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Birmingham based production company to offer opportunities to local on and off-screen talent

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Birmingham based production company to offer opportunities to local on and off-screen talent

West Midlands based production company Checklist Films has secured the rights to the pre-published historical novel, The Iron Rose, written by Keith Thomas, which chronicles the dramatic life of iron and steel pioneer Robert Forester Mushet during Britain’s Industrial Revolution.

Created by Keith Thomas, with the screenplay written by John F. McDonald (The Traveller), the series is being developed into a returning period drama series.

Hakam Poselay, Executive Producer and CEO of Checklist Films:

“The Iron Rose is an incredible story from the West Country.  Our protagonist in Robert Mushet is a forgotten part of our history, and his story is fascinating – the stuff of dreams for producers.  His tale is full of ambition, love, family feuds and power play, as he finds himself the target of theft for his original inventions, which ultimately saw him erased from history.

“These pioneers in the West Country had an enormous impact on the development and growth of the UK, and this tale offers a fascinating insight into the grit, determination and personal sacrifices that were made to build the country that we know today.  We’re so proud to be able to bring this story back to life, and we know audiences will be intrigued and gripped. And we hope to make the people of Gloucestershire proud, and we can’t wait to showcase some of the counties most beautiful and interesting locations.”

With a passion and ambition to tell little-known stories that stem from the West Midlands and West Country, Checklist Films’ The Iron Rose is an epic Victorian family saga set in the midst of the Industrial Revolution in Gloucestershire’s Forest of Dean, in the competitively fought coal mines and iron furnaces where fortunes were made and lost.

Told through the eyes of the family business successor Robert Forester Mushet from his youth, The Iron Rose tells the story of love, hate, loyalty and jealousy, ambition and despair, deception and dishonour, during a time when Britain was rapidly changing, and families strived – and feuded – to stay ahead or get forgotten about to the annals of time.

Descending from a family of power spanning generations, Robert Forester Mushet is an ambitious man, obsessed with the innovative and technological advances of the industrial age, and making a name for himself.  As hot as the molten metal he produces and as tough as the steel he goes on to invent, he is risking it all by putting his personal happiness and fortune on the line to pioneer the next big thing. But as success descends upon the family, he soon tastes the betrayal and deceit as other ambitious men circle to capitalise on his inventions and finds himself battling the dreaded Mushet curse, which plagues his family.

Weaving multiple stories of the intermeshed lives of family, friends and antagonists over six episodes, The Iron Rose mixes passion, intrigue and love affairs with the ruthless ambitions of the 1800’s Iron Masters jostling for position and power.  This little-known slice of history is set to grip audiences across the globe.

Keith Thomas, The Iron Rose creator and author:

“Robert Mushet has been a part of my life for over 30 years as I have studiously researched his and his family’s fascinating story and impact on the steel industry and revolution.  It’s incredibly exciting to now be bringing these tangled stories to life on the screen.  And, in comparison to those dark satanic industrial days, we now live in a time of ecological fragility, and I am very proud to be working with Checklist Films, for its genuine ethical commitment and pioneering policy of sustainability.”

Checklist Films is an independent production company based in the West Midlands, founded by writer/ producer Hakam Poselay, whose credits include the award-winning film Checking In and Light the Lights, and specialises in producing original, diverse, thought-provoking and evocative returning and limited dramas and films for the global market.

As Birmingham re-establishes itself as the latest production hub in the UK through increasing its film and TV output, and with new studios being created out of Digbeth – having previously had major production centres for both BBC and ITV across the sixties, seventies and eighties – Checklist Films intends to build on this revitalised creative base and continue to promote Birmingham and the wider West Midlands region as part of the next potential Film City UK.

With a passion to support the local community and to increase the representation of minorities within the industry, Checklist Films will tell diverse stories that have yet to be told, and is committed to providing training and development opportunities for on and off-screen talent within the West Midlands area and the neighbouring Black Country, as well as to utilise the production bases and locations to shoot across the counties.

As part of this ambition, Checklist Films has partnered with CREW Birmingham, who specialise in finding local talent.  The production company has a number of film and drama projects on its development slate, ranging from historical dramas, high action thrillers to thought-provoking character led pieces, with plans to scale up production staff in the next year.  With production sustainability a key ambition, Checklist Films is working with Birmingham University and TEP to achieve this.

Hakam Poselay:

“It is an incredibly exciting time for the TV and Film industry in Birmingham.  There is major investment coming into the West Midlands as more productions are made here, and we are poised to make our own contribution to making this a success for the region.  Talent are the cornerstone of our offering as we intend to support and showcase the brilliant local on and off-screen talent, and we have a mission to help to readdress the diversity imbalance in the industry. In addition to The Iron Rose, we have a have a number of fascinating scripted developments already that support our ambitions, and we cannot wait to share these with potential collaborators and investors.”

The Iron Rose is developed as a six-part, hour-long returning series and is produced by Checklist Films. Checklist Films Ltd has also partnered with workplace support company Say So to ensure the creation of a positive and safe working environment.

https://checklistfilms.com

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