Acclaimed British actor, writer and director Samantha Morton who was awarded a Fellowship at the Ee BAFTA Awards on Sunday has called for more investment in British cinema.
The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry.
Addressing a press conference after accepting her award, Morton said: “We need more investment in British cinema. I’ve been saying this for years because we can’t just be a service industry for the wonderful Americans. They are amazing and thank God they come here and make movies and put us in as well, thank you. Like in France, we need our own quotas and we need to be making those investments.” Inward investment in the U.K. film and high-end TV industry was $4.22 billion in 2023, with the bulk of it coming from the U.S.
The U.K....
The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry.
Addressing a press conference after accepting her award, Morton said: “We need more investment in British cinema. I’ve been saying this for years because we can’t just be a service industry for the wonderful Americans. They are amazing and thank God they come here and make movies and put us in as well, thank you. Like in France, we need our own quotas and we need to be making those investments.” Inward investment in the U.K. film and high-end TV industry was $4.22 billion in 2023, with the bulk of it coming from the U.S.
The U.K....
- 2/18/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
British actor, writer, and director Samantha Morton will be awarded the BAFTA Fellowship at next week’s Ee BAFTA Film Awards.
Born in Nottingham in 1977, Morton garnered international attention in 1997 with her performance in Carine Adler’s Under the Skin, earning her a BIFA nomination and the Boston Film Critics Award for Best Actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award first for Best Supporting Actress for Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and later for Best Actress for Jim Sheridan’s In America (2003).
Other notable film credits include work with directors such as Lynne Ramsay on Morvern Callar (2002), for which she won Best Performance, Toronto Film Critics Award and a BIFA for Best Actress; Steven Spielberg on Minority Report (2002); Michael Winterbottom on Code 46 (2003); Shekhar Kapur on The Golden Age (2007); Harmony Korine on Mister Lonely (2007); Anton Corbijn on Control, (2007), earning her a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Film Award nomination; Charlie Kaufman Synecdoche,...
Born in Nottingham in 1977, Morton garnered international attention in 1997 with her performance in Carine Adler’s Under the Skin, earning her a BIFA nomination and the Boston Film Critics Award for Best Actress. She has been nominated for an Academy Award first for Best Supporting Actress for Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and later for Best Actress for Jim Sheridan’s In America (2003).
Other notable film credits include work with directors such as Lynne Ramsay on Morvern Callar (2002), for which she won Best Performance, Toronto Film Critics Award and a BIFA for Best Actress; Steven Spielberg on Minority Report (2002); Michael Winterbottom on Code 46 (2003); Shekhar Kapur on The Golden Age (2007); Harmony Korine on Mister Lonely (2007); Anton Corbijn on Control, (2007), earning her a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Film Award nomination; Charlie Kaufman Synecdoche,...
- 2/7/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Acclaimed British actor, writer and director Samantha Morton will be awarded a Fellowship at the upcoming Ee BAFTA Film Awards.
The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry.
After earning plaudits in theater and television, Morton’s breakthrough film role was Carine Adler’s “Under the Skin (1997) that earned her a BIFA nomination and the Boston Film Critics Award for best actress. She has been Oscar nominated twice – for best supporting actress for Woody Allen’s “Sweet and Lowdown” (1999), and for best actress for Jim Sheridan’s “In America” (2003).
For her portrayal of child-murderer Myra Hindley in “Longford” (2006) Morton scored best actress nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and BAFTA Television Award, and won a Golden Globe. In 2009, she made her directorial debut with television film “The Unloved,” a semi-autobiographical film based in the British children’s care system,...
The award is the highest recognition given by BAFTA to an individual for their exceptional contribution to the film, games or television industry.
After earning plaudits in theater and television, Morton’s breakthrough film role was Carine Adler’s “Under the Skin (1997) that earned her a BIFA nomination and the Boston Film Critics Award for best actress. She has been Oscar nominated twice – for best supporting actress for Woody Allen’s “Sweet and Lowdown” (1999), and for best actress for Jim Sheridan’s “In America” (2003).
For her portrayal of child-murderer Myra Hindley in “Longford” (2006) Morton scored best actress nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and BAFTA Television Award, and won a Golden Globe. In 2009, she made her directorial debut with television film “The Unloved,” a semi-autobiographical film based in the British children’s care system,...
- 2/7/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Samantha Morton, the British actor (She Said, The Whale, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Walking Dead), writer (I Am…Kirsty) and director (The Unloved), will receive the BAFTA Fellowship, the British Academy’s highest honor.
She will be given the honor at the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony, hosted by David Tennant (Doctor Who, Inside Man), in London on Feb. 18.
“As a proud BAFTA member I am honored, profoundly humbled and grateful to BAFTA for giving me this award,” Morton said.
Anna Higgs, chair of BAFTA’s film committee, lauded her as “a mesmerizing storyteller with incredible range,” adding: “She has made an extraordinary impact on the British film industry – consistently shining a light on complex characters and championing underrepresented stories. On-and-off screen, she always works to break down societal barriers and change the make-up of the screen industries for the better – often against great odds.” She concluded:...
She will be given the honor at the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony, hosted by David Tennant (Doctor Who, Inside Man), in London on Feb. 18.
“As a proud BAFTA member I am honored, profoundly humbled and grateful to BAFTA for giving me this award,” Morton said.
Anna Higgs, chair of BAFTA’s film committee, lauded her as “a mesmerizing storyteller with incredible range,” adding: “She has made an extraordinary impact on the British film industry – consistently shining a light on complex characters and championing underrepresented stories. On-and-off screen, she always works to break down societal barriers and change the make-up of the screen industries for the better – often against great odds.” She concluded:...
- 2/7/2024
- by Georg Szalai
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Actor, writer and director Samantha Morton will receive the Bafta Fellowship at next week’s Bafta Film Awards, on Sunday, February 18.
The British performer and filmmaker will receive the award during the ceremony as part of a special commemoration of her work to date.
Morton, who hails from Nottingham, broke through with her role in Carine Adler’s 1997 Under The Skin, for which she received a Bifa nomination.
Her subsequent credits include Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar, for which she won the Bifa for best actress; Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report; Anton Corbijn’s Control, for which she was nominated...
The British performer and filmmaker will receive the award during the ceremony as part of a special commemoration of her work to date.
Morton, who hails from Nottingham, broke through with her role in Carine Adler’s 1997 Under The Skin, for which she received a Bifa nomination.
Her subsequent credits include Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar, for which she won the Bifa for best actress; Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report; Anton Corbijn’s Control, for which she was nominated...
- 2/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
Two-time Oscar-nominated Samantha Morton is set to star as the nefarious Catherine de Medici in the new Starz Original series The Serpent Queen.
Morton will play Catherine in the series described as “the dark legend centered on de Medici” from writer and executive producer Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road).
The series will also be executive produced by Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games franchise) and Erwin Stoff (The Matrix). Stacie Passon (Transparent) will direct multiple episodes, including the premiere.
Multi-award-winning British actress Morton first garnered international attention in Carine Adler’s Under the Skin, earning her the Boston Film Critics Award for Best Actress.
The Serpent Queen is described as “a cunning account of one of the most influential women ever to wear a crown. Considered an immigrant, common and plain, Catherine de Medici is married into the 16th century French court as an orphaned teenager expected...
Morton will play Catherine in the series described as “the dark legend centered on de Medici” from writer and executive producer Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road).
The series will also be executive produced by Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games franchise) and Erwin Stoff (The Matrix). Stacie Passon (Transparent) will direct multiple episodes, including the premiere.
Multi-award-winning British actress Morton first garnered international attention in Carine Adler’s Under the Skin, earning her the Boston Film Critics Award for Best Actress.
The Serpent Queen is described as “a cunning account of one of the most influential women ever to wear a crown. Considered an immigrant, common and plain, Catherine de Medici is married into the 16th century French court as an orphaned teenager expected...
- 4/7/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Granted, The Berlinale and Efm seem like a thousand years ago, but look, what have we got to look forward to? Not much right now, as everything is being cancelled, so let’s talk about the past Berlinale.
I was just going through my Berlin trades and just discovered that Ben Gibson, all of our favorite leftist renegade, crazy but good educator, producer of I don’t know how many films.”
That the trade press could write such reports about a friend to hang out with at parties at least, without first fact checking and interviewing their longtime colleague/ friend Ben or an actual witness is reprehensible because with a care–less stroke of their pen, they seem to have blocked any academic institution from ever interviewing Ben again. At first Google, the Screen article will appear. The article was next picked up by Variety who later corrected the reported...
I was just going through my Berlin trades and just discovered that Ben Gibson, all of our favorite leftist renegade, crazy but good educator, producer of I don’t know how many films.”
That the trade press could write such reports about a friend to hang out with at parties at least, without first fact checking and interviewing their longtime colleague/ friend Ben or an actual witness is reprehensible because with a care–less stroke of their pen, they seem to have blocked any academic institution from ever interviewing Ben again. At first Google, the Screen article will appear. The article was next picked up by Variety who later corrected the reported...
- 3/17/2020
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Ben Gibson, the departing Director of the London Film School, has been appointed to a new senior role at Aftrs, the Australian Film Television & Radio School, as Director, Degree Programs. He will start work in Sydney in September.
Gibson will play a key leadership role in ensuring the successful delivery and development of a new three-year Aftrs Bachelor of Arts (Screen) degree and Aftrs Screen and Screen Business Masters degrees, which are being restructured and relaunched for 2015.
“Ben is eminently qualified for this pivotal new role at Aftrs, and I’m thrilled that he could be persuaded to bring his considerable skills, experience and academic rigor to Australia. His 14 years as Director of the very successful London Film School are notable for his work in building up the school’s reputation in the UK and abroad and expanding and accrediting its prestigious postgraduate degrees. Ben has also been a very successful and original independent producer and production executive, and has previously worked in distribution and exhibition, so he comes with a deep knowledge of the international screen industry at all levels,” said Sandra Levy, CEO of the Aftrs.
Prior to joining the London Film School in 2001, Gibson worked as a film distributor and independent producer, and as Head of Production at the British Film Institute from 1988 to 1998. His production and executive production credits include Terence Davies' " The Long Day Closes," Derek Jarman's "Wittgenstein," John Maybury's "Love is the Devil," Carine Adler's "Under the Skin"and Jasmin Dizdar's "Beautiful People," as well as 20 other low budget features and many shorts by UK directors including Patrick Keiller, Gurinder Chadha, Lynne Ramsay, Richard Kwietniowski and Andrew Kotting. As a partner in distributors The Other Cinema/Metro Pictures he acquired and promoted films by Pedro Almodovar, Chris Marker, Chantal Akerman and Jean-Luc Godard as well as opening the West End’s Metro Cinema in 1986. He has also been a theater director, a repertory film programmer and a film critic and journalist. He leaves Lfs at the end of July.
Ben Gibson said: “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to Sandra Levy’s vision of Aftrs as a complete screen school -- and to get the chance to work in the Australian film industry, one I’ve hugely admired and followed -- so far from a great distance. Aftrs offers a special combination of good things: self-confidence, an extraordinary heritage, great creative ambition, exceptional resources, a wide educational scope and a central mission in a dynamic and productive screen industry. It’s rightly considered to be one of the great film schools of the world. I can’t wait to join the team and get started there.”
Gibson’s final year at Lfs has been attended by great creative success. The school won 35 festival prizes and mentions in 2013-14, including a BAFTA nomination. Ms Levy pointed out that this year’s Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival was won by Leidi, the Lfs graduation film of Simón Mesa Soto. Also at Cannes, amongst seven graduates featured in the 2014 selection, "The Salt of the Earth," co-directed by Lfs graduate Juliano Ribeiro Salgado with Wim Wenders, was awarded the Un Certain Regard’s Special Jury Prize.
Director Mike Leigh, Chair of Governors at the London Film School, in announcing Ben’s departure earlier this year, said: “Ben Gibson has led Lfs from strength to strength over his fourteen years of outstanding service, and we will be sad to see him go.”
Aftrs is Australia’s national screen arts and broadcasting school and has been named as one of the Top 20 film schools in the world by industry journal, The Hollywood Reporter. As an elite specialist institution, Aftrs provides excellence in education through its practice based model, and aspires to deliver a dynamic educational offering that prepares the most talented and creative students – novice, experienced, fully fledged professional specialists – to be platform agnostic, creative and resilient in an industry subject to constant changes in knowledge and technology. The new BA Screen is a 3-year program offering a strong base in the understanding of story and screen history alongside a comprehensive introduction to the skills of screen production.
Gibson will play a key leadership role in ensuring the successful delivery and development of a new three-year Aftrs Bachelor of Arts (Screen) degree and Aftrs Screen and Screen Business Masters degrees, which are being restructured and relaunched for 2015.
“Ben is eminently qualified for this pivotal new role at Aftrs, and I’m thrilled that he could be persuaded to bring his considerable skills, experience and academic rigor to Australia. His 14 years as Director of the very successful London Film School are notable for his work in building up the school’s reputation in the UK and abroad and expanding and accrediting its prestigious postgraduate degrees. Ben has also been a very successful and original independent producer and production executive, and has previously worked in distribution and exhibition, so he comes with a deep knowledge of the international screen industry at all levels,” said Sandra Levy, CEO of the Aftrs.
Prior to joining the London Film School in 2001, Gibson worked as a film distributor and independent producer, and as Head of Production at the British Film Institute from 1988 to 1998. His production and executive production credits include Terence Davies' " The Long Day Closes," Derek Jarman's "Wittgenstein," John Maybury's "Love is the Devil," Carine Adler's "Under the Skin"and Jasmin Dizdar's "Beautiful People," as well as 20 other low budget features and many shorts by UK directors including Patrick Keiller, Gurinder Chadha, Lynne Ramsay, Richard Kwietniowski and Andrew Kotting. As a partner in distributors The Other Cinema/Metro Pictures he acquired and promoted films by Pedro Almodovar, Chris Marker, Chantal Akerman and Jean-Luc Godard as well as opening the West End’s Metro Cinema in 1986. He has also been a theater director, a repertory film programmer and a film critic and journalist. He leaves Lfs at the end of July.
Ben Gibson said: “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to Sandra Levy’s vision of Aftrs as a complete screen school -- and to get the chance to work in the Australian film industry, one I’ve hugely admired and followed -- so far from a great distance. Aftrs offers a special combination of good things: self-confidence, an extraordinary heritage, great creative ambition, exceptional resources, a wide educational scope and a central mission in a dynamic and productive screen industry. It’s rightly considered to be one of the great film schools of the world. I can’t wait to join the team and get started there.”
Gibson’s final year at Lfs has been attended by great creative success. The school won 35 festival prizes and mentions in 2013-14, including a BAFTA nomination. Ms Levy pointed out that this year’s Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival was won by Leidi, the Lfs graduation film of Simón Mesa Soto. Also at Cannes, amongst seven graduates featured in the 2014 selection, "The Salt of the Earth," co-directed by Lfs graduate Juliano Ribeiro Salgado with Wim Wenders, was awarded the Un Certain Regard’s Special Jury Prize.
Director Mike Leigh, Chair of Governors at the London Film School, in announcing Ben’s departure earlier this year, said: “Ben Gibson has led Lfs from strength to strength over his fourteen years of outstanding service, and we will be sad to see him go.”
Aftrs is Australia’s national screen arts and broadcasting school and has been named as one of the Top 20 film schools in the world by industry journal, The Hollywood Reporter. As an elite specialist institution, Aftrs provides excellence in education through its practice based model, and aspires to deliver a dynamic educational offering that prepares the most talented and creative students – novice, experienced, fully fledged professional specialists – to be platform agnostic, creative and resilient in an industry subject to constant changes in knowledge and technology. The new BA Screen is a 3-year program offering a strong base in the understanding of story and screen history alongside a comprehensive introduction to the skills of screen production.
- 7/15/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Outgoing director of the London Film School to join Australian Film School.
Ben Gibson, the departing director of the London Film School, has been appointed to a new senior role at Aftrs, the Australian Film Television & Radio School, as director, degree programs. He will start work in Sydney in September.
Gibson will play a key leadership role in ensuring the successful delivery and development of a new three-year Aftrs Bachelor of Arts (Screen) degree and Aftrs Screen and Screen Business Masters degrees, which are being restructured and relaunched for 2015.
Prior to joining the Lfs in 2001, Gibson worked as a film distributor and independent producer, and as head of production at the British Film Institute (BFI) from 1988 to 1998.
His production and executive production credits include Terence Davies’ The Long Day Closes, Derek Jarman’s Wittgenstein, John Maybury’s Love is the Devil, Carine Adler’s Under the Skin and Jasmin Dizdar’s Beautiful People, as well as...
Ben Gibson, the departing director of the London Film School, has been appointed to a new senior role at Aftrs, the Australian Film Television & Radio School, as director, degree programs. He will start work in Sydney in September.
Gibson will play a key leadership role in ensuring the successful delivery and development of a new three-year Aftrs Bachelor of Arts (Screen) degree and Aftrs Screen and Screen Business Masters degrees, which are being restructured and relaunched for 2015.
Prior to joining the Lfs in 2001, Gibson worked as a film distributor and independent producer, and as head of production at the British Film Institute (BFI) from 1988 to 1998.
His production and executive production credits include Terence Davies’ The Long Day Closes, Derek Jarman’s Wittgenstein, John Maybury’s Love is the Devil, Carine Adler’s Under the Skin and Jasmin Dizdar’s Beautiful People, as well as...
- 7/3/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Mike Leigh praises London Film School director Ben Gibson for “outstanding” service.
London Film School director Ben Gibson has stepped down from the post he held for 14 years.
The Lfs board is now looking to appoint a new director who will likely assume the role from next autumn.
Gibson will remain active at the school until the transition to the new director.
Gibson has been instrumental in raising the profile of the Lfs in the UK and abroad and has also overseen the school’s long-gestating transition from Covent Garden to the Barbican.
In December 2013, the school announced its first major funding towards the transfer, with a move planned for 2016, the same year the school celebrates its 60th birthday.
Gibson told ScreenDaily: “It has been an engrossing pleasure to lead this dynamic and important institution since 2000. Lfs is a wonderful place to work and learn, and the privilege of teaching and supporting talented, collaborative and clear-eyed...
London Film School director Ben Gibson has stepped down from the post he held for 14 years.
The Lfs board is now looking to appoint a new director who will likely assume the role from next autumn.
Gibson will remain active at the school until the transition to the new director.
Gibson has been instrumental in raising the profile of the Lfs in the UK and abroad and has also overseen the school’s long-gestating transition from Covent Garden to the Barbican.
In December 2013, the school announced its first major funding towards the transfer, with a move planned for 2016, the same year the school celebrates its 60th birthday.
Gibson told ScreenDaily: “It has been an engrossing pleasure to lead this dynamic and important institution since 2000. Lfs is a wonderful place to work and learn, and the privilege of teaching and supporting talented, collaborative and clear-eyed...
- 1/14/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Craig here with the penultimate ‘Take Three’. This week: Samantha Morton...
The Artists are present: Samantha Morton (and Marina Abramovic) doing jury duty in Venice right now
She's currently advising R-Pattz in Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis on screen and serving as a jury member on the 69th Venice Film Festival off screen.
Take One: Under the Skin (1997)
After some acclaimed TV and short film work, Morton made her feature bow in Carine Adler’s Under the Skin. In it she plays Iris, a girl selfdestructing and suffering due to the death of her mother. In this blistering debut Morton flits between girlish abandon and hot-tempered wilfulness. At times the camera has trouble keeping up with her as she weaves through life picking up numerous sexual conquests in retaliation for not being able to confront her grief. Other times, the camera can’t seem to pull away from its close focus on Morton’s expressive face,...
The Artists are present: Samantha Morton (and Marina Abramovic) doing jury duty in Venice right now
She's currently advising R-Pattz in Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis on screen and serving as a jury member on the 69th Venice Film Festival off screen.
Take One: Under the Skin (1997)
After some acclaimed TV and short film work, Morton made her feature bow in Carine Adler’s Under the Skin. In it she plays Iris, a girl selfdestructing and suffering due to the death of her mother. In this blistering debut Morton flits between girlish abandon and hot-tempered wilfulness. At times the camera has trouble keeping up with her as she weaves through life picking up numerous sexual conquests in retaliation for not being able to confront her grief. Other times, the camera can’t seem to pull away from its close focus on Morton’s expressive face,...
- 9/4/2012
- by Craig Bloomfield
- FilmExperience
She's one of the few women competing at Cannes this year – and with her first feature. Alicia Duffy tells Maddy Costa about her lucky breaks, on-set rows and why Virginia Woolf is an inspiration
Here's a familiar story: a female director, with a clutch of prize-winning short films to her name, has her first feature selected for screening at Cannes. It happened to Lynne Ramsay, whose debut Ratcatcher was shown in 1999, three years after she won the Jury prize for her short Small Deaths. It happened to Andrea Arnold, who won the Jury prize for Red Road, and again in 2009 for Fish Tank. Now it's the turn of Alicia Duffy, whose debut feature, All Good Children, has been selected for the Director's Fortnight.
Like Arnold, who was an actor and TV presenter before switching to directing in her 30s, Duffy, now 38, was a latecomer to cinema. She tried everything from opera singing to advanced maths,...
Here's a familiar story: a female director, with a clutch of prize-winning short films to her name, has her first feature selected for screening at Cannes. It happened to Lynne Ramsay, whose debut Ratcatcher was shown in 1999, three years after she won the Jury prize for her short Small Deaths. It happened to Andrea Arnold, who won the Jury prize for Red Road, and again in 2009 for Fish Tank. Now it's the turn of Alicia Duffy, whose debut feature, All Good Children, has been selected for the Director's Fortnight.
Like Arnold, who was an actor and TV presenter before switching to directing in her 30s, Duffy, now 38, was a latecomer to cinema. She tried everything from opera singing to advanced maths,...
- 5/16/2010
- by Maddy Costa
- The Guardian - Film News
Since she first made a name for herself at 16, Samantha Morton has been renowned for the intensity and intelligence of her work. Her two latest projects – The Messenger, a drama about the Iraq war, and The Unloved, based on her own deprived childhood, and which she co-wrote and directed – were typically idiosyncratic. What next for this most independent of actresses?
I have arranged to meet Samantha Morton at one o'clock in an east London photographic studio, where, if all is going to plan, she should just be finishing an Observer photoshoot. I turn up to find that she has arrived just minutes before me. Everyone is in a flap, so I repair to the bar next door to wait for her. An hour or so later she breezes in.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," she says, sounding sincerely sorry. It turns out she has had the builders in, and her house has...
I have arranged to meet Samantha Morton at one o'clock in an east London photographic studio, where, if all is going to plan, she should just be finishing an Observer photoshoot. I turn up to find that she has arrived just minutes before me. Everyone is in a flap, so I repair to the bar next door to wait for her. An hour or so later she breezes in.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry," she says, sounding sincerely sorry. It turns out she has had the builders in, and her house has...
- 5/8/2010
- by Sean O'Hagan
- The Guardian - Film News
VENICE, Italy -- The Film Council, the U.K. government-backed financing and strategy body, unveiled Friday (Aug. 30) a funding package totaling £830,000 ($1.3 million) spread across four productions from its New Cinema production fund. The biggest single beneficiary from the cash injection is "Finding Out," written and directed by Carine Adler, which secures £300,000 ($464,130) from the fund. The cash, which is drawn down by producers Kate Ogborn -- who collaborated with Adler on her debut feature "Under The Skin" -- and Bertrand Faivre ("The Warrior" will be paid back when the movie is completed. The project details a developing love story between a lonely adolescent girl and an older man with a past he is trying to hide.
- 8/30/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- In Carine Adler's feature, showcased recently at the New Directors/ New Films series, Samantha Morton delivers a powerful, intense performance as a young woman who buries her grief over her mother's death through drugs and a series of emotionless sexual affairs.
Overly stylized and indulgent, "Under the Skin", which won the International Critics Award at the Toronto Film Festival, seems too obviously the work of a young filmmaker eager to show off, but Morton's mesmerizing portrayal merits attention.
Rita Tushingham, making one of her infrequent screen appearances, plays Mum, who likes to play her two daughters off against each other: Rose (Claire Rushbrook of "Secrets and Lies") is older, happily married and pregnant with her first child, while Iris (Morton), still a teen-ager, is a firebrand. Mum clearly favors Rose, which only prompts Iris to even more rebellious behavior.
When Mum dies suddenly, it sends Iris into a tailspin of self-destructive behavior. She unceremoniously dumps her loyal boyfriend and, donning her mother's tattered clothing and blonde wig, embarks on a series of one-night stands with less-than-reputable characters.
Before her increasingly dangerous behavior can destroy her, however, she and her sister come to terms with their feelings and effect a reconciliation.
The filmmaker attempts to depict Iris' precarious emotional state through various technical means, including bizarre camera angles, slow-motion effects and visual distortions. Though interesting for a while, the effects quickly pale, and they ultimately do little more than reveal the screenplay's lack of texture or depth. The story line, as with so many other depictions of self-destructive behavior, quickly becomes repetitive and uninteresting.
Still, Adler has elicited fine performances from the entire cast and also displays a talent for evocative visuals. The film, shot on location in Liverpool, England, during the winter, has a moody bleakness that excellently conveys the main character's desperation, and the effect is further enhanced by the well-chosen techno music soundtrack.
UNDER THE SKIN
Arrow Entertainment
Director-screenplay: Carine Adler
Producer: Kate Ogborn
Executive producer: Ben Gibson
Director of photography: Barry Ackroyd
Editor: Ewa J. Lind
Composer: Ilona Sekacz
Color/stereo
Cast:
Iris: Samantha Morton
Rose: Claire Rushbrook
Mum: Rita Tushingham
Tom: Stuart Townshend
Vron: Christine Tremarco
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Overly stylized and indulgent, "Under the Skin", which won the International Critics Award at the Toronto Film Festival, seems too obviously the work of a young filmmaker eager to show off, but Morton's mesmerizing portrayal merits attention.
Rita Tushingham, making one of her infrequent screen appearances, plays Mum, who likes to play her two daughters off against each other: Rose (Claire Rushbrook of "Secrets and Lies") is older, happily married and pregnant with her first child, while Iris (Morton), still a teen-ager, is a firebrand. Mum clearly favors Rose, which only prompts Iris to even more rebellious behavior.
When Mum dies suddenly, it sends Iris into a tailspin of self-destructive behavior. She unceremoniously dumps her loyal boyfriend and, donning her mother's tattered clothing and blonde wig, embarks on a series of one-night stands with less-than-reputable characters.
Before her increasingly dangerous behavior can destroy her, however, she and her sister come to terms with their feelings and effect a reconciliation.
The filmmaker attempts to depict Iris' precarious emotional state through various technical means, including bizarre camera angles, slow-motion effects and visual distortions. Though interesting for a while, the effects quickly pale, and they ultimately do little more than reveal the screenplay's lack of texture or depth. The story line, as with so many other depictions of self-destructive behavior, quickly becomes repetitive and uninteresting.
Still, Adler has elicited fine performances from the entire cast and also displays a talent for evocative visuals. The film, shot on location in Liverpool, England, during the winter, has a moody bleakness that excellently conveys the main character's desperation, and the effect is further enhanced by the well-chosen techno music soundtrack.
UNDER THE SKIN
Arrow Entertainment
Director-screenplay: Carine Adler
Producer: Kate Ogborn
Executive producer: Ben Gibson
Director of photography: Barry Ackroyd
Editor: Ewa J. Lind
Composer: Ilona Sekacz
Color/stereo
Cast:
Iris: Samantha Morton
Rose: Claire Rushbrook
Mum: Rita Tushingham
Tom: Stuart Townshend
Vron: Christine Tremarco
Running time -- 85 minutes
No MPAA rating...
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.