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Hull’s Angel (2002)

“The depth of her humanity is overwhelming” [The Guardian]

Sean McAllister probes the uneasy relationship between British citizens and asylum seekers through the eyes of an unconventional family in this frank and intimate documentary.

Since losing her job at a hostel for failing to work within the Home Office’s strict guidelines, 48-year-old Tina has continued to help Hull’s 1,500 asylum seekers for free, dedicating much of her own time and money to aiding them. Along with her daughter Nicola, who is married to Kurdish asylum seeker Mohammed, Tina has incurred the disapproval of her family and the frequently violent racist actions of Hull’s almost exclusively white population.

In order to get by, she has been forced to compromise her strong socialist principles by signing up for work at a chicken factory through a de-unionised employment agency. This physically demanding job and her voluntary work mean that Tina often gets as little as four hours sleep a night. On top of all this, she finds herself in a less than rewarding relationship with a 24-year-old Kurdish asylum seeker, Khaled, who refuses to help with the housework.

So will Tina’s selfless dedication to helping others ever be recognised, or is the reward of a good deed always simply the deed itself?

© Channel 4

“The clash between new and old versions of Englishness lies at the heart of Hull’s Angel… It’s a portrait of a remarkable 48-year-old woman called Tina, droll and resilient and passionate, who volunteered to help the 1,500 Iraqi Kurds relocated to a run-down part of Hull in September 2000.” – © Sukhdev Sandhu, The Telegraph

See a selection of reviews for Hull’s Angel

Hull’s Angel. Channel 4 (2002)

Broadcast Premiere – Channel 4, True Stories, March 3, 2003. Director Sean McAllister, Editor Ollie Huddleston, Photography Sean McAllister, Sound Sean McAllister, Producer Sean McAllister, Production Company Tenfoot Films.