Gillian Armstrong
Gillian Armstrong | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Gillian May Armstrong 18 December 1950 |
| Occupation | Director |
| Years active | 1970–present |
Gillian May Armstrong (born 18 December 1950) is an award-winning Australian director of feature films and documentaries.
Career
Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Gillian Armstrong grew up in the eastern suburb of Mitcham. She attended Swinburne Technical College with the intention of becoming a theatre costume designer, but it was here she became increasingly interested in film. During this time, she was exposed to a range of artistic films that differentiated from the commercial cinema and Television she was used to [1].
After graduating from her four years at art school in 1968, Armstrong was set on pursuing a career in film. She began making short films of 2-10 minutes, and started work as an assistant editor in a commercial film house, which lasted a year.
In 1972 she entered, and later graduated from, the Australian Film Television and Radio School. She paid her tuition during this time through waitressing [2]
Following a string of small jobs within the Australian film industry, she achieved her first real directorial recognition through her short film The Singer and the Dancer which won an award at the Sydney Film Festival.
Following this success, Armstrong was commissioned by the South Australian Film Corporation to make a documentary exploring the lives of young teenage girls living in Adelaide, South Australia. This became Smokes and Lollies (1976), her first paid job as director.
Armstrong’s own interest in the girls led her to revisit them at ages 18, 26, 33 and 48, resulting in four more films in the style of the popular "Up Series". These are Fourteen’s Good, Eighteen’s Better (1980), Bingo, Bridesmaids and Braces (1988), Not Fourteen Again (1996), and her most recent film Love, Lust & Lies (2009) [3]
Armstrong’s first feature length film "My Brilliant Career (1979)", an adaptation of Miles Franklin's novel of the same name, was the first Australian feature length film to be directed by a woman for 46 years. Armstrong received six awards at the 1979 Australian Film Awards (previously the Australian Film Institute Awards, or AFI’s) including Best Director. The film also brought considerable attention to its two main stars, Judy Davis and Sam Neill who were relatively unknown at the time.
Following the success of My Brilliant Career, which was nominated for an Academy Award in Best Costume Design, Armstrong directed the Australian rock-musical "Starstruck (1982)" which proved her ability to tackle more contemporary and experimental subject matter and styles.
She has directed a number of Rock Music Video's in the early 1980's, including 1984's "Bop Girl" by Pat Wilson, which featured a very young Nicole Kidman - http://fliiby.com/file/345474/2g8yyig51i.html
Since then, Armstrong has specialised in period drama. She was the first foreign woman to be approached by the American film company MGM to finance her direction of a big-budget feature, which became "Mrs. Soffel (1984)" starring Mel Gibson and Diane Keaton [1] This film tells the scandalous true-story of an affair between a prisoner and a prison warden’s wife, and was relatively well received by audiences and critics [2]
On returning to Australia, Armstrong continued to make both documentaries and feature films. She earned great recognition for High Tide (1987) and The Last Days of Chez Nous (1992) in which she was nominated for Best Director at the 1987 and 1992 Australian Film Institute Awards (AFI’s). The Last Days of Chez Nous also earned her a nomination at the Berlin Film Festival. Despite this, both films were largely unrecognised internationally [2]
Armstrong discusses the making of High Tide in the 2003 Canadian documentary Complete Unknown co-directed by Griffin Ondaatje and Craig Proctor.
In 1994, Armstrong achieved her greatest Hollywood success with the adaptation of Little Women, starring Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, Gabriel Byrne, Christian Bale, Claire Danes and Kirsten Dunst. This adaptation of Louisa Mary Alcott’s novel of the same name was one of the most popular films of the year, and emphasises Armstrong’s focus on portraying the intimate lives of strong female characters and their relationships with one another.
She followed this success three years later with the film Oscar and Lucinda (1997) starring Ralph Fiennes and a relatively-unknown Cate Blanchett. This film, based on the novel by Australian Author Peter Carey, tells the story of a mis-matched love affair in 19th century Australia. It received mixed reviews both locally and internationally, despite its high production value and strong performances by the film main actors [2]
In the 2000’s, Armstrong went on to direct the feature films Charlotte Gray (2001), starring Cate Blanchett, and Death Defying Acts (2008) starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Guy Pierce. Based on the novel by Sebastian Faulks, Charlotte Gray is another of Armstrong’s films that centres around a strong female protagonist.
Quite removed from Armstrong’s usual subject matter, Death Defying Acts portrays a moment in the life of 1920’s escape artist Harry Houdini in the style of a supernatural, romantic thriller. It received a modest earning at the box office, and was part of a special screening at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival [3]
Despite the success of these more commercial films, it was Armstrong’s lesser-known documentary Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst (2006) which earned her the most critical recognition during this time, and a nomination for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Type | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Old Man and Dog | short | ||
| 1971 | Roof Needs Mowing | short | ||
| 1973 | Satdee Night | short | also writer | |
| 1973 | One Hundred a Day | short | also writer | |
| 1973 | Gretel | short | also writer | |
| 1975 | The Singer and the Dancer | short | also co-writer, producer | |
| 1976 | Smokes and Lollies | Documentary | ||
| 1979 | My Brilliant Career | Feature Film | Won at both AFI and London Critics Circle Film Awards | |
| 1980 | Touch Wood | Documentary | ||
| 1980 | Fourteen's Good, Eighteen's Better | Documentary | also producer | |
| 1982 | Starstruck | Feature Film | ||
| 1983 | Having a Go | Documentary | ||
| 1984 | Mrs. Soffel | Feature Film | Entered into the 35th Berlin International Film Festival.[4] Stars Diane Keaton & Mel Gibson | |
| 1986 | Hard to Handle | Documentary | ||
| 1987 | High Tide | Feature Film | Nominated for AFI Award | |
| 1988 | Bingo, Bridesmaids & Braces | Documentary | ||
| 1991 | Fires Within | Feature Film | ||
| 1992 | The Last Days of Chez Nous | Feature Film | Entered into the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival.[5] | |
| 1994 | Little Women | Feature Film | Stars Winona Ryder, Christian Bale & Kirsten Dunst | |
| 1996 | Not Fourteen Again | Documentary | Also writer & producer. Won Best Documentary at AFI Awards. | |
| 1997 | Oscar and Lucinda | Feature Film | Stars Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett | |
| 2001 | Charlotte Gray | Feature Film | Stars Cate Blanchett | |
| 2005 | Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst | Documentary | Nominated at Sundance | |
| 2008 | Death Defying Acts | Feature Film | Stars Catherine Zeta-Jones & Guy Pierce | |
| 2009 | Love, Lust & Lies | Feature Film | Won Australian Directors Guild Award |
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Palm d'Or at Cannes Film Festival | My Brilliant Career | Nominated |
| 1979 | Australian Film Institute(AFI) Best Director | My Brilliant Career | Won |
| 1981 | Special Achievement Award at the London Critics Circle Film Awards | My Brilliant Career | Won |
| 1985 | Golden Berlin Bear at Berlin Film Festival | Mrs. Soffel | Nominated |
| 1987 | Australian Film Institute (AFI) Best Director | High Tide | Nominated |
| 1992 | Australian Film Institute (AFI) Best Director | The Last Days of Chez Nous | Nominated |
| 1992 | Golden Berlin Bear at Berlin Film Festival | The Last Days of Chez Nous | Nominated |
| 1995 | Chauvel Award at Brisbane International Film Festival | Won | |
| 1995 | Dorothy Arzner Directors Award at Women in Film Crystal Awards | Won | |
| 1996 | Australian Film Institute (AFI) Best Documentary | Not Fourteen Again | Won |
| 2006 | Australian Film Institute (AFI) Best Direction in a Documentary | Not Fourteen Again | Nominated |
| 2006 | Grand Jury Prize at Sundance | Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst | Nominated |
| 2007 | Australian Directors Guild Outstanding Achievement Award | Won | |
| 2010 | Australian Directors Guild Award | Love, Lust & Lies | Won |
References
- ^ a b Bear, Liza. "Liza Bear and Gillian Armstrong Reviewed work(s)", "BOMB", New Art Publications: Spring 1993, No. 43, pp. 50-53
- ^ a b c d Erickson, Hal. "Gillian Armstrong", "The New York Times", New York, 2010. Retrieved on 5 May 2012
- ^ a b Carter, Helen. "Gillian Armstrong", "Senses of Cinema", Melbourne, 4 October 2002. Retrieved on 5 May 2012
- ^ "Berlinale: 1985 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-01-09.
- ^ "Berlinale: 1992 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
Notes
- The Story of Kerry, Josie and Diana - 14-47 at DVD Resurrections, by Wizard of Gore.
- Love, Lust & Lies' at DVD Resurrections, by Wizard of Gore.