Misbehaviour

Directed by Philippa Lowthorpe

In 1970, the Miss World competition took place in London, hosted by US comedy legend, Bob Hope. At the time, Miss World was the most-watched TV show on the planet with over 100 million viewers. Claiming that beauty competitions demeaned women, the newly formed Women’s Liberation Movement achieved overnight fame by invading the stage and disrupting the live broadcast of the competition. Not only that, when the show resumed, the result caused uproar: the winner was not the Swedish favourite but Miss Grenada, the first black woman to be crowned Miss World. In a matter of hours, a global audience had witnessed the patriarchy driven from the stage and the Western ideal of beauty turned on its head.

MISBEHAVIOUR tells the sensational true story of the disruption of the 1970 Miss World contest by the nascent Women’s Liberation Movement, an event which made headlines around the world. In the middle of one of the most popular TV shows in the world, watched by 100 million viewers, the Libbers spectacularly disrupted the broadcast. Not only that, when order was restored, against a backdrop of Anti-Apartheid demonstrations, the first woman of colour won the Miss World crown.

Join Oscar-winning producer and Director-at-Large of Birds’ Eye View Mia Bays and special guests TBA