Sally Potter will be appearing at the 20th Bradford International Film Festival, which will be held at the National Media Museum from 27 March – 4 April 2014.
Between 1983, when Sally Potter made Thriller and 2012, when she made Ginger & Rosa, British cinema has been though many trends and phases in both mainstream and artists’ filmmaking. Over this past thirty years, Sally Potter’s films have moved playfully, nimbly between so many facets of culture – exploring dance, music, history, gender, performance. Always asking questions, never resting, always ambitious, never settling into whatever “British film” imagines itself to be at any particular time. Because of this, she’s one of the truly inspirational filmmakers. She made her first 8mm film aged 14.
As well as the seven feature films, and several short films showing here in Bradford, she has directed a television series on emotional expression in different culture, and opera. Her background is in choreography, music, performance art and experimental film. She was awarded an OBE in 2012.
On Sunday 30 March, Sally Potter will be in conversation when she will discuss her career to date, and in particular her experience of working with actors. Following her interview, Sally will be receiving the Bradford International Film Festival Fellowship 2014.
During the festival, there will also be a retrospective of her film work, including her early short films.
There is also a workshop at the University of Bradford aimed at students in further or higher eduction. The session provides access-all-areas to Sally Potter’s film Ginger & Rosa, made possible through archiving the entire production process. This includes filmed interviews with every single person involved, from runners through to the director herself, and contributions from high-profile practitioners such as the Director of Photography Robbie Ryan (Philomena, The Angels’ Share) and editor Anders Refn (long-time collaborator of Lars von Trier). Details of financing, publicity, distribution, production paperwork, communications and still photographs were also gathered during this process.
Participants of the workshop will be able to see and work with this fascinating archive of behind-the-scenes materials first-hand, which form part of Potter’s own online archive www.sp-ark.org and which offer never before- seen insights into the UK film industry. This unique opportunity is for anyone interested in finding out more about any aspect of filmmaking including camera, sound, costume, make-up, art, special effects, editing, production design, management, marketing and distribution.
Women's Film and Television History Network - UK/Ireland 