Mike Elliott, rather than some weightier figure, to present the film. The effect was electric."
The Daily Telegraph
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SALAAM BUTETOWN
Between Ourselves, BBC Wales, 1992 Somali seamen have crewed Cardiff's ships for decades - but times have changed. The ships have gone and the Somali community faces unemployment and racism. And their homeland is ravaged by war and famine. "Impossible to return, difficult to stay - the dilemma of a race apart is played out powerfully in this film made on the streets of Butetown." Western Mail |
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LAW MATTERS
This Morning, Granada, 1992
"Michael Mansfield QC tackles major issues such as the illegality of nuclear weapons and domestic violence in a series designed to provoke and inform."
Broadcast
This Morning, Granada, 1992
"Michael Mansfield QC tackles major issues such as the illegality of nuclear weapons and domestic violence in a series designed to provoke and inform."
Broadcast
PRESUMED GUILTY
Inside Story, BBC 1, 1991
"Michael Mansfield's attacks on the system are among the most swingeing, powerful and persuasive I have seen on television. In a personal whizz through the iniquities of our criminal justice system, the hero of the legal Left demonstrates every aspect of the English process, from investigation to appeal, dashes off to America and France, and returns with an entire alternative system.... jolly entertaining, provocative stuff it is."
Marcel Berlins, The Guardian
"Superbly presented, this is a disquieting and most valuable programme. PRESUMED GUILTY is television of a high order, well crafted and aimed unerringly to engage both intellect and emotions."
Financial Times
Inside Story, BBC 1, 1991
"Michael Mansfield's attacks on the system are among the most swingeing, powerful and persuasive I have seen on television. In a personal whizz through the iniquities of our criminal justice system, the hero of the legal Left demonstrates every aspect of the English process, from investigation to appeal, dashes off to America and France, and returns with an entire alternative system.... jolly entertaining, provocative stuff it is."
Marcel Berlins, The Guardian
"Superbly presented, this is a disquieting and most valuable programme. PRESUMED GUILTY is television of a high order, well crafted and aimed unerringly to engage both intellect and emotions."
Financial Times
THE BATTLE FOR ORGREAVE - THE SEQUEL
Critical Eye, Channel 4, 1991
In 1984 at Orgreave coking works, police and miners clashed. Labelled 'thugs and bully boys', over 100 miners were charged with riot and faced life imprisonment. Six years later the tables turned and the miners won compensation from the police for malicious prosecution and wrongful imprisonment.
"VANSON WARDLE'S excellent sequel to their documentary ... what becomes very plain here is the cold, contemptuous fury exercised by a government obsessed with destroying one section of the British working class simply because it was unionised. Essential viewing."
City Limits
"The film presents a powerful indictment of police behaviour, while raising wider questions of accountability."
The Times
Critical Eye, Channel 4, 1991
In 1984 at Orgreave coking works, police and miners clashed. Labelled 'thugs and bully boys', over 100 miners were charged with riot and faced life imprisonment. Six years later the tables turned and the miners won compensation from the police for malicious prosecution and wrongful imprisonment.
"VANSON WARDLE'S excellent sequel to their documentary ... what becomes very plain here is the cold, contemptuous fury exercised by a government obsessed with destroying one section of the British working class simply because it was unionised. Essential viewing."
City Limits
"The film presents a powerful indictment of police behaviour, while raising wider questions of accountability."
The Times
BLACK DIAMONDS
Between Ourselves, BBC 2, 1991
"A moving film marking the 25th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster ..."
The Daily Telegraph
"Excellent .... BLACK DIAMONDS lets the people of Aberfan tell the story and express their feelings through artistic works, in various forms, born out of tragedy."
Western Mail
Between Ourselves, BBC 2, 1991
"A moving film marking the 25th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster ..."
The Daily Telegraph
"Excellent .... BLACK DIAMONDS lets the people of Aberfan tell the story and express their feelings through artistic works, in various forms, born out of tragedy."
Western Mail
THE BIRMINGHAM WIVES
Everyman, BBC 1, 1990
Made before the Birmingham Six were cleared of all charges, this is the story of their wives and daughters - the women who wait.
"Through focusing on the effects on the lives of the wives and their 27 children and 35 grandchildren ... this film adds up to a damning indictment of the police who arrested them and beat them, faked the evidence against them, the courts who sent them down - and keep them there."
City Limits
Everyman, BBC 1, 1990
Made before the Birmingham Six were cleared of all charges, this is the story of their wives and daughters - the women who wait.
"Through focusing on the effects on the lives of the wives and their 27 children and 35 grandchildren ... this film adds up to a damning indictment of the police who arrested them and beat them, faked the evidence against them, the courts who sent them down - and keep them there."
City Limits
STITCHING UP THE NHS
Channel 4, 1989
"Amongst the big film, sport and repeats which characterise every TV Bank Holiday, the abrasive Channel 4 documentary, STITCHING UP THE NHS was dropped into the schedules like a boulder into a stagnant pond .... it is the sort of passionate argument which needs to occupy at least some of the time on TV, amid so much blandness elsewhere."
The Yorkshire Post
Channel 4, 1989
"Amongst the big film, sport and repeats which characterise every TV Bank Holiday, the abrasive Channel 4 documentary, STITCHING UP THE NHS was dropped into the schedules like a boulder into a stagnant pond .... it is the sort of passionate argument which needs to occupy at least some of the time on TV, amid so much blandness elsewhere."
The Yorkshire Post
GOING HOME
Open Space, BBC 2, 1989
"A powerful film about one of the world's least-aired scandals, the abuse of human rights in Turkey, current applicant to join the EEC ..."
The Independent
Open Space, BBC 2, 1989
"A powerful film about one of the world's least-aired scandals, the abuse of human rights in Turkey, current applicant to join the EEC ..."
The Independent
THE BCCI CONNECTION
Bandung File, Channel 4, 1989
"The report illustrates most thoroughly the dictum that 'capitalism is not interested in morality, it's interested in money'. BCCI stands accused of laundering fourteen million dollar's worth of profits on Colombian cocaine ... Research and direction are exemplary."
The Independent
Bandung File, Channel 4, 1989
"The report illustrates most thoroughly the dictum that 'capitalism is not interested in morality, it's interested in money'. BCCI stands accused of laundering fourteen million dollar's worth of profits on Colombian cocaine ... Research and direction are exemplary."
The Independent
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KENTUCKY FRIED MEDICINE
Channel 4, 1988 "A commendably intelligent and sceptical series exploring the alleged merits of private health care. Observer |
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"The excellent KENTUCKY FRIED MEDICINE peers behind the rhetoric in the United States and finds a succession of heart-rending, harrowing tales: the dying cancer patient refused treatment unless he stumped up $500; the repo man who removed an essential piece of equipment from a baby who then died. Tony Wardle and Yvette Vanson's finely researched film exposes the realities of commercial medicine .... Essential viewing."
The Independent
The Independent
"Had KENTUCKY FRIED MEDICINE been scheduled for Panorama, there might have been questions in the House, or even a rap over the knuckles ... Claims that the private sector offers more choice, higher quality services and better value for money are ruthlessly demolished."
Sunday Times
Sunday Times
THE BATTLE FOR ORGREAVE
Channel 4, September 1985
"THE BATTLE FOR ORGREAVE allows those miners whose heads were broken, liberties infringed and freedoms threatened to tell their version of what happened. It shows how state power was not used impartially through the strike and how dangerous such a break-down can be."
The Listener
"YVETTE VANSON'S grimly scathing investigation brings complicated political issues back to earth with a bump .... a grainy, punchy, emotionally affecting horror story, one concerned with shrinking freedoms and growing bitterness."
Time Out
Channel 4, September 1985
"THE BATTLE FOR ORGREAVE allows those miners whose heads were broken, liberties infringed and freedoms threatened to tell their version of what happened. It shows how state power was not used impartially through the strike and how dangerous such a break-down can be."
The Listener
"YVETTE VANSON'S grimly scathing investigation brings complicated political issues back to earth with a bump .... a grainy, punchy, emotionally affecting horror story, one concerned with shrinking freedoms and growing bitterness."
Time Out
TAKING LIBERTIES
BBC 2, 1984
"Television has shown such scenes before, but none so explicit or frightening as the material in TAKING LIBERTIES ... and none so damaging to the forces of law and order."
Sunday Times
BBC 2, 1984
"Television has shown such scenes before, but none so explicit or frightening as the material in TAKING LIBERTIES ... and none so damaging to the forces of law and order."
Sunday Times
