They just wanted to get on with their lives.
Its a tricky one to respond to, says Manoharajah, cautiously.
Every single day we could find the exact same headline, just with the group changed.
Defiance: Fighting the Far RightBill Cross/ANL/Shutterstock (1416213a).Racial March Through Southall
Almost everyone said no.
Defiancewas developed by Rogan Productions (Uprising, Freddie Mercury: The Final Act).
This provides the backdrop.
Balraj Purewal
Manoharajah is no stranger to productions highlighting sensitive and important matters of race.
For the director, more opportunities have opened up in this space of late.
We need to know how we got from there to here?
Emotional footage
Manoharajah conducted around 40Defianceinterviews, which proved to be an emotional experience.
Unsurprisingly, several of the interviewees therefore became emotional when face to face with the archival footage.
I can smell it.
I was probably a coward, I dont know, reflects Shaf in the series.
He recalls an incident where a friend saw their mum getting pushed over when they were about three.
Shopping went everywhere on the pavement and people were laughing and did not offer to help.
Its really interesting that its not taught as part of our civil rights education in Britain, he adds.
But this doesnt figure at all as far as Im aware.
