Grow Your Own
Directed by Richard Laxton
Grow Your Own is a British drama/comedy which centres around a group of gardeners at a Merseyside allotment who react angrily when a group of refugees are given plots at the site. But a bigger danger soon rears up in the shape of a mobile phone company determined to install a mast on the allotment, forcing the plot's inhabitants to work together with the newcomers and, eventually, form friendships.
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About the film
Grow your own was released in 2007, and has since become a favourite during Refugee Week, often shown in front rooms, community halls and cinemas across the UK.
During World War II, families in the UK were encouraged to grow their own vegetables as part of the war effort. Today, there are around 300,000 allotments around the country, bringing together people of all ages, races and religions. It is this clash between strangers from across the social and economic divide which underpins Grow Your Own.
Written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Carl Hunter, the idea for the film came from Carl Hunter's involvement with a Merseyside community group called "Art in Action". Through the group, Hunter worked with a number of refugees that had been given an allotment as part of a Liverpool City Council initiative, and created a series of documentaries about their lives.
“A gentle, astute, life-affirming British comedy” Leigh Singer, Film 4
