1. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

Language: English

Director: Stephen Frears

Running time: 97 mins

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis,

Gordon Warnecke, Saeed Jaffrey

Company: Channel Four Films/SAF Productions/Working Title Films

Stephen Frears' tale about racism and sexuality in 80s Britain, considered by many as the best representation of life under Thatcher, is set against the improbable location of a laundrette owned by a South Asian businessman. A young man is employed by his uncle to take over his laundrette business but gets into difficulty when he takes his mate, an ex-National Front member, for a lover. A gallery of knowing and ironic performances from the leading and the supporting casts playing out a subtle Hanif Qureshi script meant that stinging wit went hand in hand with the usual je ne sais quoi charm that defined the best of British cinema of the earlier decades. It has been widely acclaimed as the film that transformed on-screen representations of gay relationships. The film was one of the earliest to break ground in the increasing financial and creative collaboration between British television and cinema.