Peterloo (12A) + Q&A with Mike Leigh

Chronicling the Peterloo Massacre of 1819, which became one of the bloodiest events in British history, the film stars Maxine Peake and Rory Kinnear.

Frustrated by enduring poverty and lack of suffrage following the Napoleonic War, a 60,000-strong crowd, led by Henry "Orator" Hunt, gathers to peacefully demand political reform. When government troops storm the crowd, many civilians are killed and hundreds injured, provoking national outcry – and further government suppression.

The Manchester Guardian was founded by John Edward Taylor in response to the events of that day.

Mike Leigh, the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning writer and director of Peterloo, joins us after this preview screening for a Q&A about the making of the film with Guardian Journalist Gwilym Mumford.