| The Battle for Barking | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Laura Fairrie |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | Margaret Hodge Nick Griffin Richard Barnbrook Lawrence Rustem Bob Bailey |
| Cinematography | Laura Fairrie |
| Edited by | John Mister |
| Music by | Harry Escott Molly Nyman |
Production company | Dartmouth Films |
| Distributed by | More 4 |
Release date |
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Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Battle for Barking is a 2010 Britishdocumentary film, chronologically filming the campaign for the election of MP to theBarking constituency.[1] It won the Sheffield Youth Jury Award atSheffield Doc/Fest in 2010.
Reviews were generally positive.The Telegraph took an anti-BNP stance writing that "the best thing about The Battle for Barking, was that it didn’t bash the BNP. Instead, it was quite happy to let the BNP bash themselves."[2]The Guardian described the film as "altogether more substantial and red-blooded," attacking Griffin personally, writing that "the already overweight Griffin was seldom seen not scoffing a doughnut: he'd better start praying he finds a hospital without any black staff when he is eventually admitted for heart surgery."[3] A review in theNew Statesman praised the film as "revealing".[4] A review inThe Independent called the film "studiously even-handed" and remarked, "given 90 minutes of televisual rope, Griffin and co did a brilliant job of hanging themselves as credible political contenders."[5]
The BNP's Deputy ChairmanSimon Darby described on hisblog how the documentary came about: "Well, was I right in trusting her (Fairrie), was the question I asked myself whilst brushing my teeth in the early hours of this morning. 'Yes.'"'[6] However, the BNP's former National OrganiserEddy Butler wrote that "the overwhelming feeling after watching it is one of great sadness at the lost opportunity."[7]