Sarah Gavron
Sarah Gavron (born 20 April 1970) is a British film director. She has directed four short films, and three feature films.[1] Her first film was This Little Life (2003), later followed by Brick Lane (2007) and Village at the End of the World (2012). Her film, Suffragette (2015) is based in the London of 1912 and tells the story of the Suffragette movement based on realistic historical events.[2] Her most recent film is Rocks which she directed in a creative collaboration with the team and young cast. Rocks premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and opened in cinemas in 2020.
Sarah Gavron | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 April 1970 |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouse | David Katznelson |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Robert Gavron Nicky Gavron |
Sarah Gavron is also both a wife and a mother, and "got into filmmaking to make a difference."[1][3] She has dedicated her career to accurately telling the stories of women.[1][3] In addition, the scarcity of women filmmakers in the UK is what inspires Gavron with her own filmmaking, and her responsibility as a female director.[1][3]
Biography edit
Gavron was educated at Camden School for Girls.[4] She graduated from the University of York with a BA in English in 1992[5] and an MA in film studies from Edinburgh College of Art when it was associated with Heriot-Watt University.[6] Later she went to the National Film and Television School. Sarah Gavron was in a directing class that was taught by Stephen Frears.[1] Frears is one of her influences in filmmaking and directing, as well as Mike Leigh and Terrence Davies.[1] She also cites many female filmmakers as having inspired her. Before studying at the National Film School, Sarah worked for the BBC in documentaries for three years.
Gavron is married to cinematographer David Katznelson, and together, they have two children.[7]
Career edit
Gavron began her film career making documentaries, a field that seemed "more accessible at that point," but kept returning to narrative filmmaking because of her desire to tell stories.[8]
Her first film, This Little Life (2003), is classified as a television drama with the plot surrounding a couple and their premature born child;[1] Brick Lane (2007) is her second most recognized feature film, that is an adaptation of Monica Ali's novel Brick Lane,[9] which encapsulates the life of a Bangladeshi, female immigrant living in London, U.K;[1] Village at the End of the World (2012) which is a documentary that Sarah Gavron directed in a peninsula in Greenland;[1] Her next film Suffragette (2015) is based in London of 1912 and tells the story of the Suffragette movement, specifically, the early twentieth century campaign of women's suffrage that centers on the lives of three women that take on fictitious names in the film, however represent non-fictional historical figures.[2]
In Brick Lane (2007) Gavron centers the female protagonist in "one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the United Kingdom."[9]
Suffragette (2015) is "this first major feature film to focus on the fight for women's suffrage”. The film conveys important themes regarding legal and social positions of women, wives and mothers in 1912.[2] Gavron believes that the women's suffrage movement must be regarded as a "multi stranded, and complex story that is still unfolding."[2] Gavron intended Suffragette to be telling of important moments in the past, but also relevant in present day. The film Suffragette (2015) was acquired by Focus Features (originally Relativity) in March 2015.[10] The film premiered at the 2015 Telluride Film Festival.
Her most recent film, Rocks, premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival in the Platform Prize program.[11]
Favourite films edit
In 2022, Gavron participated in the Sight & Sound film polls of that year. It is held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, by asking contemporary directors to select ten films of their choice.[12]
Gavron selections were:
- The Piano (1993)
- Persepolis (2007)
- I Am Cuba (1964)
- The Ascent (1977)
- Ratcatcher (1999)
- A Separation (2011)
- Divines (2016)
- Fanny and Alexander (1982)
- Shoplifters (2018)
- Secrets & Lies (1996)
Filmography edit
- The Girl in the Lay-By (2000)
- Losing Touch (2000)
- This Little Life (2003) (TV)
- Brick Lane (2007)
- Village at the End of the World (2013)
- Suffragette (2015)
- Rocks (2019)
Awards and nominations edit
Sarah Gavron was nominated for the BAFTA Award and BIFA Award for best director in 2007 for her film Brick Lane. The film won a Silver Hitchcock and best screenplay at the Dinard Festival of British Cinema.[13] She received the Tangerine Entertainment Juice Award from the Hamptons International Film Festival for directing the movie Suffragette, as well as the Mill Valley Film Festival's Audience Award (Mind the Gap), also for directing that film.[14]
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | British Independent Film Awards | Douglas Hickox Award | This Little Life | Nominated | [15] |
| BAFTA TV Awards | Best Single Drama | Nominated | |||
| 2004 | BAFTA TV Awards | Best New Director (Fiction) | This Little Life | Won | [16] |
| 2007 | British Independent Film Awards | Best Director | Brick Lane | Nominated | |
| BFI London Film Festival | Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award | Won | |||
| San Sebastián International Film Festival | C.I.C.A.E. Award | Won | [17] | ||
| 2008 | BAFTA Film Awards | Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director | Brick Lane | Nominated | |
| London Critics Circle Film Awards | British Breakthrough - Filmmaking | Nominated | |||
| 2015 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | EDA Female Focus Award - Best Woman Director | Suffragette | Nominated | |
| Camerimage | Golden Frog - Main Competition | Nominated | |||
| Hamptons International Film Festival | Tangerine Entertainment Juice Award | Won | |||
| Mill Valley Film Festival | Audience Award - Mind the Gap | Won | |||
| Women Film Critics Circle | Courage in Filmmaking Award | Won | |||
| Best Movie by a Woman | Won | ||||
| Women's Image Network Awards | Outstanding Feature Film | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | Empire Awards | Best British Film | Suffragette | Nominated | |
| Athena Film Festival | Ensemble Award | Won | |||
| European Film Awards | Best Production Designer | Won | |||
| Turia Awards, Spain | Audience Award - Best Foreign Film | Won | |||
| WFTV Awards | Deluxe Director Award | Herself | Won | [18] | |
| 2021 | BAFTA Film Awards | Best Director | Rocks | Nominated | [19] |
| British Independent Film Awards | Best British Independent Film | Won | [20] | ||
| Best Director | Nominated |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Garcia, Maria. "Demanding To Be Heard". Film Journal International. 118.
- ^ a b c d Gwen Seabourne. (2016) Deeds, Words and Drama: A Review of the Film Suffragette (2015). Feminist Legal Studies 24:1, pages 115-119.
- ^ a b c Puchko, Kristy (2015-10-22). IndieWire.
- ^ Brown, Maggie (8 December 2003). "Interview: film maker Sarah Gavron". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "Brick Lane - The journey from stage to screen". Grapevine. Alumni Office, University of York (Spring 2008): 14.
- ^ "Successes at Heriot-Watt University". The Herald. 12 July 1994. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ Falk, Quentin. "Sarah Gavron: Interview".
- ^ "Sarah Gavron: On Directing". BAFTA Guru. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^ a b Murray, J. (2008, Summer). Brick lane. Cineaste, 33, 52-54
- ^ "Focus Features to Release SUFFRAGETTE". Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ^ Jeremy Kay, "Sarah Gavron's 'Rocks' to open TIFF Platform". Screen Daily, 7 August 2019.
- ^ https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time/all-voters/sarah-gavron
- ^ Mowe, Richard (8 October 2007). "Hallam Foe takes top prize at French festival". The Scotsman. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
- ^ "Suffragette (2015) Awards". IMDB.
- ^ "This Little Life · BIFA · British Independent Film Awards". BIFA · British Independent Film Awards. 11 October 2003.
- ^ "2004 Television Craft New Director - Fiction | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
- ^ "San Sebastian Film Festival". sansebastianfestival.
- ^ "Meet the 2017 Women in Film and Television Award Winners". WFTV. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
- ^ "BAFTA Nominations Analysis: Who Rises and Falls in the Final Days of Oscars Voting". Variety. 9 March 2021.
- ^ "Winners and Nominations: The Awards 2020". British Independent Film Awards. 4 December 2020.
External links edit
- Media related to Sarah Gavron at Wikimedia Commons
- Sarah Gavron at IMDb