The Man with the Plan + Q&A

A young person discovers the Beveridge Report. She questions: what happened, and what is next?

A young student, Flea, played by Sophie Jenkin, discovers the 1942 Beveridge Report and its comprehensive vision for a better society.

We follow Flea’s fantastical journey as it takes her amongst Beveridge’s Five Giants: Want, Disease, Squalor, Idleness and Ignorance, and through the whirl of politicians, ineffective policies and missed opportunities across the decades since 1942.

Based on texts and speeches by Beveridge and politicians, the film is a moving account of Beveridge’s vision, the desperate need for it today and a passionate call for action.

Following the screening, producer and editor Olivier Stockman will discuss the making of The Man With The Plan, from its development and production to its message as a call to action.

Cast

Starring Simon Callow as William Beveridge, with:

• Sophie Jenkin

• Mark Thomas

• Alan Cox

• Neil Gore

• Neil D'Souza

• Andrew Tiernan

• Hal Cruttenden

• Michael Mears

• The voice of Miriam Margolyes

Also featuring appearances from Sir Michael Marmot, Kate Pickett and Danny Dorling, alongside other academics, campaigners and activists.

Reviews

“...the charge of utopianism should not be used as an excuse for political leaders simply to reject all his ambitious aims..... Andy Burnham take note.”
Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian

“An urgent film for our desperate times… a full-blown exposition on why if we had done what Beveridge advocated we might be in a better place today.”
John Bird, The Big Issue

“He (Andy Burnham) needs to go full Beveridge.”
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, The i Paper