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tpr media promoted the World Premiere of Britain’s Forgotten Prisoners at this year’s Sheffield DocFest: the first feature-length film to expose Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences. Filmed over six years by award-winning filmmaker and journalist Martin Read and his creative partner Joe Sullivan, the documentary uncovers the shocking true stories of thousands of people trapped in English and Welsh prisons serving an IPP sentence without a release date, years after completing their minimum tariff for often minor crimes. Nearly 650 of the 3000 IPP prisoners remaining in prison have been held for 10 years longer than their original minimum sentence.
Coverage highlights included a feature in the Guardian, which has extensively covered the IPP sentence. The review claims the film: “might just be the most important film made in the UK this year. For anybody interested in justice – or rather injustice – it’s unmissable”. The Mirror featured an exclusive double-page spread interview (online and in print) with Lord David Blunkett, the architect of the IPP sentence, who features in the film. Blunkett says introducing the IPP sentence is “the biggest regret” of his political career.
Martin Read had a 10+ minute interview on BBC Radio Sheffield for the mid-morning show before the film’s premiere. It is also featured in Sight & Sound’s weekly film bulletin, which is distributed widely to members of the BFI film community, and was reviewed by independent film reviewers attending the festival. Overall, the total OTS (opportunity to see) was 11.8M with an advertising value equivalent of £199K.
