Actor Jonathan Pryce has suggested that a compelling drama about refugees living in Britain could help defuse rising anti-migrant sentiment in the UK. Speaking ahead of a London film festival screening of his 1987 film 'Hotel London', Pryce told the Guardian that the British public is largely unaware of the realities faced by migrants and homeless people, leading to fear and anger.
Pryce, who was Oscar-nominated for playing Pope Francis in 'The Two Popes', said that drama is often the best way to tell someone's emotional story and open up issues that need exploring. He noted that people do not see inside hostels or hotels where migrants live, nor hear their stories, and that this lack of understanding fuels hostility.
'Hotel London', directed by Ahmed Alauddin Jamal, centres on a south Asian family evicted and crammed into a single room in a bed and breakfast hotel. The film was shot during the Thatcher era, when homelessness was rampant, with 'cardboard cities' of rough sleepers across the UK. Pryce played an Irish homeless man who befriends the family patriarch.
The film was part of the workshop movement supported by the newly established Channel 4, which worked with independent film collectives. This movement became a breeding ground for marginalised British talent, including John Akomfrah and Isaac Julien. The BFI is restoring 'Hotel London' as part of a project to preserve such works, and it will be screened on 16 October.
