63-563: Mark Herman (born 1954) is a British film director and screenwriter, best known for writing and directing the 1996 film Brassed Off and the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas . Film critic Paul Wells offers this assessment of Herman's work in the 2019 book Directors in British and Irish Cinema : "Herman has attracted little critical attention but his preoccupation with the underdog and personal and social injustice makes him
126-552: A bet, whistles along with his hands in his pockets. After they finish, they all switch off their lamps. Whilst the band is playing in the National Semi-Finals, the outcome of the ballot is announced as 4-to-1 in favour of redundancy, as Andy had predicted. After Gloria sets up a bank account to fund travel to the National Finals, the band is brought back together to compete. Andy wins his tenor horn back in
189-477: A childhood romance with Andy Barrow, which soon leads to complications. Andy is bitter about the programme of pit closures and determined to fight on, but is also realistic about the circumstances and predicts a 4-to-1 majority for closure and redundancy. When Andy realises Gloria is working for management, he accuses her of naïvety for thinking the Coal Board is even considering the pit's future and argues that
252-585: A failed relationship. Reviews were mixed, with Mark Adams in The Hollywood Reporter writing that “somehow it can't make the leap from an enjoyable light film to a movie to remember,” while Neil Smith on the BBC called it “a date movie that's well worth making a date with.” His most recent work is the Holocaust drama The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas , which Herman adapted from the 2006 novel of
315-475: A film that was richer.” Herman’s 2003 film Hope Springs was his first film since his debut to be made for a major Hollywood studio ( Touchstone Pictures ). Herman adapted the screenplay from the novel New Cardiff by Charles Webb , author of The Graduate . The film starred Colin Firth , Heather Graham , and Minnie Driver , in a story about a British artist who relocates to small-town Vermont to get over
378-514: A film whose familiar outlines are filled in with genuine and surprisingly palpable emotion." The film was one of Film Four Distributors first major releases and opened on 203 screens in the UK with a gross of £466,058 in its opening weekend, finishing third at the UK box office behind Dragonheart and The Nutty Professor . It went on to gross £2,128,437 in the UK. The film's reputation has grown considerably since its initial release. Brassed Off
441-523: A game of pool. The band forgives Gloria when she gives them her earnings from compiling the report (rejecting it because it's "dirty money") and travels to the final at the Royal Albert Hall in London ( Birmingham Town Hall was used to film these scenes), where they are amused by the inability of the woman on the dressing room's PA system to pronounce 'colliery'. Before departing, Phil leaves
504-428: A harvest festival in a church. He refers to himself as "Coco the scab "—a name he was called by a debt collector whom he had asked to wait until the redundancy money came through. Eventually, Phil tries to hang himself but is taken to the hospital. Phil reveals to Danny that in light of the colliery's closure, the band has decided not to continue playing. When band member Jim realises Gloria is working for management, he
567-401: A losing battle to keep the rest of the band committed. His son Phil is badly in debt and becomes a clown for children's parties, but this fails to prevent his wife and children leaving him. In debt, Phil votes for the redundancy money, which he becomes ashamed of. As Danny collapses in the street and is hospitalised, Phil suffers a mental breakdown while entertaining a group of children as part of
630-473: A monologue performed by the main character Danny (Pete Postlethwaite) is used in the opening of the song " Tubthumping ", on the 1997 Chumbawamba album Tubthumper : "Truth is, I thought it mattered; I thought that music mattered. But does it bollocks! Not compared to how people matter". British Film Institute The British Film Institute ( BFI ) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in
693-598: A note for Danny saying they are going to the finals. Danny arrives just in time to see the band win the competition with a stirring rendition of the William Tell Overture finale, during which Phil notices his wife and children in the audience. Danny refuses to accept the trophy; he states that only human beings matter and not music or the trophy. He continues, "This bloody government has systematically destroyed an entire industry. Our industry. And not just our industry—our communities, our homes, our lives. All in
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#1732790664135756-623: A number of television series featuring footage from the BFI National Archive, in partnership with the BBC , including The Lost World of Mitchell & Kenyon , The Lost World of Friese-Greene and The Lost World of Tibet . The BFI has also produced contemporary artists' moving image work, most notably through the programme of the BFI Gallery , which was located at BFI Southbank from March 2007 to March 2011. The programme of
819-543: A pertinent commentator on the decline of the English working class and its strategies for survival." Herman was born in Bridlington , East Riding of Yorkshire , England . His father worked as a bacon importer. He was educated at Woodleigh School, North Yorkshire and thereafter at Sedbergh School and Bridlington Grammar School , Bridlington. He worked for his father's bacon importing business until his mid-20s. He
882-441: A pit immediately with compulsory redundancies or taking a pit to a review procedure to determine whether the pit should be privatised. Although miners had a tradition of fighting for their jobs, the risk of losing the redundancy money on offer by going forwards to privatisation swung the votes in most ballots to be in favour of pit closure and redundancy. The loss of hope, pride and fighting spirit in previously proud mining communities
945-488: A record of contemporary life and manners, to promote education about film, television and the moving image generally, and their impact on society, to promote access to and appreciation of the widest possible range of British and world cinema and to establish, care for and develop collections reflecting the moving image history and heritage of the United Kingdom. The BFI maintains the world's largest film archive ,
1008-516: A sorrowful event in history that should never be forgotten or used for entertainment.” Herman reflected in 2024 that “the challenge there was to tell a story that might pull kids in to want to learn more about the Holocaust. But by making the story accessible to kids, about kids, it had to be unrealistic, a fable even, and therefore upset quite a lot of people. But I didn’t mind how many people it upset, if it encouraged one single kid to learn more, it
1071-540: A streaming service called BFI Player. This streaming service offers a variety of niche and art films. The institute was founded in 1933. Despite its foundation resulting from a recommendation in a report on Film in National Life , at that time the institute was a private company, though it has received public money throughout its history. This came from the Privy Council and Treasury until 1965, and from
1134-650: A witty mistaken-identity plot and done an able job of keeping it in motion.” Next, Herman wrote and directed the critically acclaimed Brassed Off (1996), following the members of a colliery brass band , still struggling to survive a decade after the miners' strike . The film won the Peter Sellers Award for Comedy at the Evening Standard British Film Awards in 1997, as well as the Best Screenplay award from
1197-754: Is Jay Hunt , a television executive, who took up the post in February 2024. Governors, including the Chair, are appointed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport . The BFI operates with three sources of income. The largest is public money allocated by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport . For the year 2021–22, the BFI received £74.31m from the DCMS as Grant-in-Aid funding. The second largest source
1260-600: Is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite , Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor . The film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band , following the closure of their pit . The soundtrack for the film was provided by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band , and the plot is based on Grimethorpe 's own struggles against pit closures. It has been generally very positively received for its role in promoting brass bands and their music. Parts of
1323-425: Is also the distributor for all Lottery funds for film (in 2011–12 this amounted to c.£25m). As well as its work on film, the BFI also devotes a large amount of its time to the preservation and study of British television programming and its history. In 2000, it published a high-profile list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes , as voted for by a range of industry figures. The delayed redevelopment of
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#17327906641351386-599: Is being supported by the Department for Education in England who have committed £1m per annum funding from April 2012 and 31 March 2015. It is also funded through the National Lottery , Creative Scotland and Northern Ireland Screen . On 29 November 2016, the BFI announced that over 100,000 television programmes are to be digitised before the video tapes, which currently have an estimated five-to-six-year shelf life, become unusable. The BFI aims to make sure that
1449-469: Is commercial activity such as receipts from ticket sales at BFI Southbank or the BFI London IMAX theatre (£5m in 2007), sales of DVDs, etc. Thirdly, grants and sponsorship of around £5m are obtained from various sources, including National Lottery funding grants, private sponsors and through donations ( J. Paul Getty, Jr. , who died in 2003, left the BFI a legacy of around £1m in his will). The BFI
1512-682: Is ranked 85th on the BFI list of Top 100 British Films A reevaluation in 2018 concluded, "Like Danny’s speech at the Royal Albert Hall, the film is honest, poignant and powerful. Twenty years on, its message is still all too relevant. And the music is bloody great, by the way." The film score for Brassed Off includes a large number of pieces from the brass band repertoire, played by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band conducted by John Anderson, alongside an original score composed by Trevor Jones . Shipments figures based on certification alone. Paul Allen adapted Mark Herman's screenplay for
1575-478: Is the story of two teenage boys trying to get together enough money for a couple of Newcastle United F.C. season tickets. Herman cast two unknown boys in the lead roles, and their performances were praised by critics, while the film was largely ignored. As Michael Thomson wrote in his BBC review, “Indeed Chris Beattie and Greg McLane, both newcomers, are wonderfully unforced and amusing as the two lads, but they would have benefited from characters which were fuller in
1638-422: Is unimpressed with Andy's relationship with her. In a pub conversation, the other miners are not particularly concerned and feel Jim is being too harsh. When Andy says he should be old enough to make his own decisions, Jim responds with, "Old enough to be a scab, then?" The pub falls silent, as the word was an extremely serious insult in a mining community and implies treachery to the working class. Jim then withdraws
1701-491: The BFI National Archive , previously called National Film Library (1935–1955), National Film Archive (1955–1992), and National Film and Television Archive (1993–2006). The archive contains more than 50,000 fiction films, over 100,000 non-fiction titles, and around 625,000 television programmes. The majority of the collection is British material but it also features internationally significant holdings from around
1764-536: The UK Film Council persuaded the government that there should only be one main public-funded body for film, and that body should be the UKFC, while the BFI should be abolished. In 2010, the government announced that there would be a single body for film. Despite intensive lobbying (including, controversially, using public funding to pay public relations agencies to put its case forward), the UKFC failed to persuade
1827-728: The Writers Guild of Great Britain ; it also won the César for Best Foreign Film in 1998. It has become a classic, ranked at #85 in the British Film Institute ’s 1999 list of 100 best British films of the 20th century. A stage adaptation by Paul Allen was first performed in Sheffield in 1998, and has been revived frequently since then. In Little Voice (1998), adapted by Herman from Jim Cartwright 's play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice , Jane Horrocks reprises
1890-434: The 1984–85 strike. Gloria Mullins has been sent to her home town of Grimley to determine the profitability of the pit for the management of British Coal . She also plays the flugelhorn , and is allowed to play with the local brass band after playing Concierto de Aranjuez , affectionately known as “Orange Juice” by the characters, with them. The band is made up of miners from whom she must conceal her purpose. She renews
1953-548: The BFI provided funding for new and experimental film-makers via the BFI Production Board . The institute received a royal charter in 1983. This was updated in 2000, and in the same year the newly established UK Film Council took responsibility for providing the BFI's annual grant-in-aid (government subsidy). As an independent registered charity, the BFI is regulated by the Charity Commission and
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2016-467: The BFI stated that it would be re-sited. This did not happen, and MOMI's closure became permanent in 2002 when it was decided to redevelop the South Bank site. This redevelopment was itself then further delayed. The BFI is currently managed on a day-to-day basis by its chief executive, Ben Roberts. Supreme decision-making authority rests with a chair and a board of up to 15 governors. The current chair
2079-523: The Hull City players themselves, released the song "The Tigers are Back." It was made to raise funds to help pay the players wages, as the effects of Hull City's previous seasons money struggles were still visible. Herman reworded the song "Out of Luck" by Priestman's previous band Yachts , to get the lyrics. The record sleeves and records themselves contained the made up record label logo "Don Records" in tribute to Hull City's then chairman Don Robinson, and
2142-565: The National Film Theatre finally took place in 2007, creating in the rebranded "BFI Southbank" new education spaces, a contemporary art gallery dedicated to the moving image (the BFI Gallery ), and a pioneering mediatheque which for the first time enabled the public to gain access, free of charge, to some of the otherwise inaccessible treasures in the National Film & Television Archive. The mediatheque has proved to be
2205-675: The Privy Council. In 1988, the BFI opened the London Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) on the South Bank . MOMI was acclaimed internationally and set new standards for education through entertainment, but it did not receive the high levels of continuing investment that might have enabled it to keep pace with technological developments and ever-rising audience expectations. The museum was "temporarily" closed in 1999 when
2268-470: The Studio) shows films from all over the world, particularly critically acclaimed historical and specialised films that may not otherwise get a cinema showing. The BFI also distributes archival and cultural cinema to other venues – each year to more than 800 venues all across the UK, as well as to a substantial number of overseas venues. The BFI offers a range of education initiatives, in particular to support
2331-516: The United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, distribution, and education. It is sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport , and partially funded under the British Film Institute Act 1949 . The BFI was established in 1933 to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, to promote their use as
2394-545: The course, however he wasn't accepted into any of them, so had no choice but to pick film . It was there in the film part of his graphic design degree, that he started doing animation. He then progressed to the National Film and Television School . At NFTS he recognised the superior talents of people like his neighbouring classmate Nick Park , and other classmates like Tony Collingwood , so decided to move away from animation and towards live-action instead. Nick Park
2457-405: The decision to close would have been made years earlier. It is later revealed, during a confrontation between Gloria and colliery management, that the decision was made two years prior and was to have proceeded regardless of her findings. The report was simply a PR exercise to placate the miners and sympathetic members of the public. The passionate band conductor Danny Ormondroyd finds he's fighting
2520-602: The film make reference to the huge increase in suicides that resulted from the end of the coal industry in Britain, and the struggle to retain hope in the circumstances. In the United States, the film was promoted simply as a romantic comedy involving McGregor and Fitzgerald's characters. The film is set ten years after the year-long strike in 1984–85 by the National Union of Mineworkers in Britain . Before
2583-655: The gallery resulted in several new commissions by leading artists, including projects which engaged directly with the BFI National Archive, among which are Patrick Keiller 's 'The City of the Future', Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard 's 'RadioMania: An Abandoned Work' and Deimantas Narkevicious' 'Into the Unknown'. The Gallery also initiated projects by film-makers such as Michael Snow , Apichatpong Weerasethakul , Jane and Louise Wilson and John Akomfrah . The BFI also operates
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2646-419: The government that it should have that role and, instead, the BFI took over most of the UKFC's functions and funding from 1 April 2011, with the UKFC being subsequently abolished. Since then, the BFI has been responsible for all Lottery funding for film—originally in excess of £25m p.a., and currently in excess of £40m p.a. The BFI Film Academy forms part of the BFI's overall 5–19 Education Scheme. The programme
2709-430: The insult and says that Andy is just "stupid". Later, Jim asks Gloria to leave the band and mocks her attempts to fund the band's trip to the National Finals. Intending it to be their last performance, the band, in full uniform and wearing their miners' helmets and lamps, plays Danny Boy (the famous Percy Grainger arrangement of Londonderry Air ) late at night outside the hospital. Andy, having lost his tenor horn in
2772-502: The lyrics for it, however the lyrics didn't fit the song, so they were scrapped. However they tweaked the lyrics, which were eventually used for "Ideal World" instead. On 1 January 2008, midway through Hull City's Premier League promotion season, "Amber & Black" released the song "The City's on Fire" on Myspace . It was their first Hull City song since 1983. It was later re-released just before 2014 FA Cup final between Hull City and Arsenal F.C. Brassed Off Brassed Off
2835-610: The made up issue number "COL001" in tribute to their then manager Colin Appleton . In June 1983, Herman filmed Hull City's end-of-season tour of Florida, where the players and staff visited Walt Disney World , and played the Tampa Bay Rowdies who were managed by Rodney Marsh , in the return leg of the Arrow Air Anglo-American Cup . It was directed and edited by Herman, with Priestman composing
2898-725: The mid-1990s, which is a thin veil for Grimethorpe , a mining village in South Yorkshire which had been named as the poorest village in Britain in 1994 by the European Union . The nearby areas of the Dearne Valley and the Hemsworth area were also identified as in need of serious aid. The hospital scene, with Pete Postlethwaite in bed, was filmed at Doncaster College , not a hospital. The festival scene in Delph
2961-587: The monthly Sight & Sound magazine, as well as films on Blu-ray , DVD and books. It runs the BFI National Library (a reference library), and maintains the BFI Film & TV Database and Summary of Information on Film and Television (SIFT), which are databases of credits, synopses and other information about film and television productions. SIFT has a collection of about 7 million still frames from film and television. The BFI has co-produced
3024-595: The most successful element of this redevelopment, and there are plans to roll out a network of them across the UK. An announcement of a £25 million capital investment in the Strategy for UK Screen Heritage was made by Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport at the opening night of the 2007 London Film Festival. The bulk of this money paid for long overdue development of the BFI National Archive facilities in Hertfordshire and Warwickshire. During 2009,
3087-473: The music. Herman released the documentary online in 2016 with the title A Kick in the Grass . Herman co-wrote lyrics for the songs "Ideal World," "Hooverville," and "Sad Songs" for Henry Priestman 's band The Christians on their first album, The Christians (1987), alongside Priestman himself. Priestman had done a football themed song for Herman's film See You at Wembley, Frankie Walsh , and Herman had done
3150-405: The name of 'progress'. And for a few lousy bob." However, following this gesture, Jim takes the trophy anyway. The band celebrates their victory as Andy and Gloria kiss on the upper deck of an open-topped bus travelling through London, while Danny leads the band in the trio from Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 , better known as Land of Hope and Glory . The film is set in "Grimley" in
3213-441: The privatisation of British Coal , a wave of pit closures took place. Depleted of resources and in debt following the labour militancy of 1984–85, the miners were unable to continue a resistance against the policies of the government. Many had been in debt ever since the long strike, and were prepared to take redundancy money whilst it was on offer. The National Coal Board (NCB) arranged private ballots to determine between closing
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#17327906641353276-593: The same name by John Boyne . It was produced by David Heyman , and starred Asa Butterfield , David Thewlis , Vera Farmiga , Sheila Hancock , and Rupert Friend . The film divided critics strongly, with Ty Burr in The Boston Globe writing, “Because its gaze is so level and so unyielding, it stands as one of the better dramatic films made on this subject,” while John Anderson in The Washington Post called it “yet another attempt to revisit
3339-694: The stage, the production premiering at the Crucible Theatre Sheffield on 17 March 1998, with music performed by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band . The play transferred to the Royal National Theatre in June before embarking on a UK tour. In 2014 a new UK tour was mounted by the Touring Consortium Theatre Company, coinciding with the thirtieth anniversary of the miners' strike . A sample of
3402-558: The teaching of film and media studies in schools. In late 2012, the BFI received money from the Department for Education to create the BFI Film Academy Network for young people aged between 16 and 25. A residential scheme is held at the NFTS every year. The BFI runs the annual London Film Festival along with BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival and the youth-orientated Future Film Festival . The BFI publishes
3465-576: The title role of a harried young woman whose only escape lies in the memory of her father and in imitating the singers he admired. The film also starred Michael Caine , Brenda Blethyn (who was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress ), Jim Broadbent , and Ewan McGregor . Derek Elley in Variety called Little Voice “a small picture with a big heart” and cited Herman’s “smooth direction.” Purely Belter (2000), adapted by Herman from Jonathan Tulloch 's novel The Season Ticket ,
3528-703: The various culture departments since then. The institute was restructured following the Radcliffe Report of 1948, which recommended that it should concentrate on developing the appreciation of filmic art, rather than creating film itself. Thus control of educational film production passed to the National Committee for Visual Aids in Education and the British Film Academy assumed control for promoting production. From 1952 to 2000,
3591-791: The world. The Archive also collects films which feature key British actors and the work of British directors. The BFI runs the BFI Southbank (formerly the National Film Theatre (NFT)) and the BFI IMAX cinema, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London. The IMAX has the largest cinema screen in the UK and shows popular recent releases and short films showcasing its technology, which includes IMAX 70mm screenings, IMAX 3D screenings and 11,600 watts of digital surround sound. BFI Southbank (the National Film Theatre screens and
3654-628: Was Blame It on the Bellboy (1992), made for the Hollywood Pictures unit of Disney , a comedy of mistaken identity starring Dudley Moore , Bryan Brown , Patsy Kensit , Richard Griffiths , and Bronson Pinchot . It failed at the box office, and with most critics. However, Janet Maslin in the New York Times called it “effervescent fun. Mark Herman, a film school graduate who both wrote and directed this comedy, has concocted
3717-529: Was filmed on Monday 23 October 1995. The soundtrack for the film was recorded by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band , the story roughly reflects Grimethorpe Colliery Band's history, and the film was largely shot in Grimethorpe. Brassed Off received an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critics consensus reads: " Brassed Off combines inspiring drama with populist socioeconomics to create
3780-523: Was late entering the film industry, first studying art at the Regional College of Art and Design in Kingston upon Hull aged 25, then going on to study graphic design at Leeds Polytechnic for 3 years. At the end of the first year he had to choose between illustration, printmaking, graphics or film for the final 2 years. He applied to the illustration , printmaking , and graphics parts of
3843-706: Was making A Grand Day Out at the time. Herman made his live-action directorial debut with his NFTS graduation film, See You At Wembley, Frankie Walsh (1986) , which he also wrote. It won the Foreign Student Film award at the Student Film Awards . He spent the next few years writing for the BBC , and for the ITV series The 10%ers . In 1989, he made a short film, Unusual Ground Floor Conversion , which played in cinemas before Mel Smith ’s The Tall Guy . Herman’s first feature-length project
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#17327906641353906-427: Was the basis for the idea of being "brassed off", an expression used in the North of England meaning "angry". Beginning in early 1993, groups of miners' wives camped outside some pits' gates and outside the Department of Trade and Industry in London. This is referred to in the film. It contrasts with the muted response from the mineworkers, some of whom sang Shut the pit! to the tune of the song Here We Go! from
3969-435: Was worth it.” Herman is a fellow of Film and Television Production at York St John University , York , England, and has received Honorary Doctorates from the University of Hull and Leeds Beckett University . Herman was a schoolfriend of musician Henry Priestman , who like Herman is a Hull City A.F.C. fan. In February 1983 Priestman as "Harry Amber" and Herman as "Mark Black," together as "Amber and Black," along with
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