How would you fight against redundancy?

By: J. Richarz

The Plan– a dynamic documentary by Steve Sprung will celebrate its World Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on the 14^th of October 2018 and is also in competition for The Grierson Award at LFF 2018.

The factional documentary tells the remarkable story of a group of skilled engineers, who were threatened with redundancy at the Lucas Aerospace UK 40 years ago. As the title says, they come up with The Plan to make use of their incredible talents. They come with the term “socially useful” and “environmentally sustainable alternatives” which describes their self-made military products. This included wind turbines, a hybrid car, heat pump, and an energy efficient house. Why are we not more aware of this remarkable story and why did management and government reject this pioneering plan? These questions and more are answered in the film sheds a different light on the 1970s.

The movie was directed by Steve Sprung (The Year of the Beaver), produced by Luis Correia of LX Filmes and Executive Produced by Sylvia Stevens and Peter Day of Faction Films,

Most of the material is historic and archive footage, in this documentary. It shows how the Lucas engineers developed their ideas and how our environmentally damaged and war-torn present looks like.

“THE PLAN dares to ask how might our lives be now if the Lucas Workers Plan had not been prevented? It’s a journey to uncover this amazing story that still offers much to our time.”

Ken Loach famous for his social films says:
“This film will capture a unique moment in our history – highly skilled workers showing how to turn swords into ploughshares. It is a vital lesson…If we want to transform society, this is a good place to start.”

“…an essential historical and political essay, crafted with great intelligence and civic conscience, helmed by a group of intelligent and socially aware workers with a deep understanding of economy and humanity, and one that reflects on the past to offer an alternative for the future. It’s an urgent and gripping piece of work….”