Dockers (film)

{{short description|1999 British drama television film by Bill Anderson}}

{{Infobox television

| image = Dockers title screenshot.jpg

| caption =

| runtime = 91 minutes{{cite web|title=Dockers Watch Full Episode|url=http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dockers/4od|work=4oD|publisher=Channel 4|access-date=7 March 2011}}

| country = United Kingdom

| language = English

| writer = Jimmy McGovern
Irvine Welsh

| starring = Ken Stott
Crissy Rock
Katy Lamont
Ricky Tomlinson
David Parkinson

| network = Channel 4

| producer = Sally Hibbin

| company = Prism Leisure

| director = Bill Anderson

| released = {{Start date|1999|07|11|df=y}}

}}

Dockers is a 1999 British feature-length television drama produced for Channel 4 about the struggles of a small group of Liverpool dockers who were sacked and subsequently spent nearly 2 and a half years picketing during the Liverpool Dockers' Strike of 1995 to 1998.

Although the credited screenwriters for the drama were Liverpool screenwriter Jimmy McGovern and Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh the drama was largely written by sacked dock workers and previous union members under the supervision of the two screenwriters. This unusual writing method was considered an experiment in 'democratic television' and was documented in a separate channel 4 documentary, Writing the Wrongs.

Plot

Production

=Filming=

When choosing locations for the film, the Transport and General Workers' Union refused to allow filming to take place within their premises, with former dockers being removed from the building at one point when actor Robert Carlyle came to offer support in a scripting session.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/jul/02/fiachragibbons |title=Union leader is traitor in strikers' film |work=The Guardian |date=2 July 1999 |access-date=24 December 2018}}

=Writing=

A group of genuine dockers held regular workshops with the production team.{{cite web|title=Resources for Learning|url=http://www.channel4learning.com/support/programmenotes/netnotes/section/sectionid100663577.htm|work=4Learning|publisher=Channel 4|access-date=15 March 2011}} Once a week for a period of 14 months, sacked dockers met with Jimmy McGovern and Irvine Welsh, who helped towards writing the script.{{cite news |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/what-1995-1998-liverpool-docks-10079401 |title=What was the 1995-1998 Liverpool docks dispute all about? |work=Liverpool Echo |date=20 September 2015 |access-date=24 February 2019}}

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20090209003451/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/623116 Dockers] at the British Film Institute
{{IMDb title|id=0206691|title=Dockers}}

Category:British drama television films

Category:Channel 4 television films

Category:1999 television specials

Category:1999 television films

Category:1999 films

Category:Channel 4 television dramas

Category:1990s English-language films