18 August 2025
Image: Trudi Warner in THE LINE WE CROSSED at The Royal Courts of Justice for her hearing relating to the contempt of court charge against her by The State.
Cinema screenings of THE LINE WE CROSSED will continue into the Autumn as interest in the film grows on the backdrop of the further repression of protest rights following the recent mass arrests of peaceful protesters.
Among the film’s three interwoven storylines is that of Trudi Warner, arrested for standing silently outside a UK court with a sign affirming the independence of juries, sparking the movement Defend Our Juries. Defend Our Juries is the group behind the recent sign-holding protests which has resulted in mass arrests on terrorism charges.
“My arrest sparked a Spartacus moment in the UK, when others also realised that our civil liberties and democracy were at risk. The rapid growth of Defend Our Juries since then is testimony to the value of mass civil disobedience in challenging authoritarian threats, and upholding the values that make us human. Conscience can counter corruption.” Trudi Warner
Howard Fast, the author of Spartacus, was imprisoned in 1950 for contempt of Congress for refusing to give the names of supporters of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee which the government claimed was a front for the communists.
“Howard Fast had to self-publish Spartacus when he found that no commercial publisher would print and distribute his novel due to the political mood of the McCarthy era. In an echo of that, we too found we had to self-distribute THE LINE WE CROSSED when broadcasters and distributors showed a total unwillingness to even entertain the idea of taking on this film.” Liz Smith – Director of the film.
The film began its rolling release on 23 June 2025 and has already shown on more than 30 screens across the UK.
“The decision to self-distribute and do a rolling release has turned out to be the right one as we’ve seen incredible support for the film at screenings. The word-of-mouth effect has kicked in and we are now getting bookings from cinemas and community centres that run deep into the Autumn.” Liz Smith
The other storylines are that of Marcus Decker, who receives a 2 year 7month sentence for climbing the QEII Bridge to raise awareness of the climate emergency, and Sam Griffiths and activists from Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain who we witness being criminalised and imprisoned for taking part in nonviolent peaceful protest.
Many of the screenings have been accompanied by discussion panels.
“It is a film that lends itself to viewing with an audience because there is a lot to process and the panels that have followed have provided an important space in which to discuss the pressing issues that the film raises.” Liz Smith
The Q&A at Bertha DocHouse was hosted by Ruth Ehrlich from Liberty and included Liz Smith, Marcus Decker, and Dr Clive Dolphin from Defend Our Juries. The Q&A was recorded and can be watched here.
“The Line We Crossed starts with a powerful portrait of civil disobedience in the climate justice movement, but by the end it feels more like a political thriller as activists are picked off the streets by police and jailed for crimes they have not committed”. Writer Sam Gonçalves, host of the Q&A at Glasgow Film Theatre
“Be Afraid! This film shows how Britain is sliding towards a police state, with anti-protest laws similar to Putin’s Russia.” Human Rights Campaigner, Peter Tatchell
“Our fundamental rights to freedom of speech and to peaceful protest are under unprecedented assault, with grave damage being done to our democracy on an almost daily basis. Liz Smith’s brilliant and compelling film,’The Line We Crossed’, provides the kind of empathetic insights into today’s climate and democracy movements that the mainstream media have no interest in at all.” Environmentalist and Author of LOVE, ANGER & BETRAYAL Jonathon Porritt, host of the Q&A at The Castle Cinema in Hackney
Upcoming cinema screenings include :
(For a full list of screenings visit linktr.ee/TheLineWeCrossed)
- 21 August – The Dukes, Lancaster
- 26, 27, 28 August – The Barn Cinema, Totnes
- 27 August – The Poly, Falmouth
- 31 August & 3 September – Broadway Cinema & Theatre, Letchworth Panel: Dr Clive Dolphin, Trudi Warner
- 11 & 14 September – Southsea Cinema, Portsmouth
- 14 September – MAC, Birmingham. Host: Dr David Bailey. Panel: Liz Smith, Rajan Naidu
- 18 September – Storyhouse, Chester – part of the People, Planet Pictures series supported by UK for Good. Host: Ben Tolhurst. Panel: Trudi Warner, Liz Smith
- 19 September – Hebden Bridge Picturehouse. Panel: Trudi Warner, Liz Smith
- 21 September – Forest Cinema, Walthamstow. Panel: Trudi Warner, Sam Griffiths, Liz Smith
- 28 September – Act One, Acton. Host: Jennifer Nadel. Panel: Kush Nader, Liz Smith
- 2 October – Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London in collaboration with ClientEarth. Host: Liz Smith. Panel: Trudi Warner, Marcus Decker, Sam Griffiths
- 9 & 11 October – Plymouth Arts Centre: Panel: Liz Smith, Larch Maxey, Dean Bowles
- 20 October – Chelmsford Theatre Studio. Panel: Trudi Warner, Sam Griffiths.
- 26 October – Regal Henley Picturehouse. Presented by Greener Henley. Panel: Giles Trendle, Trudi Warner, Liz Smith.
- 11 November – Regal Cinema Redruth. Panel: Brian Selman, Liz Smith, Ethan Paul, Anna Retallack.
- 12 November – Crediton Arts Centre. Panel: Laura Conygham, Dr Alex McLaughlin (Exeter University), Liz Smith.
- 20 November – Reading Biscuit Factory. Panel: Anne Richards, Trudi Warner, Sam Griffiths
🎬 Watch the trailer
www.thelinewecrossed.com
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Press Contact: Liz Smith
✉️ liz@page75productions.com
📍 www.thelinewecrossed.com
Press Kit:https://bit.ly/TLWC-mediakit
THE LINE WE CROSSED was directed by Liz Smith, whose previous films include the award-winning I AM GEN Z and THE CONSPIRACISTS. The film is executive produced by Brian Selman and Good Law Project, with associate producer Serena Schellenberg, and producers Liz Smith and Chantelle de Carvalho. The original score is composed by Kim Halliday, a long-time collaborator of Smith’s across all her documentaries