Ahead of its world premiere at Sheffield DocFest, Daniel Gordon, the director of ‘Strike: An Uncivil War’, discusses his powerful documentary on the Battle of Orgreave. Speaking to Exposed’s Mark Perkins, he reflects on the long-overdue need for this film and highlights the persistent efforts of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, which has sought an official inquiry for over a decade.
I’ve watched the film and found it incredibly moving. It felt like a film that needed to be made for a long time.
Absolutely. It’s astonishing that it took so long for someone to look into it. I’ve been to several events over the years where they’ve talked about the need for an inquiry, but nothing ever happened. It’s just astonishing.
Is there any movement towards maybe having a campaign for an inquiry?
The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaigns has been going on for about 12 years now. They thought they were making headway in 2016 after the Hillsborough inquest, and there seemed to be positive moves towards it. Theresa May was giving positive signs, but then things were shut down. It was like someone decided it would tarnish a legacy, so they shut it down and led everyone down the garden path. The campaign did an awful lot of work to push for that inquiry. In 2019, Jeremy Corbyn was committed to an inquiry, and now, I’m not 100% sure, but Keir Starmer seems committed to some sort of investigation.
Do you think with people talking about it in the next few weeks, someone might corner Keir Starmer and ask for his position on this?
Anyone on the campaign trail is welcome to! Hopefully, with enough press and focus, it might lead to something bigger.
How did the process start to get the film together?
It’s weird because even yesterday, I was thinking about the genesis of it, which was actually around 1998. I was working for a production company and we pitched a series on strikes. We were looking at the strife of the 80s, and my formulation of the film probably began around the time of Hillsborough. In an early version of the Hillsborough edit, we had a big piece on the miners’ strike, but it got cut because it took the story on a tangent. But I felt there was a link between both, especially with the same police force, senior officers and manipulation of statements. It was almost like a paramilitary police force, and that’s what comes out in the film.
So the planning behind it didn’t happen by accident.
No, it didn’t. I remember watching the Hillsborough documentary and thinking how the South Yorkshire Police were emboldened by what they’d done at Orgreave. It confirmed their belief that they could manipulate things to their advantage. The lies to the press, the Sun story – it all comes from the same culture. They got away with it during the miners’ strike, and nothing happened as a result.
That’s quite a powerful moment in the film, where legal experts say nothing happened despite the findings.
Yes, the British legal system’s appeals process and compensation cases keep things shut down for years. It’s a powerful way of keeping everyone down. And then you hear the usual excuses from the police, saying there’s no point in investigating because they’ve changed. But then scandals like Rotherham show nothing has changed. A proper inquiry at the time could have made a difference.
How did you get in touch with the people featured in the film?
Some of them I knew or knew of. I used contacts from Hillsborough to get in touch with people. It was a long process, working on it on and off for about seven years. Once you get one person and they trust you, you can get to others. We also had a team researching who was the right candidate to speak to. Some people were part of the research but didn’t appear on camera.
The British legal system’s appeals process and compensation cases keep things shut down for years. It’s a powerful way of keeping everyone down.
You’re doing a Q&A afterwards with Jon McClure of Reverend & The Makers. What’s his involvement in the film?
John tweeted about Orgreave about a year ago, and through a mutual friend, we connected. He’s been very supportive, helping with funding and giving a local perspective. He’s been a great addition.
How did you source the archive footage?
We have a great archive producer, Steven Slater, who I’ve worked with for about 10 years. We’ve been accessing various archives for seven years, from classic BBC and ITV archives to Yorkshire Film Archive and others. There’s a lot of film from that era, and we’ve got footage from the National Union of Mineworkers and even amateur footage from the day of Orgreave.
It’s being shown at DocFest. Is that the world premiere?
Yes, the world premiere is at DocFest on the 16th. After that, it will be screened nationally in about 71 cinemas on the night and around 50 continuing into the weekend.
What’s next for the film after the festival?
It’s showing in various cinemas nationwide, and eventually, it will make its way to TV. For now, it’s about getting as much exposure as possible.
Strike: An Uncivil War (followed by a Q+A) will be shown at Sheffield DocFest on Sunday 16 June at Crucible Theatre and Monday 17 June at the Showroom Cinema. More info and tickets available here.
