George Orwell

In 1999 I found myself  helping Lecturer Tony Grace and his students at the University of the West of Scotland with their Media Studies. Tony was also an avid Orwell enthusiast and reminded me that in a few years time George Orwell would be 100; so that is why in 2003 I was making a film to celebrate the birth of Eric Arthur Blair(George Orwell) born inMotahari, India. The film ‘Orwell – Against the Tide’ won several international awards and was nominated for a B.A.F.T.A. However, the award I really treasured was given to me at the Bergamo International Film Festival for the ‘Most Original Presentation of a Known Subject.’ The filmsinnovative approach was also recognised at the Australian, ‘Down Under International Film Festival’ where it was awarded ‘Best International Feature Documentary’ The European Union chose it to represent them at the  ‘European Film Festival’ in Chicago and it received a ‘Special Mention’at the Philadelphia Film Festival.

At School Orwell always seemed beyond me, taught in a very boring, unimaginative way, but in later life I discovered he’d also been a freedom fighter, a man of extraordinary courage with a remarkable ability to express himself in the English language. This I found exciting and developed a passion for presenting another side of Orwell with the potential to attractand inform a non-academic audience, whilst at the same timeseveral professors would illuminate his literary prowess. One of those was Noam Chomsky who reminded us ‘…… that the British ran by far the greatest narcotic trafficking enterprise in history. The Colombian cartels don’t even come closer. In fact George Orwell’s father worked for the government department responsible for the sale and quality of Opium tothe Chinese.

The truth is that Orwell’s life was so eventful and so rich in contrasts that no single portrait could do justice to the complexity and controversy of his character. Our intentionwas to look beyond the public persona to uncover the heart, humour and humanity of the man. We planned the film to oscillate between the extraordinary events in Orwell’s life; the lasting impact of the books and essays he wrote, his contemporary relevance and influence on modern writers and political thinkers. We believed that a sensitive and evocative visual approach would convey the compelling drama and tensions of the films memorable story, smuggling through within this depiction, the high quality of thought lying behind his ideas.

‘Orwell: Against the Tide’ is in my book ‘Shaping the Shadows: A  Picture Maker’s Story’ and is available from the ‘National Library of Scotland’ at a Special Student rate of£10. 

http://shop.nls.uk/shaping-the-shadows-2798-p.asp

Also at : www.marklittlewood.org.uk