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BLOWINGTHE
WHISTLE
ANINTERVIEWWITH
DENSONBAKERACS
With globetrotting experience in both drama and documen- tary as well as having
roots Down Under, Denson Baker would seem to have been the perfect pick for a harrowing, true-life tale of child migration set on two vast continents.
Oranges And Sunshine, the feature debut of director Jim Loach, tells the story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham who in the 1980s uncovered one of the most significant social scandals of recent times: the enforced deportation of thousands of children from the UK to Australia.
Baker, born in New Zealand but raised in Australia, was selected by Loach, the 41-year old son of the great Ken Loach, after he’d apparently seen one of the award-winning
cinematographer’s earlier films, the acclaimed autism family drama, The Black Bal- loon, with Toni Collette, Rhys Wakefield, Luke Ford and Gemma Ward.
Explains Baker: “I met with Jim early on while he was in Australia location scouting, and he told me he really liked the style of my film. It was a personal story that was shot with a natural approach yet had an epic, cinematic quality. In our meeting we really connected, we shared similar ideas, and I think we have compatible personalities.” A graduate 10 years ago of the AFTRS (Australian Film, Television & Radio School), Oranges And Sunshine is his fifth feature following, among others, a teen skateboarding drama, Deck Dogz (featuring the sport’s legendary Tony Hawk), The Black Balloon –
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