Elaine Constantine (born 1965 in Bury, Lancashire) is a BAFTA nominated writer/director and photographer, globally recognised for her colourful and upbeat fashion imagery of confident young women.

Career

Photography

Constantine came to prominence in the 1990s due to work published in ''

The Face The face is a part of the body, the front of the head. Face may also refer to: Film * ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face'' * ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film * ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...

'' magazine. Her energetic and honest take on young women attracted international interest when she was regularly commissioned by Italian ''Vogue'' editor, Franca Sozzani and US ''Vogue'' editor Anna Wintour.

Exhibitions

Constantine's first solo show was at Marion de Beaupre's Gallerie 213, Paris, in 1998. In 2002 Constantine exhibited ''Tea Dance'', a show that documented the elderly tea dance culture of Northern England. ''Tea Dance'' has toured Paris, London, Rome, Amsterdam and Moscow.

Art collections

Constantine's work has been exhibited at London's

The Photographers' Gallery The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography. It is also home to the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, established in ...

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...

's ''Look at Me'' exhibition, curated by

Val Williams Val Williams is a British curator and author who has become an authority on British photography. She is the Professor of the History and Culture of Photography at the London College of Communication, part of the University of the Arts London, and ...

, and the V&A's ''Imperfect Beauty'' exhibition, curated by

Charlotte Cotton Charlotte Cotton is a curator of and writer about photography. She has held positions including Head of the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Head of Programming at The Photographers' Gallery, London, ...

. A series of Constantine's prints are held in the photography collection at the National Portrait Gallery.

Editorial

Constantine has contributed to American, French and Italian ''Vogue.'' Her commercial clients have included Adidas, Alberto Bianni, Anna Molinari, Burberry, Clarins, Diesel, Gucci, Hunter, Lacoste, Levi's, Nike, Shiseido and Vivienne Westwood.

Feature film

In 2000 Constantine learned to screen write in order to create the feature-length screenplay for a film that would tell the story of her music and cultural obsession, Northern Soul. After rejections from producers, she set up Stubborn Heart Productions and in late summer 2012 Constantine returned to the north of England to direct the debut feature film, ''Northern Soul.'' The film tells the Story of two Northern DJ's whose worlds are changed forever when they discover black American soul music. The film was released in October 2014 by Universal and reached the box office top 10 on its opening weekend despite a relatively limited distribution. The film received nominations from both, The British Independent Film Awards, and the British Academy Awards (BAFTA). It also won the NME's award for Film of the Year, which was a public vote. Constantine's book, of the same title, ''Northern Soul (An Illustrated History)'' was published by Random House' Virgin Books and co-edited by Gareth Sweeney, a factual and oral account of northern soul culture. The soundtrack, released by Demon Music, also of the same title, entered the top ten when released and went to the top of the soul chart.

Short film

Constantine directed the 9 minutes length ''9 Kisses'' short film. The film was released in 2014.

Awards

* 1998:

John Kobal John Kobal (born Iwan Kobal; 30 May 1940 – 28 October 1991)Kobal's biography page
, John Kobal Fou ...

Foundation's Award * 2002:

Creative Review ''Creative Review'' is a bimonthly print magazine and website. The magazine focuses on commercial creativity, covering design, advertising, photography, branding, digital products, film, and gaming. The magazine is published bimonthly in print and ...

's Award for Best Up and Coming Promo Director * 2005:

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...

's Terence Donovan Achievement Award * 2015: London Critics Circle Breakthrough British Filmmaker Award — Nominated. * 2015: NME Best film of 2014 - Winner * 2015: BAFTA Outstanding Debut for a Writer, Director or Producer Award — Nominated. *The National Portrait Gallery's collection includes a portrait of Elaine Constantine by Immo Klink.

References

External links

Industry Art
- Constantine's Representation
''Northern Soul''
- Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine, Elaine People from Bury, Greater Manchester Fashion photographers British women film directors British women photographers 1965 births Living people