This film is part of Free
Code Name: Westward Ho!
"They’re not so very different from our own people, are they?" A sensitive depiction of European workers in the UK.
Documentary 1949 11 mins
Overview
This highly accomplished and quietly moving film tells the story of a young couple from Eastern Europe, who, in the aftermath of World War II, become European Volunteer Workers in England. They find themselves in different parts of the country, Stefan working as a miner and Olga in a textile mill. The film’s director, Mary Beales, was in her early 20s at the time of making this film. She had her first child soon afterwards, and left the film industry for several years.
Mary Beales went on to study sculpture after her first marriage ended, and worked in both fields for some years. She later changed her name to Mary Orrom, when she married fellow filmmaker Michael Orrom.
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