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Oranges and Sunshine
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Wikipedia article
'Oranges and Sunshine' is a 2010 Australian drama film directed by Jim Loach as his directorial debut. It stars Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham, with a screenplay by Rona Munro, based on the 1994 book 'Empty Cradles' by Margaret Humphreys.
Plot
The film is based on the true story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham who uncovered the scandal of "home children", a scheme of forcibly relocating poor children from the United Kingdom to Australia and Canada.
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. Many were given to the Congregation of Christian Brothers, where they suffered physical and sexual abuse.
Cast
* Emily Watson as Margaret Humphreys
* Hugo Weaving as Jack
* David Wenham as Len
* Richard Dillane as Merv Humphreys
* Tara Morice as Pauline
* Stuart Wolfenden as Bill
* Kate Rutter as Vera
* Lorraine Ashbourne as Nicky
* Federay Holmes as Charlotte
* Helen Grayson as Bureaucrat
* Ruth Rickman as Orphan
* Harvey Scrimshaw as Ben
* Molly Windsor as Rachel
* Neil Pigot as James
* Tammy Wakefield as Susan
* Adam Morgan as the Intruder
* Neil May as the Commuter
* Adam Tedder as the Doctor
* Greg 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, South Australia, in Nottingham, and at Wirksworth in Derbyshire. Some interior scenes were filmed at the University of Leicester, Leicestershire, in Nottingham County Hall and in the porte-cochre of Nottingham railway station. Other locations that appear are a train on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway; Australia House in London and an overview of Nottingham Council House and the Old Market Square.A casting session was held in Nottingham to find one boy and one girl for the roles of Margaret's children.
Reception
Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 71% based on reviews from 68 critics.
Accolades
References
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