You've Been Trumped
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox film
| name = You've Been Trumped
| image = You've Been Trumped poster.jpg
| caption = Film poster
| director = Anthony Baxter
| producer = Richard Phinney
| starring = {{unbulleted list|Donald Trump|Michael Forbes}}
| released = {{Film date|2011|5|3|Hot Docs Canadian International
Documentary Festival|2012|10|21|United Kingdom|df=y}}
| country = United Kingdom
| runtime = 95 minutes
| language = English
| gross = £18,191{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=youvebeentrumped.htm|title=You've Been Trumped (2012) – Box Office Mojo}}
}}
You've Been Trumped is a 2011 documentary by British filmmaker Anthony Baxter. The film documents the construction of a luxury golf course on a beach in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by developer Donald Trump and the subsequent struggles between the locals, Donald Trump, and Scottish legal and governmental authorities.
Production
Synopsis
The film documents Donald Trump's efforts to build a US$1.5 billion golf-course and resort on a beach that has been declared a site of scientific interest on the East Coast of Scotland. It follows legal battles between Aberdeenshire Council, Trump's lawyers, and the involvement of the Scottish Government. The documentary captures the anger of local residents, including local farmer Michael Forbes, and the arrest of the film maker.
Critical reception
File:Director Anthony Baxter at 2013 MIFF.jpg premiere of the film]]
ReelScotland reviewed the film, concluding "an emotive film which shows both what can happen when a Government considers money over its own laws and how those at the sharp end remain resilient throughout".{{cite web | url=http://www.reelscotland.com/film-review-youve-been-trumped/ | title=Film Review: You've Been Trumped | publisher=Reel Scotland | author=Jonathan Melville | date=17 October 2012 | access-date=11 November 2012 | archive-date=18 May 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518081319/http://www.reelscotland.com/film-review-youve-been-trumped/ | url-status=dead }} Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, writing that the most fascinating aspect of the documentary is "Trump's almost joyous rudeness" and that "the underlying message is that if you are rich and powerful enough, you can run roughshod over tradition and private property rights and buy your place at the table."{{cite web|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/youve-been-trumped-2012 |title=You've Been Trumped Movie Review (2012)|website= Chicago Sun-Times|author= Roger Ebert|date= 17 October 2012|access-date= 27 March 2016}} Stephen Holden wrote in the New York Times that the documentary is an "unabashedly hostile portrait" of Trump, depicting him as "an insensitive, lying bully" who tried to pressure the golf course's neighbours into sell their properties to him, including threatening them with compulsory purchase orders.{{Cite web|last=Holden|first=Stephen|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/03/movies/youve-been-trumped-an-unflattering-documentary.html |title=The Billionaire Versus the Little Guy|website=The New York Times|date=August 1, 2012|access-date=June 3, 2018}}
Bill Forsyth, the director of Local Hero (from which the film used footage), reacted to the film positively. Forsyth saw the film at the Shetland Film Festival.{{cite news|last=Forsyth|first=Bill|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/scotland-blog/2012/oct/17/scotland-donald-trump-local-hero?guni=Article:in%20body%20link | title=Local Hero and Donald Trump: a malign mix of bullying, muscle flexing and craven politicians | newspaper=The Guardian | access-date=8 December 2014}}
The documentary and its director won several awards:
- The Sheffield Green Award at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival, Sheffield, England, in 2011{{Cite web|url= https://sheffdocfest.com/articles/100-sheffield-doc-fest-award-winners|title=Sheffield Doc/Fest Award Winners|website=Sheffield DocFest|format=2011 Award Winners |access-date=June 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616204255/https://sheffdocfest.com/articles/100-sheffield-doc-fest-award-winners |archive-date=2018-06-16}}
- The Audience Award at the Dakino – Bucharest International Film Festival, Romania, in 2011{{Cite web|url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1943873/awards|title=Awards|website=IMDb|access-date=June 3, 2018}}
- The Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary Film at the Denver Film Festival, Denver, Colorado, US, in 2011{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000209/2011/1/?ref_=ev_eh|title=Denver International Film Festival 2011 Awards|website=IMDb|access-date=June 3, 2018}}{{Cite web|last=McDonald|first=Kathy|url=https://www.documentary.org/magazine/things-do-denver-when-youre-doc-crazy-starz-denver-international-film-festival|title=Things To Do in Denver When You're Doc-Crazy: Starz Denver International Film Festival|website=International Documentary Association|year=2004|access-date=June 3, 2018}}
- The Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice at the Hamptons International Film Festival, East Hampton, NY, US, in 2011{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000310/2011/1/|title=Hamptons International Film Festival 2011 Awards|website=IMDb|access-date=June 3, 2018}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.tracking-board.com/and-the-winners-are-2011-hamptons-international-film-festival-edition/|title=And The Winners Are...2011 Hamptons International Film Festival Edition|website=The Tracking Board|date=October 17, 2017|access-date=June 3, 2018}}
- The Directors' Choice Award for Best Environmental Film at the Sedona International Film Festival, Sedona, Arizona, US, in 2012{{Cite web|url=http://www.sedonafilmfestival.org/Page.asp?NavID=89|title=We are proud to recognize our past festival award winners!|website=Sedona International Film Festival|access-date=June 3, 2018|archive-date=16 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716211829/https://sedonafilmfestival.com/Page.asp?NavID=89|url-status=dead}}
Legal response
When it was announced that the documentary was to be given its British television premiere on BBC Two on 21 October 2012, Trump's lawyers contacted the corporation to demand that the film should not be shown, claiming that it is "defamatory" and "misleading". The screening went ahead. The BBC defended its decision, noting that Trump had repeatedly refused to be interviewed in conjunction with the film.{{cite web |last=Carrell |first=Severin |date=22 October 2012 |title=Donald Trump lawyers tried to stop BBC showing Scottish bullying film |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/oct/22/donald-trump-bbc-film-row |access-date=23 October 2012 |work=quardian.co.uk |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited}}
Sequels
= ''A Dangerous Game'' (2014) =
{{Main article|A Dangerous Game (2014 film)}}
A follow-up documentary called A Dangerous Game was released in September 2014. The film continues the story of the locals' struggle against Donald Trump but goes further afield also. It documents Trump's plans to build a luxury golf course in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on Mount Srđ overlooking Dubrovnik,{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/sep/14/a-dangerous-game-review-donald-trump-insightful-documentary | title=Dangerous game Observer Review | publisher=The Observer |date=14 September 2014 | access-date=8 December 2014}} against which local residents campaign. The residents win a referendum on the matter but this is ignored by officials.
= ''You've Been Trumped Too'' (2016) =
In October 2016, Baxter announced the release of You've Been Trumped Too, a sequel to the film timed for release before the 2016 United States presidential election.{{cite web |date=5 October 2016 |title=Filmmaker Anthony Baxter takes on Donald Trump again |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-37562780 |access-date=5 October 2016 |publisher=BBC}} The film focussed on the problems experienced by neighbours of the Trump International Golf Links, including a 92-year-old woman who claimed that she was forced to collect water from a nearby stream in a bucket after construction workers had cut off her supply.{{cite news |last=Baxter |first=Anthony |date=16 July 2020 |title=Donald Trump has battled to block my film's release for years. Now he has failed |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jul/16/donald-trump-youve-been-trumped-too}}{{cite web |last1=Anthony |first1=Baxter |date=5 May 2021 |title=Molly Forbes obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/may/05/molly-forbes-obituary |access-date=5 May 2021 |website=The Guardian |language=en}} In response to the film, lawyers representing Trump International threatened legal action against anybody who screened the film.{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Phil |date=31 October 2016 |title=Donald Trump threatens to sue anyone showing new golf documentary by Scots filmmaker |work=Herald Scotland |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14832890.donald-trump-threatens-to-sue-anyone-showing-new-golf-documentary-by-scots-filmmaker |access-date=16 July 2020}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.youvebeentrumped.com/}}
- {{IMDb title|id=1943873}}
{{Trump media}}
Category:2011 documentary films
Category:British documentary films
Category:Documentary films about business
Category:Documentary films about Donald Trump