Press & Updates
Oranges and Sunshine, set to star the Oscar-nominated Emily Watson, will be based on the true story of Margaret Humphreys, who founded the Child Migrants Trust.
The West Bridgford-based charity reunites children who were forcibly shipped off to distant parts of the Empire during the 1940s and 1950s, some without their parents’ knowledge.
The trust was founded after Notts County Council social worker Ms Humphreys received a letter from a woman in Australia looking to trace her parents, after being sent overseas aged four.
It was then discovered some 130,000 youngsters were sent to work in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and the former Rhodesia to populate the countries with "good white British stock".
Since its launch in 1987, the trust has opened two offices in Australia and now has one in Musters Road.
As well as reuniting families, it also provides counselling, to prepare them for their first meeting in decades.
Mark Gooder, of Icon Films Entertainment, said: "Everyone at Icon has high expectations for this film.
"The script is beautifully executed and the story is utterly compelling because it is true.
"The end result will be a film that will resonate with audiences everywhere."
Shooting is expected to start before the end of the year and some filming is expected to take place in Notts.
Emily Watson, of Angela’s Ashes, Red Dragon and Equilibrium, will star, subject to contract. She is expected to be joined by Hugo Weaving of The Matrix trilogy and The Lord of The Rings trilogy and David Wenham, also of The Lord of The Rings, both subject to contract. A press statement from Australia-based Sixteen Films said: "This film will strengthen and deepen our understanding of the past, and will touch and inspire audiences."
The script was written by Rona Munro and the director is Jim Loach.
