Oranges and Sunshine is a 2010 biographical drama film directed by Jim Loach, in his directorial debut, with a screenplay by Rona Munro, based on the 1994 book Empty Cradles by Margaret Humphreys.^[2] The film stars Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham.

The film is based on the true story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham who uncovered the scandal of "home children",^[3] a scheme of forcibly relocating poor children from the United Kingdom to Australia and Canada.^[4]

Deported children were promised "oranges and sunshine" but they instead got hard labour and life in institutions such as Keaney College in Bindoon, Western Australia. Many were given to the Congregation of Christian Brothers, where they suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the brothers.^[5][6]

Despite the numerous death threats from those who try to stop her, Margaret is successful in reuniting estranged families, who are situated in Australia and the UK, and brings worldwide attention to the cause.

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 71% based on reviews from 73 critics. The website's critics consensus reads, "Grounded in a heartwrenching fact-based story, steered by Loach's sensitive direction, and led by a powerful performance from Watson, Oranges and Sunshine sidesteps its pacing problems and occasionally clichéd screenplay."^[8]