Andrea Arnold
Encyclopedia
Andrea Arnold OBE
(born 5 April 1961) is a filmmaker and former actress from England, who made her feature film directorial debut in 2006 with Red Road
.
. She first came to prominence as an actress and television presenter alongside Sandi Toksvig
, Nick Staverson and Neil Buchanan
in the 1980s children's television show No. 73
. This Saturday morning show on ITV
, in which she played Dawn Lodge, had a similar premise to that of The Kumars at No. 42
in the way that the show was part sitcom, part chat show and based at a domestic residence. In addition to these parts, the show had the usual mix of music, competitions and cartoons (such as Roger Ramjet
) that was in keeping to the formula of British Saturday morning children's TV of the 1980s.
In 1988 No. 73 had morphed into 7T3, with the set being moved from the Maidstone
house (in fact in TVS
studios in Kent
) to that of a theme park. This revamp would only last the season, but Arnold would be seen for another two years in the same timeslot as part of the Motormouth
presenting team. In 1990 she presented and wrote for the environmental awareness show for teens, A Beetle Called Derek. This also featured Benjamin Zephaniah
and gave exposure to The Yes/No People of Stomp
fame.
in Los Angeles and trained in screenwriting at the PAL Labs in Kent
. Her early short films included Milk (1998) and Dog (2001). She won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film
for Wasp
, in 2005.
Red Road
is the first instalment of Advance Party
, a planned set of three conceptually-related films by different first-time directors. Set on a housing estate
in Glasgow
, the revenge
-themed story centres on a CCTV
(security TV cameras) operator who develops an obsession with someone she observes, for reasons that become clear through the progress of the film. The picture has won the British director comparisons with established names such as Michael Haneke
and Lars von Trier
. Screen International critic Allan Hunter said the film was "likely to emerge as one of the discoveries of this year's Cannes Film Festival
(2006)." It went on to win the Jury Prize at Cannes that year.
Arnold won the 2007 BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer
for directing Red Road.
Her 2009 film Fish Tank
premiered at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival
, where she once again won the Jury Prize. The film also went on to win the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film
in 2010.
In 2011, Arnold completed shooting an adaptation of Emily Bronte
's Wuthering Heights
, produced by London's Ecosse Films
. The film was shown in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival
in September., where it won the Golden Osella
for Best Cinematography.
She is developing a project for HBO with Mandabach productions called Dirty. It is being written by Danny Brocklehurst
, and Arnold will serve as Executive Producer
(alongside Caryn Mandabach
) and will direct the pilot episode.
She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to the film industry.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 5 April 1961) is a filmmaker and former actress from England, who made her feature film directorial debut in 2006 with Red Road
Red Road (film)
Red Road is a 2006 British film directed by Andrea Arnold. It tells the story of a CCTV security operator who observes through her monitors a man from her past. It is named after, and partly set at, the Red Road flats in Barmulloch, Glasgow, Scotland which were the tallest residential buildings in...
.
Early TV work
After leaving school in the late 70s, Arnold got her first TV jobs as a dancer on shows that included Top of the PopsTop of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
. She first came to prominence as an actress and television presenter alongside Sandi Toksvig
Sandi Toksvig
Sandra Brigitte “Sandi” Toksvig is a Danish comedian, author and presenter on British radio and television.-Career:...
, Nick Staverson and Neil Buchanan
Neil Buchanan
Neil Buchanan is an English television presenter best known for his work on the CITV programme Art Attack, a television programme that he presented during its run from 1990 to 2007...
in the 1980s children's television show No. 73
No. 73
No 73, later re-titled 7T3, was a British 1980s children's TV show produced by Television South for the ITV network. It was broadcast live on Saturday mornings and ran from 1982 to 1988...
. This Saturday morning show on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
, in which she played Dawn Lodge, had a similar premise to that of The Kumars at No. 42
The Kumars at No. 42
The Kumars at No. 42 was a British television show. It won an International Emmy in 2002 and in 2003. It ran for seven series totalling 53 episodes.-Plot:...
in the way that the show was part sitcom, part chat show and based at a domestic residence. In addition to these parts, the show had the usual mix of music, competitions and cartoons (such as Roger Ramjet
Roger Ramjet
Roger Ramjet is an animated American children's television comedy series that first ran in 1965 and has aired in syndication since. Starring Roger Ramjet and the American Eagle Squadron, the show was known for its crude animation, frenetic pace, and frequent references to popular culture, which...
) that was in keeping to the formula of British Saturday morning children's TV of the 1980s.
In 1988 No. 73 had morphed into 7T3, with the set being moved from the Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
house (in fact in TVS
Television South
Television South was the ITV franchise holder in the south and south east of England between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 1992. The company operated under various names, initially as Television South plc and then following reorganisation in 1989 as TVS Entertainment plc, with its UK...
studios in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
) to that of a theme park. This revamp would only last the season, but Arnold would be seen for another two years in the same timeslot as part of the Motormouth
Motormouth
Motormouth was a Saturday morning children's television series that was produced by Television South and aired across the ITV network for four series, running between 3 September 1988 and 4 April 1992...
presenting team. In 1990 she presented and wrote for the environmental awareness show for teens, A Beetle Called Derek. This also featured Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Zephaniah
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah is an English writer and dub poet. He is a well-known figure in contemporary English literature, and was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008....
and gave exposure to The Yes/No People of Stomp
Stomp (dance troupe)
Stomp is a percussion group that uses the body and ordinary objects to create a physical theatre performance.-History and performances:...
fame.
Directing
After retiring from her career as a television presenter, Arnold studied directing at the prestigious AFI ConservatoryAFI Conservatory
The AFI Conservatory is a division of the American Film Institute founded in 1969, located in Hollywood's Griffith Park. The school is the only existing Master of Fine Arts conservatory in advanced film education...
in Los Angeles and trained in screenwriting at the PAL Labs in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. Her early short films included Milk (1998) and Dog (2001). She won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film
Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film
This name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. For the three preceding years it was known as "Short Subjects, Live Action Films." The term "Short Subjects, Live Action Subjects" was used from 1957 until 1970. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate...
for Wasp
Wasp (film)
Wasp is a short film written and directed by Andrea Arnold. Released in 2003, it stars Nathalie Press as a struggling single mother determined not to let her four young children prove an obstacle in the pursuit of rekindling a relationship with an old ex-boyfriend Danny Dyer...
, in 2005.
Red Road
Red Road (film)
Red Road is a 2006 British film directed by Andrea Arnold. It tells the story of a CCTV security operator who observes through her monitors a man from her past. It is named after, and partly set at, the Red Road flats in Barmulloch, Glasgow, Scotland which were the tallest residential buildings in...
is the first instalment of Advance Party
Advance Party (film series)
Advance Party is the name given to a concept of three films which are all to follow a set of rules proposed by executive producers Gillian Berrie, Lone Scherfig and Anders Thomas Jensen. The concept came out of discussion between Lars von Trier, Berrie, Scherfig and Jensen. Each film is to be...
, a planned set of three conceptually-related films by different first-time directors. Set on a housing estate
Housing estate
A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, the revenge
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
-themed story centres on a CCTV
Closed-circuit television camera
Closed-circuit television cameras can produce images or recordings for surveillance purposes, and can be either video cameras, or digital stills cameras...
(security TV cameras) operator who develops an obsession with someone she observes, for reasons that become clear through the progress of the film. The picture has won the British director comparisons with established names such as Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke is a German born Austrian filmmaker and writer best known for his bleak and disturbing style. His films often document problems and failures in modern society. Haneke has worked in television‚ theatre and cinema. He is also known for raising social issues in his work...
and Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion....
. Screen International critic Allan Hunter said the film was "likely to emerge as one of the discoveries of this year's Cannes Film Festival
2006 Cannes Film Festival
The 2006 Cannes Film Festival ran from May 17, 2006 to May 28, 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the jury....
(2006)." It went on to win the Jury Prize at Cannes that year.
Arnold won the 2007 BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer
BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer
-Best British Director, Producer or Writer in the First Film:*2006 - Red Road - Andrea Arnold**Black Sun – Gary Tarn**Pierrepoint – Christine Langan**London to Brighton – Paul Andrew Williams...
for directing Red Road.
Her 2009 film Fish Tank
Fish Tank (film)
Fish Tank is a 2009 British drama film directed by Andrea Arnold. The film won the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. It also won the 2010 BAFTA for Best British Film. It was filmed in the Mardyke Estate in Havering, the town of Tilbury, and the A13, and funded by BBC Films and the UK...
premiered at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival
2009 Cannes Film Festival
The 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 13 to May 24, 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. It was announced on March 19, 2009, that Pixar's film Up would open the festival...
, where she once again won the Jury Prize. The film also went on to win the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film
BAFTA Award for Best Film
This page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
in 2010.
In 2011, Arnold completed shooting an adaptation of Emily Bronte
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
's Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights (2011 film)
Wuthering Heights is a 2011 British romantic drama film directed by Andrea Arnold and starring Kaya Scodelario as Catherine and James Howson as Heathcliff. The screenplay, written by Andrea Arnold and Olivia Hetreed, is based on Emily Brontë's 1847 novel of the same name.- Cast :* Kaya Scodelario...
, produced by London's Ecosse Films
Ecosse Films
Ecosse Films is a British film and television production company based in London. Ecosse Films is a multi award-winning company, specialising in high-quality drama for film and television, producing 11 films and over 300 hours of network television for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Showtime, Starz Channel...
. The film was shown in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival
68th Venice International Film Festival
The 68th annual Venice Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, took place from 31 August to 10 September 2011. American film director Darren Aronofsky was announced as the Head of the Jury. American actor and film director Al Pacino was presented with the Glory to the Film-maker award on 4 September,...
in September., where it won the Golden Osella
Golden Osella
The Golden Osella is the name of several awards given at the Venice Film Festival. They are awarded irregularly and in various categories such as directing, screenwriting, cinematography and 'technical contributions'.-Best Director:...
for Best Cinematography.
She is developing a project for HBO with Mandabach productions called Dirty. It is being written by Danny Brocklehurst
Danny Brocklehurst
Danny Brocklehurst is a BAFTA and International Emmy -winning English screenwriter. Brocklehurst worked as a journalist for several years before becoming a full-time screenwriter.He has written acclaimed television drama...
, and Arnold will serve as Executive Producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
(alongside Caryn Mandabach
Caryn Mandabach
Caryn Mandabach is an American television producer.Caryn Mandabach produced ground-breaking US hits including The Cosby Show, Roseanne, A Different World , Grace Under Fire , Cybill , 3rd Rock from the Sun , That '80s Show , That '70s Show , and Grounded for Life .Most recently...
) and will direct the pilot episode.
She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to the film industry.
Awards
- 2004 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short FilmAcademy Award for Best Live Action Short FilmThis name for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film was introduced in 1974. For the three preceding years it was known as "Short Subjects, Live Action Films." The term "Short Subjects, Live Action Subjects" was used from 1957 until 1970. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate...
– Wasp - 2007 BAFTA Award for Best NewcomerBAFTA Award for Best Newcomer-Best British Director, Producer or Writer in the First Film:*2006 - Red Road - Andrea Arnold**Black Sun – Gary Tarn**Pierrepoint – Christine Langan**London to Brighton – Paul Andrew Williams...
in Directing – Red Road - 2009 British Independent Film Award for Best Director of a British Independent Film – Fish Tank
- 2010 BAFTA Award for Outstanding British FilmBAFTA Award for Best FilmThis page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
– Fish Tank
External links
- Cannes director urges CCTV debate, BBC News Online, 20 May 2006
- 'I like darkness', The Guardian, 18 October 2006