My beautiful laundrette

Film enthusiasts are to be offered a rare insight into the making and impact of a classic British film in a new programme of the BBC/Open University series Cast and Crew.

Following on from 2002’s successful pilot programmes Kirsty Wark brings together members of the original cast and crew from My Beautiful Laundrette, a classic film from the 1980s.

Cast and Crew examines the trends in British film-making at the time, looking at the relationship between cinema and society, as well as highlighting the art and craft behind each film-makers vision.

Cast and Crew: My Beautiful Laundrette screens this Tuesday 13^th January at 9pm on BBC 4, beginning with a brief introduction from Kirsty Wark, the screening of the film followed by  the discussion with cast and crew (which begins at approx 10.35).

My Beautiful Laundrette is a low budget 1985 British production based on a play by Hanif Kureishi which showcases superb performances from generally unknown young leads and is buoyed by an offbeat sense of humour.

On Tuesday night, Kirsty Wark will be joined by:

Producer Tim Bevan who is one of the most powerful London based producers in history. No one in the British film industry has an international hit-making track record that comes close. As co-founder and co-chairman of Working Title films Bevan has to his credit over forty of the most critically and commercially acclaimed releases of the last two decades, with 4 Oscars and 21 Academy nominations.

Screenwriter Hanif Kureishi an internationally renowned playwright, novelist and essayist. He won the George Devine Award in 1981 for his play Outskirts and in 1982 was appointed Writer in Residence at the Royal Court. He received an Oscar nomination for My Beautiful Laundrette, and two more films followed, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid and London Kills Me (which he also directed).

Cinematographer Oliver Stapleton who came to cinematography from a career in stills photography. He began by shooting music videos and won an MTV Video Award for Best Cinematography for the AHA video Take On Me. Following the success of My Beautiful Laundrette he has continued to work with Stephen Frears on such hits as The Grifters, The Snapper, The Van and Hi Lo Country. He has also collaborated with many other international directors such as Lasse Hallström on both The Shipping News and An Unfinished Life and Gregor Jordan on Buffalo Soldiers and Ned Kelly

Actor Gordon Warnecke a television and film actor appearing in films such as London Kills and The Pleasure Principle and classic television dramas such as The Bill and Brookside.

These cast and crew will provide viewers with an up, close and personal insight into the creative genius of a film that continues to delight audiences across the UK and the globe.

Cast and Crew films are also studied in Open University undergraduate and masters’ courses. For more information see www3.open.ac.uk/courses and search under film studies.