Midlands Review of No Fare - The Sian Green Story
midlandsmovies • December 11, 2020
No Fare: The Sian Green Story
Directed by Matt Holt
2020
Spoon Jar Films
What happened when a New York taxi mounted the pavement and hit a Leicester woman is the tragic story covered in a new feature-length documentary from Spoon Jar Films.
In 2013 Sian Green was excited to go to her dream holiday destination of New York with her best friend Keisha.
But tragedy struck near the Rockefeller Plaza as Sian became the victim of an incident where a yellow cab veered onto the pavement and struck her. The seriousness of the crash was immediately apparent with the severing of Sian’s leg.
With the valiant support of kind New Yorkers, Sian’s life was saved from as she was prevented from bleeding out but the ramifications of losing a limb slowly became apparent during her recovery in hospital.
The film then digs deeper by analysing the circumstances leading to the crash where the taxi driver and a cyclist were allegedly involved in a road rage occurrence. Holding a swiftly held press conference, the taxi driver and his legal representative provide a shocking account, shifting blame from driver to cyclist.
The story itself is an appalling set of circumstances but the clever construction of the documentary, which provides personal witness accounts and statements, gives the audience the full scandalous details in a simple and effective way.
With the driver absolving himself of guilt, his lack of remorse despite holding multiple traffic violations is alarming to say the very least. Combined with the absence of any prosecution, the facts of the case are laid bare and highlights the distressing tale of justice gone awry.
The professionalism of the documentary is there after a full 3-years of production work and the mix of talking head interviews and recreations of the accident are brilliantly illuminating. More shocking is the footage from the day itself and as we go forward, the personal narrative is set against the larger problem where the authorities seem to be unable, or unwilling, to face the legal consequences.
The film’s heart-breaking effects are explored in depth, but the filmmakers do turn their eye to Sian’s positivity about how she’s dealing with her injuries. Returning to her education, Sian’s determination despite the physical and mental barriers show a strong young woman unwavering in her efforts to move forward in life.
But the frustrations still exist, and the film’s final third focuses on her and her supportive family’s search for justice and compensation for the turmoil she’s been confronted with – whilst also dealing with the ongoing medical complications.
A powerful and emotional film, No Fare is a personal story of tragedy, courage and hope set against the machinations of the American justice and legal system that excuses unlawful behaviour.
And in conclusion, No Fare: The Sian Green story is simply an effective and unmissable documentary that will have audiences enraged in all the right ways.
Michael Sales
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony by Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett, Matt Burkey & Jayne Hyman for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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