Andrea Arnold may have come to direction relatively late in life (her previous incarnations were as actress, television presenter and dancer on UK’s Top of the Pops), but her subsequent career behind the lens has been nothing other than stellar – not all debutantes receive an Oscar for their third short (Wasp, 2003). Her films pull no emotional punches, and while eschewing the polemic of fellow Brit Ken Loach, she more than equals him in her depiction of the island’s beautiful, humble, imaginative and articulate proletarian underbelly. With her feature debut Red Road (2006) and subsequent films Fish Tank (2009) and Wuthering Heights (2011) she was determined to cast unknowns in the lead roles, so as to negate any sense of audience association. “When you have really famous people… I am always aware of who they are. When you see someone for the first time, the universe feels more real”, she comments. Red Road and Fish Tank were selected for the Cannes competition, both times winning the Jury Prize. Her American Honey (Cannes Competition, 2016) may star Shia LaBeouf but features a heady cast of non-professional actors as well, and introduces newcomer Sasha Lane in the lead role. In the film, Arnold quite brilliantly depicts the US economic underbelly through its ‘mag crews’ – rootless young outsiders who rove the Mid-West selling magazine subscriptions. The director won her third Cannes Jury Prize for this work.
Fri 27 Jan, 15:00, de Doelen Van Cappellen Zaal, €5.50
