Richard Alwyn makes series on Catholicism for BBC Four

BBC 4 is working with acclaimed film-maker Richard Alwyn on a new, three-part documentary series about Catholicism in Britain.

Each of the three films – one about men, one about women, one about children – will be a portrait of a different Catholic world, revealing Catholicism to be a complex identity and observing how this identity shapes people’s lives.

The series was commissioned by Richard Klein, controller BBC Four, and Charlotte Moore, commissioning editor documentaries. The series is executive produced by Wingspan’s Archie Baron and is a Wingspan Production in association with Jerusalem Productions . The BBC executive producer is Clare Paterson.

The first film, Priests, filmed over six months with extraordinary access, is a behind-the-scenes portrait of Allen Hall in London, one of only three remaining Roman Catholic seminaries in Britain.

The second film, Children, focuses on a small primary school in rural Lancashire as some of the pupils head towards their first Holy Communion.

The third film, Women, uses behind-the-scenes access to Westminster Cathedral, Britain’s biggest Roman Catholic Church, to meet the female staff, volunteers and congregation of the Cathedral to explore what it is like to be a Catholic woman in Britain today.

Richard Alwyn’s previous films have been nominated for RTS and Bafta awards and include the Prix Italia-winning Beslan Siege.

Richard Klein, controller BBC Four, says: “Catholic Christianity is at the very centre of many of the western world's cultural and institutional sensibilities and yet Catholics today can feel at times like they are set apart from mainstream society. So this is a series which seeks to ask a simple question of people who are Catholics: What is it like, being a Catholic?”

Richard Alwyn says: "It’s inevitably been a very troubled time for the Catholic Church in recent years. So we are particularly proud of the access that we have gained to make films which reveal the complex reality of being Catholic away from the tabloid headlines."

Archie Baron says: "I hope viewers will find this series moving, thought-provoking and closely textured."