Charlotte Sally Potter (born 19 September 1949) is an English film director and screenwriter. She is known for directing ''
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
'' (1992), which won the audience prize for Best Film at the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
.
Early life
Potter was born and raised in London. Her mother was a music teacher and her father was an interior designer and a poet. Her younger brother
Nic became the bassist for the rock group
Van der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commerc ...
. When asked about her background, which influenced her work as a filmmaker, she responds, "I came from an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
background and an anarchist background, which meant that I grew up in an environment that was full of questions, where nothing could be taken for granted."
When asked about what she learned about filmmaking from trying to do it as a seventeen-year-old woman in the UK in the 60s, Potter laughs.
You know, most kinds of securities are illusions, and we need to kind of duck and weave as filmmakers, go with the flow, go where the harvest is. ..I knew very early on, if I waited for somebody to give me money to do something, I’d never do anything.
Career
Potter began making amateur films at age 14, using an 8mm camera given to her by an uncle. She eventually dropped out of school at age 16 to pursue filmmaking. From 1968–1970 she worked as a kitchen worker and a picture researcher for BBC in order to support herself and her work. She had joined the
London Film-Makers' Co-op
The London Film-makers' Co-op, or LFMC, was a British film-making workshop founded in 1966. It ceased to exist in 1999 when it merged with London Video Arts to form LUX.
It grew out of film screenings at the Better Books bookstore, part of the 196 ...
and began making experimental short films, including ''Jerk'' (1969) and ''Play'' (1970). She later trained as a dancer and choreographer at the London School of Contemporary Dance. She made both film and dance pieces, including ''Combines'' (1972), before founding Limited Dance Company with
Jacky Lansley.
Potter became an award-winning performance artist and theatre director, with shows including ''Mounting'', ''
Death and the Maiden'' and ''Berlin''. In addition, she was a member of several music bands (including
Feminist Improvising Group
The Feminist Improvising Group (FIG) were a five- to eight-piece international free improvising avant-garde jazz and experimental music ensemble formed in London in 1977 by Scottish vocalist Maggie Nicols and English bassoonist/composer Lindsay ...
and The Film Music Orchestra) working as a lyricist and singer. She collaborated (as a singer-songwriter) with composer
Lindsay Cooper
Lindsay Cooper (3 March 1951 – 18 September 2013) was an English bassoon and oboe player and composer. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and the ...
on the song cycle ''
Oh Moscow
''Oh Moscow'' is a 1991 live album by English experimental musician and composer Lindsay Cooper. It is a recording of a song cycle of the same name performed at the 7th Victoriaville Festival in Quebec, Canada on 8 October 1989. The work was com ...
,'' which was performed throughout Europe, Russia and North America in the late 1980s and commercially released.
Potter continued as a composer when she collaborated with David Motion on the soundtrack to ''Orlando.'' She wrote the score for the film, ''
The Tango Lesson
''The Tango Lesson'' ( es, La lección de tango) is a 1997 Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Sally Potter. It is a semi-autobiographical film starring Potter and Pablo Verón, about Argentine Tango, Argentinian Tango ...
,'' for which she sang "I am You" in the final scene. Her most recent music work is as producer and co-composer with
Fred Frith
Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser.
Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...
of the original tracks for ''Yes'' and ''Rage''.
Referring to her career as a choreographer, Potter said, "Choreography was the perfect 'poor theatre.' All you needed were willing bodies and some space. So it was as a choreographer that I learnt how to direct and it was as a dancer that I learnt how to work."
Potter returned to filmmaking with her short film ''Thriller'' (1979), which was a hit on the international festival circuit. This was followed by her first feature film, ''The Gold Diggers'' (1983), starring
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, Christie is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. S ...
. She directed another short film, ''The London Story'' (1986); a documentary series for Channel 4, ''Tears'', ''Laughter'', ''Fear and Rage'' (1986); and ''I am an Ox'', ''I am a Horse'', ''I am a Man'', ''I am a Woman'' (1988), a film about women in Soviet cinema.
As director of the internationally distributed ''
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
'' (1992), Potter received greater appreciation for her writing and direction. Starring
Tilda Swinton
Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...
, the film was based on
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device.
Woolf was born i ...
's
novel by the same name and adapted for the screen by Potter. In addition to two Academy Award nominations, ''Orlando'' won more than 25 international awards, including the Felix, awarded by the European Film Academy for the best Young European Film of 1993; and first prizes at
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
and other European festivals.
The novel had previously been considered impossible to adapt for the screen, because it took place over 400 years and followed a character whose sex changes from a man to a woman. Funding the feature proved difficult, and ''Orlando'' took seven years to complete.
Filming and editing took 20 weeks. Preparation for the film, including adapting the novel, funding the film, scouting locations, etc., took four years.
When asked whether she thought she would continue to work on feminist themes, Potter replied:
I have come to the conclusion that I can't use that term in my work. Not because of a disavowal of the underlying principles that gave birth to that word – the commitment to liberation, dignity, equality. But it has become a trigger word that stops people's thinking. You literally see people's eyes glaze over with exhaustion when the word flashes into the conversation.
She next directed the film, ''
The Tango Lesson
''The Tango Lesson'' ( es, La lección de tango) is a 1997 Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Sally Potter. It is a semi-autobiographical film starring Potter and Pablo Verón, about Argentine Tango, Argentinian Tango ...
'' (1996), in which she also performed with renowned dancer
Pablo Veron. First presented at the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
, the film was awarded the ''Ombú de Oro'' for Best Film at the Mar del Plata Film Festival, Argentina; the SADAIC Great Award from the Sociedad Argentina de Autores y Compositores de Música; as well as receiving Best Film nominations from BAFTA and the US National Board of Review. ''The Tango Lesson'' is semi-autobiographical, based on Potter's experiences learning Argentinian Tango with Veron while writing the screenplay for ''Rage.''
''The Tango Lesson'' marks Potter's first time performing on screen. Regarding this decision she stated, "I knew that I had to perform in this one because the impetus for the film came out of my own desire to dance."
Potter's professional collaborations with Pablo Veron continue in ''The Man Who Cried'' and the stage production of ''Carmen'' (2007).
Since ''The Tango Lesson''
's release, Potter continued to receive letters from viewers who felt touched by it. In a 2005 interview with FF2 Media's
Jan Lisa Huttner
Jan Lisa Huttner (born December 10, 1951) is an American film critic, journalist, activist, and independent scholar. Huttner has authored columns for prominent publications, including Women's eNews, the Huffington Post, and The Forward, and is the ...
, Potter suggests, "I think maybe I’m not the best person to analyze it, but what people pick up on is the passion behind the film: the passion to make the film itself, the passion to dance again. At the age of 46 I put myself in a movie, dancing the Tango with the best tango dancer in the world.
..It was so terrifying, and so driven by passion at the same time, maybe that’s partly what people respond to.”
''The Man Who Cried'' (starring
Johnny Depp
John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...
,
Christina Ricci,
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...
and
John Turturro
John Michael Turturro (; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his contributions to the independent film movement. He has appeared in over sixty feature films and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers, ...
), premiered at the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
in 2000. Ricci plays a Jewish girl who, separated from her father when she was young in Soviet Russia, travels to America to find him.
It was followed by ''Yes'' (2004), with
Joan Allen
Joan Allen (born August 20, 1956) is an American actress. She began her career with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1977, won the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for '' And a Nightingale Sang'', and won the 1988 Tony Aw ...
, Simon Abkarian and
Sam Neill
Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...
. ''Yes'' was written in response to the attacks in the United States of 11 September 2001; it is considered Potter's return to more experimental methods of filmmaking. The screenplay is written in verse and the film's budget was much smaller than that for ''The Man Who Cried''. Regarding the film's budget and stylistic approaches, Potter said:
Originally I was trying to figure out how we could shoot this film without any lights, because there didn't seem to be enough money in the budget to have any. One solution was to shoot at six frames a second, or even three. Later you print each frame four (or eight) times to bring it into sync at twenty-four frames per second. You can shoot almost in the dark, and still see people's faces ... we did some tests and found that it was very beautiful; so I decided to make it part of the language of the film.
In 2007 Potter directed
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...
's ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'' for
English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...
at the London Coliseum, starring
Alice Coote
Alice Coote OBE (born 10 May 1968) is a British lyric mezzo-soprano.
Life
Coote was born in Frodsham, Cheshire, the daughter of the painter Mark Coote. She was educated at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London (though she did not ...
and designed by
Es Devlin
Esmeralda "Es" Devlin (; born 24 September 1971) is an English artist and stage designer who works in a range of media, often mapping light and projected film onto kinetic sculptural forms.
Early life
Devlin was born in Kingston upon Thames, ...
.
''Rage'' (2009) was the first feature ever to premiere on cell-phones. The cast includes
Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
,
Steve Buscemi
Steven Vincent Buscemi ( ,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself, some may insist that his pronunciation of his own name is "wrong" because it does not match the original Italian pronunciation as well. It is not uncommon for people to pronou ...
,
and
Jude Law
David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...
. ''Rage'' was in competition at the
Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
in 2009 and nominated for a
WEBBY for Best Drama in 2010.
Potter's seventh feature film entitled ''
Ginger & Rosa
''Ginger & Rosa'' is a 2012 coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Sally Potter and distributed by Artificial Eye. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2012, and was released on 19 October 2012 ...
'' was written and directed by Potter and produced by Christoper Sheppard and Andrew Lityin. The film starred
Elle Fanning
Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. She made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film ''I Am Sam'' (2001). As a child actress, she appeared in several films, inc ...
and
Alice Englert
Alice Allegra Englert (born 15 June 1994) is an Australian actress, director, writer, singer, and songwriter. She is best known for her roles as Rosa in the film ''Ginger & Rosa'' (2012) and Lena Duchannes in the film '' Beautiful Creatures'' ( ...
as the title characters and received its premiere at the
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022.
History
First held on 30 August 1974, th ...
.
The film went into limited release in the UK in 2012 before enjoying a limited run in North America in early 2013.
In 2017, Potter's black comedy ''
The Party'' was released. It was selected to compete for the
Golden Bear
The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin.
History
The winn ...
in the main competition section of the
67th Berlin International Film Festival
The 67th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 18 February 2017 with Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven as President of the Jury. ''Django (2017 film), Django'', directed by Etienne Comar, opened the festival. The Golden Bear ...
and was awarded the Guild Film Prize. The film features a star-studded ensemble cast with
Patricia Clarkson
Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films ranging from independent film features to major film studio productions. Her accolades incl ...
,
Bruno Ganz
Bruno Ganz (; 22 March 1941 – 16 February 2019) was a Swiss actor whose career in German stage, television and film productions spanned nearly 60 years. He was known for his collaborations with the directors Werner Herzog, Éric Rohmer, Franc ...
,
Emily Mortimer
Emily Kathleen Anne Mortimer (born 6 October 1971) is a British-American actress. She began acting in stage productions and has since appeared in several film and television roles. In 2003, she won an Independent Spirit Award for her performanc ...
,
Cherry Jones
Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress known for her roles on screen and stage. She has received various accolades for her performances in television and theatre including three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, thr ...
,
Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy (; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. Originally the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the rock band The Sons of Mr. Green Genes, he turned down a record deal in the late 1990s and began acting on stage and in short an ...
,
Kristin Scott Thomas
Dame Kristin Ann Scott Thomas (born 24 May 1960) is a British actress who also holds French citizenship. A five-time British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Award and Laurence Olivier Award, Olivier Award nominee, she won the BAFTA Award for Best ...
and
Timothy Spall
Timothy Leonard Spall (born 27 February 1957) is an English actor and presenter. He became a household name in the UK after appearing as Barry Spencer Taylor in the 1983 ITV comedy-drama series ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet''.
Spall performed in '' S ...
.
In 2020, Potter's drama ''
The Roads Not Taken'' was released after a world premiere at the
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
, where it was nominated for the Golden Bear. It follows Molly (
Elle Fanning
Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. She made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film ''I Am Sam'' (2001). As a child actress, she appeared in several films, inc ...
) caring for her father, Leo (
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem (; born 1 March 1969) is a Spanish actor. Known for his roles in Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and foreign films, he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as the psychopath, ...
), who suffers from early-onset dementia. In an interview at Berlinale, Potter described the research process involved in providing an accurate and sensitive portrayal of Leo's illness:
Although my brother had a variant of it and I had already done a lot of research into it, I consulted a neurologist to make sure that everything was clinically correct. Javier Bardem also did his own research and visited a clinic for people with that particular variant of dementia. And he discovered what I knew, that it can take so many different forms and pathways. Most people think dementia is Alzheimer’s, but Alzheimer’s is just one variation of dementia.
Filmography
Feature films
* ''
The Gold Diggers'' (1983)
* ''
Orlando
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
'' (1992)
* ''
The Tango Lesson
''The Tango Lesson'' ( es, La lección de tango) is a 1997 Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Sally Potter. It is a semi-autobiographical film starring Potter and Pablo Verón, about Argentine Tango, Argentinian Tango ...
'' (1997)
* ''
The Man Who Cried
''The Man Who Cried'' is a 2000 drama film written and directed by Sally Potter, and starring Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton and John Turturro.
The film tells the story of a young Jewish girl who, after being ...
'' (2000)
* ''
Yes'' (2004)
* ''
Rage'' (2009)
* ''
Ginger & Rosa
''Ginger & Rosa'' is a 2012 coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Sally Potter and distributed by Artificial Eye. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2012, and was released on 19 October 2012 ...
'' (2012)
* ''
The Party'' (2017)
* ''
The Roads Not Taken'' (2020)
Shorts
* ''Jerk'' (1969)
* ''Hors d'oeuvres'' (1970)
* ''Black & White'' (1970)
* ''Play'' (1970)
* ''Thriller'' at
Women Make Movies
Women Make Movies is a non-profit feminist media arts organization based in New York City. Founded by Ariel Dougherty and Sheila Paige with Dolores Bargowski, WMM was first a feminist production collective that emerged from city-wide Women's Li ...
(1979)
* ''London Story'' at Women Make Movies (1980)
Documentaries
* ''Tears, Laughter, Fear & Rage'' (1986)
* ''I Am an Ox, I Am a Horse, I Am a Man, I Am a Woman'' (1988)
Awards and honors
*Sally Potter had career retrospectives of her film and video work at the BFI Southbank, London, and Filmoteca, Madrid, in 2009, and MoMA, New York, in 2010.
*She was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to film.
References
Further reading
* Fowler, Catherine. ''Sally Potter''. Chicago: University of Illinois Press (2009)
*Mayer, Sophie. ''The Cinema of Sally Potter: A Politics of Love''. London: Wallflower Press (2009)
*Potter, Sally. ''Naked Cinema: Working with Actors''. Faber and Faber (2014)
*Potter, Sally. ''Orlando''. London: Faber and Faber (1994)
*Potter, Sally. ''The Tango Lesson''. London: Faber and Faber (1997)
*Potter, Sally. ''Yes: Screenplay and Notes''. New York: Newmarket Press (2005)
External links
Official site blog and message board
''The Sally Potter Archive''*
*
''An interview with director Sally Potter'' ''guernicamag.com'', interview, October 2005
''Carmen'' English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...
(ENO) site
''Official Rage Site''''Official Rage Website''
Literature on Sally Potter''Sally Potter: Biography'' ''nytimes.com''
''The Tango Lesson Soundtrack''''MoMA Sally Potter''film exhibits
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Sally
1949 births
English film directors
English screenwriters
English-language film directors
British film producers
Living people
European Film Awards winners (people)
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
British women screenwriters
British women film directors
Tango_film_directors