Wonga commissions film '12 Portraits' to tell the story of its customers
Wonga has commissioned a film to tell the story of its customers and has hired filmmaker Gary Tarn to direct it.
The controversial finance company has commissioned the film, 12 Portraits, to feature real customers who will participate voluntarily and for free, while Tarn has apparently been given full creative control, with a brief of providing ‘a snapshot’ of Wonga’s customer base.
Niall Wass, chief operating officer for Wonga, commented: "Wonga has rarely been out of the headlines this year. We have a few loud critics and, while scrutiny of mistakes we make is absolutely appropriate, the voice of people who actually use and value our services - the silent majority - is usually missing from the picture.
"Ninety per cent of our customers would recommend our service to a friend. They are people from all walks of life using the service for lots of different reasons and it¹s great that such a respected filmmaker will capture some of these stories."
Filming of the project began in July and is expected to be released later this year.
Earlier this year, Wonga came under fire from the Archbishop of Canterbury for its lending policies and high interest rates, with claims that it exploited the poor and in need.