Last night The Football Club won Best Specialist Factual Programme at the Broadcast Awards 2019. We were up against Blue Planet and Grayson perry: Rites of Passage. One judge said they were amazed that “two subjects I had no interest in totally blew me away”. Team picture below. Big thank you to Channel 4 for making it all possible and a well done to all the team! Good night and good luck. MP
Storyvault Films Team Photo, Broadcast Awards 2019
“It manages to be about failure, masculinity, creativity and community at the same time.. it gets my vote for the sheer ambition is pours into a commercial hour” - editor Chris Collins
Chris Curtis, Editor-in-chief: The Football Club: Artist in Residence (Channel 4)
Queer Eye, Bodyguard or the sexy Sabrina reboot? Nah, you’re all right – I’ll take a Tony Pulis ob-doc. Well, not quite. The Football Club: Artist in Residence gets my vote for the sheer ambition it pours into a single commercial hour. It manages to be ‘about’ failure, masculinity, creativity and community all at the same time, through the prism of football.
Artist Tai Schierenberg is the unlikely outsider slowly being accepted into world of West Bromwich Albion, and relishing it – much to his surprise.
He takes on the combined role of portrait painter, narrator and gentle interrogator to hear manager Pulis confront the inevitability of his sacking.
And he prompts Premier League players to give interviews in which they behave like actual human beings – no mean feat considering the stymied TV appearances that characterise top level footballers.
At a time when Britain’s divisions seem deeper than ever, it captures ordinary people articulating what it means to belong to something bigger than themselves. Long live the beautiful game.