Member Article

Independent production company nominated for international award

Liverpool-based independent production company, LA Productions, has been shortlisted for an international award for their hit BBC One drama ‘Care’.
The PRIX Europa festival is the largest tri-medial festival in Europe, and looks to recognise the very best in broadcast media through a number of categories including Radio Documentary, Digital Media, and TV Fiction, for which LA Productions has been nominated. The BAFTA nominated drama has been entered as the only UK nomination in its category, and will be showcased alongside the 19 other class nominations in a festival that runs from the 6-12 of October, with the winner announced during a ceremony on the 11th. The shortlisting is the latest in a series of acclamations for the programme, including the coveted Monaco Red Cross Prize at the Golden Nymphs, where it was handpicked out of hundreds of entries by the Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert II, himself.

Inspired by real events in co-writer Gillian Juckes’ life, Care is an emotional look into the life of a family battling for access to care from an NHS that is stretched to breaking point. Sheridan Smith plays Jenny, a single mother who relies on her mother Mary, played by Alison Steadman, to help with childcare after the departure of her husband. When Mary suffers a stroke and is left partially brain damaged, Jenny struggles to hold down her full-time job, look after her children, and care for her mother at home. With no other option, Jenny and her sister Claire, played by Sinead Keenan, find a care home for Mary, however due to government cuts, the sisters find themselves fighting for a continuing healthcare package that it essential to providing a good standard of care for their mother. Alongside an internationally recognised cast, the stand-alone 90 minute drama sees co-writer Jimmy McGovern and director David Blair working together again, after a history of successful and critically acclaimed collaborations, including ‘Common’ (2014) and the BAFTA award winning ‘The Street’ (2007). Executive producer and founder of LA Productions, Colin McKeown, said: “Care is a hard-hitting one off drama created by the wonderful minds of Jimmy McGovern and Gillian Juckes. Based on real experiences of healthcare in the UK, the drama struck a chord with viewers and highlighted the broken and underfunded system we currently face.

“Being the only UK piece nominated in its category is a fitting testament to the brilliant work of the cast, script writers, director and crew involved with the production of this truly fantastic piece of television. I am immensely proud of the piece, and all those involved in creating it.”

The PRIX Europa festival was first created in 1987 in Amsterdam in a collaboration between the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the European Cultural Foundation, and has since grown into the largest festival of its kind on the continent. Numerous cities have played host to the festival, including Porto, Barcelona and Reykjavik, before it found its home in Berlin, Germany. Through the strong backing of over 30 partners, including the BBC, the festival is able to offer both institutional masterclasses and continental distribution of award-winning work.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophie Anderson .