New Town Utopia is a feature documentary about utopian dreams and concrete realities… the challenging, funny, and sometimes tragic story of the British new town of Basildon, Essex.
A journey of memory, place and performance guided by the artists, musicians and poets of a town in crisis. Facing austerity, adversity and personal battles they are individuals driven by their creative spirit to improve their community through art, poetry, music… and some rather angry puppets.
Featuring Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent (Iris, Topsy-Turvy, Moulin Rouge) as the voice of Lewis Silkin MP. Directed by Christopher Ian Smith and Executive Produced by Margaret Matheson (Scum, Sid and Nancy, Sleep Furiously).
It was released theatrically in 2018 to widespread acclaim, including four-star reviews from The Guardian, The Times and The FT. It has 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.