Director: Michael Grisby

Lancashire, 1973

62 mins

Stunning 1973 documentary on the work and life, onshore and off , of the trawlermen of Fleetwood, Lancashire – a workforce and community facing danger and exploitation.

Watch and forever be affected by this stunning documentary on the work and life, onshore and off, of the trawlermen of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Produced at Granada Television, long a home for hard-hitting documentary and current affairs, A Life Apart won admiring reviews for its unforgettable depiction, both visceral and sensitive, of a workforce and community facing danger and exploitation.

Director Michael Grigbsy was one of Britain’s greatest documentary filmmakers – and A Life Apart one of his best films. Working mostly for television – and frequently at Granada – Grigsby excelled at synthesising the artistic impact of cinema (here, in amazing images and sounds of the raging sea hitting the deck) with the democratic power of TV (here, giving voice to the fishermen and their grievances towards their employers). Today, it’s amazing to recall that films of such grace and conviction were televised to large audiences on ITV.