The Left Behind (2019 film)

The Left Behind is a 2019 British television film drama, written by Alan Harris and directed by Joseph Bullman for BBC Studios. It stars Sion Daniel Young, Amy-Leigh Hickman, Aimee-Ffion Edwards and Kimberley Nixon. It was shown on BBC One on 10 July 2019. It won the BAFTA for Best Single Drama in 2020 as well as the Royal Television Society award in the same category.

The Left Behind
Screenplay by	Alan Harris
Directed by	Joseph Bullman
Starring	Sion Daniel Young Amy-Leigh Hickman Aimee-Ffion Edwards Kimberley Nixon
Music by	Roger Goula
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Tracie Simpson Aysha Rafaele
Cinematography	Steve Lawes
Editor	Mark Hermida
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	BBC Studios
Original release
Release	10 July 2019 (2019-07-10)

Synopsis

The drama was about the rise of far-right hate crime in working-class communities in post-industrial towns, in which poverty fuels anti-immigrant sentiment.^[1]

Cast

• Sion Daniel Young as Gethin
• Amy-Leigh Hickman as Yasmin
• Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Annes
• Kimberley Nixon as Hannah
• Sophie Melville as Lisa
• Jalisa Andrews as Tracey
• Aled Ap Steffan as Titch
• Ryan Nolan as Massey
• Hassan Maarfi as Zac

Production

Development

The production was first inspired by a 2018 statistic that referrals to the UK government's de-radicalisation programme, Prevent, had a 36% rise in the previous 12 months.^[2]

Choosing to set the drama in an unnamed town in South Wales, writer Alan Harris set to demonstrate how “perception of the far right in this country is outdated…We think of skinheads and National Front marches. But things have changed – especially in terms of the online influence” and that “we tend to either demonise this problem or ignore it.” Researching the project, the production used literature from Hope not Hate and spoke to Prevent consultants and academics, including Hilary Pilkington. Harris told The Guardian that it can be important “to write characters you don’t agree with sometimes but you do care about…to get an effective drama across, these can’t be two-dimensional, easily dismissed characters. If we dismiss it, we’re not heading towards any kind of understanding.”^[3][4]

Casting

Sion Daniel Young lived locally to the production and wrote a letter to director Bulman asking to be considered for the lead role and turned down a guaranteed part in a film in order to be available for the role.^[5] Aimee-Ffion Edwards said she wanted to be part of the cast after reading the script and praised the production team “who are fearless in telling stories that people would rather not engage with.”^[6]

Filming

Principal photography took place in Cardiff and other parts of south Wales.^[7]

Accolades

The film won BAFTA and Royal Television Society awards for Best Single Drama,^[8][9] and was nominated for five BAFTA Cymru awards – Best Television Drama, Best Director: Fiction, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Make Up.^[10]

Broadcast

The film was shown in the UK on BBC One and was available on BBC iPlayer from 10 July 2019.^[11]