Shona Auerbach
Encyclopedia
Shona Auerbach is a British
film director
and cinematographer
.
Auerbach began her career as a stills photographer. She studied film at Manchester University and cinematography at Leeds
before completing her Master of Arts
at the Polish National Film School in Lodz
. Her first directorial effort was the 1996 short subject
Seven, which won her awards from the Munich International Festival of Film Schools, the Montecatini Filmvideo International Short Film Festival in Spain
, and the Capalbio Cinema International Short Film Festival in Italy
. She spent the next several years directing commercials
while at the same time preparing her debut feature film
, Dear Frankie
, which was shown at numerous film festivals in 2004 and was released commercially in early 2005. She also served as cinematographer on both films.
For Dear Frankie, Auerbach was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer
and the BAFTA Scotland
Award for Best Director. She won the Heartland Film Festival
Crystal Heart Award, the High Falls Film Festival
Audience Award for Best Feature Film, the Jackson Hole Film Festival Cowboy Award for Best Feature Film, the Los Angeles IFP/West Film Festival Audience Award for Best International Feature Film, the Montreal World Film Festival
Golden Zenith Award, the Seattle International Film Festival
Women in Cinema Lena Sharpe Award, and the WinFemme Film Festival Award for Best Film or TV Show Directed by a Woman.
Auerbach is married to cameraman
Graeme Dunn.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and cinematographer
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
.
Auerbach began her career as a stills photographer. She studied film at Manchester University and cinematography at Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
before completing her Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
at the Polish National Film School in Lodz
Lódz
Łódź is the third-largest city in Poland. Located in the central part of the country, it had a population of 742,387 in December 2009. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is approximately south-west of Warsaw...
. Her first directorial effort was the 1996 short subject
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
Seven, which won her awards from the Munich International Festival of Film Schools, the Montecatini Filmvideo International Short Film Festival in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and the Capalbio Cinema International Short Film Festival in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. She spent the next several years directing commercials
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
while at the same time preparing her debut feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
, Dear Frankie
Dear Frankie
Dear Frankie is a 2004 British drama film directed by Shona Auerbach. The screenplay by Andrea Gibb focuses on a young single mother whose love for her son prompts her to perpetuate a deception designed to protect him from the truth about his father....
, which was shown at numerous film festivals in 2004 and was released commercially in early 2005. She also served as cinematographer on both films.
For Dear Frankie, Auerbach was nominated for the 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...
and the BAFTA Scotland
BAFTA Scotland
BAFTA in Scotland is the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Formed in 1997, the branch holds an annual awards ceremony, the British Academy Scotland Awards , to recognise achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film, television and video games...
Award for Best Director. She won the Heartland Film Festival
Heartland Film Festival
The Heartland Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. First held in 1992, its goal is to "recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life."In May 2007, Heartland...
Crystal Heart Award, the High Falls Film Festival
Rochester-High Falls International Film Festival
The 360 | 365 Film Festival is an annual film festival held each spring in Rochester, New York. The executive director of the festival was Rosie Taravella from 2006-2009...
Audience Award for Best Feature Film, the Jackson Hole Film Festival Cowboy Award for Best Feature Film, the Los Angeles IFP/West Film Festival Audience Award for Best International Feature Film, the Montreal World Film Festival
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...
Golden Zenith Award, the Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
Women in Cinema Lena Sharpe Award, and the WinFemme Film Festival Award for Best Film or TV Show Directed by a Woman.
Auerbach is married to cameraman
Camera operator
A camera operator or cameraman is a professional operator of a film or video camera. In filmmaking, the leading cameraman is usually called a cinematographer, while a cameraman in a video production may be known as a television camera operator, video camera operator, or videographer, depending on...
Graeme Dunn.