The Dark Horse

We make the decisions as to what to screen in a democratic manner: any one can suggest anything although it is generally the committee who exercise this right. The only other criterion is that you have to have seen what you recommend: we were all scarred by 35 Shots of Rum.

And so I recommended Dark Horse: I'd read the reviews when it was released but had been unable to find a screening and so bought the DVD. This was excellent and I've passed it on to family in South Wales and in-laws who follow racing, and everyone has really enjoyed it. Our area is quite horsey - just six miles from Newbury - and we managed to attract a good audience, with several people we had never seen before.

The film went down well with everyone, with some of our audience actually having been at the key Newbury race meeting that appeared in the film. We should definitely look out for other documentaries to screen.

Here are my notes:

Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance

UK 2015                      82 minutes

Director:                      Louise Osmond

Awards and Nominations

• Won Best Documentary at British Independent Film Awards
• Won Audience Award for World Cinema – Documentary at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival
• Nominated for Grand Jury Prize at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival

“With its sheer warmth and likability, this good-natured documentary won my heart – a real-life The Full Monty or Billy Elliot or Pride.”

Peter Bradshaw

This is the true story of a group of friends from a working men’s club in a depressed area of South Wales who decide to breed a racehorse. Initially they stable the horse on a local allotment, and then after choosing a trainer to prepare him for racing the results far exceed their expectations.

 Louise Osmond started her career as a journalist with ITN before becoming a documentary film maker. The subject of her work has been quite varied and her films include Deep Water (2003) about a round the world yacht race, McQueen and I (2011) about Alexander McQueen and Richard III: The King in the Car Park (2013). She had been planning a film about racing and had heard about Dream Alliance, but had been unable to progress discussions until a Hollywood production company, which had already optioned the story, withdrew its interest.

Here's the trailer: