Seven Up!
The
Up Series is a series of
documentary films that have followed the lives of fourteen
British children since 1964, when they were seven years old. The children were selected to represent the range of socio-economic backgrounds in Britain at that time, with the explicit assumption that each child's
social class predetermines their future. Every seven years, the director,
Michael Apted, films new material from as many of the fourteen as he can get to participate. Filming for the next instalment in the series,
56 Up, is expected in late 2011 or early 2012, with a scheduled premiere from 13–15 May 2012.
[1] In 2005, the
Channel 4 programme
The 50 Greatest Documentaries saw the series topping the list in first position.
The first film in the series, Seven Up!, was directed by Paul Almond, and commissioned by Granada Television as a programme in the World in Action series broadcast in 1964. From 7 Plus Seven
onward the films have been directed by Michael Apted, who had been a researcher on Seven Up!
and chose the original children with Gordon McDougall. The premise of the film was taken from the Jesuit motto "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man", which is based on a quotation by Francis Xavier. The 1998 programme was commissioned by BBC One, although still produced for them by Granada.
List of films and premiere dates # Title Director Original air date 1 "
Seven Up!"
Paul Almond 5 May 1964 2 "
Seven Plus 7"
Michael Apted 15 December 1970 3 "
21 Up" Michael Apted 9 May 1977 4 "
28 Up" Michael Apted 20–21 November 1984 5 "
35 Up" Michael Apted 22 May 1991 6 "
42 Up" Michael Apted 21–22 July 1998 7 "
49 Up" Michael Apted 15 & 22 September 2005