Watch the trailer for the Rochdale Pioneers film

Co-operative Group members are being offered the chance to see an inspirational new film on the Rochdale Pioneers in advance of its special gala screening during the big Co-operatives United event at the end of October.

‘The Rochdale Pioneers’, starring John Henshaw – known for roles in Born and Bred, Early Doors and Looking for Eric – and John McArdle, of Gallowglass, Brookside and Merseybeat fame, is being shown at a number of VIP screenings in UK cinemas this month.

The free previews give Group members an early opportunity to see the film and meet one of its co-directors ahead of the film’s official premiere during the International Year of Co-operatives celebrations in Manchester and before its TV debut in November on Film4 as part of the channel’s British Connection Season.

The latest film from The Co-operative British Youth Film Academy, for which the official trailer has been released, below, tells how the Pioneers’ vision for a better social order inspired them to overcome prejudice and adversity to form the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society in 1844.

The film was commissioned by the Co-operative Group and Mark Robinson-Field, the society’s National Co-operative and Membership Manager and the film's Executive Producer, told the News: ”The original Rochdale Pioneers set out the principles that became the basis for how co-operatives around the world still operate to this day.

“It is a remarkable story of struggle against adversity that is just as relevant today and we believe that the time is right for this inspirational story to be re-told to a new generation.”

The film was co-directed by John Montegrande and Adam Lee Hamilton, who who were also responsible for The Co-operative British Youth Film Academy movie Julius Caesar, which was nominated for the international Raindance Film Festival and premiered in London last October.

The special screenings for Co-op Group members take place at the following cinemas:

•  9 September: Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds
•  15 September: Renoir Cinema, London
•  16 September: Cineworld Cinema, Brighton
•  19 September: Electric Cinema, Birmingham
•  20 September: Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle
•  25 September: ODEON, Preston PR2
• 25 September: ODEON Rochdale OL11
• 27 September: ODEON Stoke
• 27 September: ODEON Liverpool ONE
• 27 September: Strand Cinema, Belfast
• 28 September: Broadway Theatre, Nottingham

Tickets for the screenings are limited and further information is available from www.co-operative.coop/vipscreening