BFI announce Working Class Heroes: a day exploring working class screen talent

The BFI today announces the line-up for Working Class Heroes, a day of talks, discussions and screenings looking at
the working-class heroes behind and in front of the camera, and asking, how can working-class British film talent
thrive in 2018? This unique live celebration will take place at BFI Southbank on Saturday 14 April, and will welcome
guests including actors Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), Maxine Peake (Funny Cow), Vicky McClure (Line of Duty),
Daniel Mays (Shifty), Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth) and Cathy Tyson (Mona Lisa), actor and writer Johnny Harris
(Jawbone) and director Asif Kapadia (Amy).

The events are open to the public, industry and actors with ticket prices
kept to a minimum, and under 25s able to book sessions from just £3. The day will be a taster for a comprehensive
Working Class Heroes season, at BFI Southbank throughout September 2018, with more details to be announced
soon.

Danny Leigh, BFI Senior Curator of Fiction Film and TV and programmer of Working Class Heroes said:
“Having seen Gary Oldman, Lesley Manville and Daniel Kaluuya all enjoy Oscar recognition this year, it seems the
perfect moment to celebrate working class screen talent. And it is – but for complicated reasons. Despite the stellar
success of a handful of role models, are working class actors in the Britain of 2018 in crisis? Established stars talk of
being typecast and shut out of high-profile projects – and for the next generation, austerity has left young lowincome
actors struggling even to train. Britain needs to talk about class and film.

And actors are only part of the story. Money and connections shouldn’t be the making of a writer or director – or a
producer or executive. So Working Class Heroes on April 14 will be a celebration and a roadmap to the future – but
we have to ask some tough questions first.”

The day will kick off with Maxine Peake in conversation with BFI programmer and curator Danny Leigh, during which
Peake will discuss her extensive career, from roles in Dinnerladies and Shameless to her latest film Funny Cow
(Adrian Shergold, 2017) which will preview at BFI Southbank the previous evening. The Acting Class Live will be a live
onstage event featuring interviews with Lesley Manville, recently Oscar-nominated for her role in Phantom Thread,
and Naomi Ackie, winner of BIFA’s Most Promising Newcomer award in 2017. In How to Make It award-winning
actors and filmmakers will reveal how to get stories told as a working class talent in the film industry.

Panellists will include actor Johnny Harris (also writer of the BAFTA nominated Jawbone) and Line of Duty’s Vicky McClure, who is
currently launching her own production company, alongside the Oscar-winning director of Amy Asif Kapadia.