As Hard Truths hits cinemas, we remember Mike Leigh’s long-term DP Dick Pope, who won the Camerimage Golden Frog for his work in Leigh’s first collaboration with the powerhouse actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who also won the Palme D’Or for Best Actress with her role as Hortense, a successful Black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother after her adoptive parents pass away. To her surprise, she discovers that her biological mother, Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn), is a white working-class woman. Their unexpected reunion sends shockwaves through Cynthia’s already strained family relationships. With powerful performances and Leigh’s signature attention to character detail, Secrets & Lies is a profound exploration of truth, reconciliation, and the bonds that hold families together.