Film Director Michael Apted on '56 Up'

This started as a film for television in 1963. I went to schools and said, “Give us your brightest 7-year-olds,” and we filmed them. I was 22. There was no planning. The children were sort of railroaded into it. The schools said yes. Their parents said yes. Nobody knew what they were in for. About five years later, the guy who was running Granada Television—Denis Forman—came to see me and said, “Why don’t you go back and see how those kids are doing?” I’ve filmed them every seven years since.

We weren’t being malicious or exploitative, but there has been a lot of residual anger among the people in the film. There were mistakes. Out of 14 kids, I chose only four girls. The idea that women would have a major role in politics and business was inconceivable in 1963. I missed the most important social revolution of my lifetime, the changing role of women. In a subconscious way, I think I’ve tried to make up for that with my movies—whether it’s country music (Coal Miner’s Daughter) or chasing gorillas (Gorillas in the Mist).