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Stills must not be reproduced, copied or downloaded in any way.
Film details
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Featuring
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Director
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Country
United Kingdom
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Year
2010
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Genre
Biopic
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Type
Film
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Category
Fiction
Introduction
“Fact rubs up against fiction and vice versa. It’s compelling and stimulating, keeping you on your feet but never distancing you from the story at its heart.”
Dave Calhoun, Time Out, 2010
Clio Barnard’s extraordinary debut feature is ostensibly a documentary about the turbulent lives of playwright Andrea Dunbar (1961-1990) and the daughters who have to deal with her literary and genetic legacy. But that bald description reveals nothing about Barnard’s approach. Inspired by ‘verbatim theatre’ but taking the concept a stage further, she has actors miming to recordings of the real people they’re portraying, intercut with scenes from Dunbar’s own semi-autobiographical plays: The Arbor (1980) and Rita, Sue and Bob Too! (1982).
Barnard’s meticulous, often symbolic compositions suggest a detached arts-documentary treatment – a bed quietly bursts into flames as Dunbar’s daughters reminisce about methods of keeping warm when locked into their bedroom while their mother was at the pub – but this is wrenchingly powerful stuff, especially when the film brings Dunbar’s half-Pakistani daughter Lorraine centre stage and reveals a shockingly tragic life that could have been straight from one of her mother’s plays.
Errol Morris’s documentaries The Thin Blue Line (1988) and Standard Operating Procedure (2008) take a similarly cool, probing approach. Rita, Sue and Bob Too! (1987) was filmed by Alan Clarke.
Cast & Credits
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Cast
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Lorraine Dunbar
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Steve Saul
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Ann Hamilton
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Max Stafford-Clark & the father
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Lisa Thompson
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the girl
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Pamela Dunbar
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Jimmy 'the Wig'
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Andrew Dunbar
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David Dunbar
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young David
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the mother
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Gary Whitaker
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Yousaf
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young Lorraine
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Billy
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Fred
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policeman
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Jamie Timlin
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Peter
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Chris
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Gemma Norman
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Shelly Norman
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Kaitlin
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Kathy Dunbar
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Karen
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bus conductor
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Cath
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Maureen
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Rafee
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Saif
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Credits
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Direction:
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Director
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1st Assistant Director
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2nd Assistant Director
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3rd Assistant Director
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Script Supervisor
Rights:
Production:
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Production Company
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Presents
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In association with
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In association with
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In association with
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International Sales
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Executive Producer
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Producer
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Co-director
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Co-director
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Administrative Director
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Head of Press & Publicity
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Development & Publicity Co-ordinator
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Head of New Cinema Fund
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New Cinema Fund Executive
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Senior Business Affairs Executive
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Head of Production
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Production Finance
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Editor
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Production Finance Manager
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Commercial Affairs Manager
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Lawyer, Legal & Compliance
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Production Manager
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Production Manager
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Production Co-ordinator
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Production Accountant
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Location Manager
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Location Manager
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Post-production Supervisor
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Post-production Supervisor
Casting:
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Casting
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Casting Assistant
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Casting Assistant
Writing:
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Screenplay
Photography:
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Director of Photography
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2nd Unit Camera Operator
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1st Assistant Camera
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2nd Assistant Camera
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2nd Unit Assistant Camera
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Gaffer
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Grip
Stills:
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Stills Photographer
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Stills Photographer
Special Effects:
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Visual Effects by
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Visual Effects Producer
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Visual Effects Supervisor
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Graphic Artist
Editing:
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Editor
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Editor
Design:
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Production Designer
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Art Director
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Standby Art Director
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Standby Art Director
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Art Department Co-ordinator
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Set Decorator
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Prop Master
Costumes:
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Costume Designer
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Wardrobe Supervisor
Make-up:
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Make-up & Hair Designer
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Make-up/Hair Assistant
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Make-up/Hair Assistant
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Make-up/Hair Assistant
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Make-up Assistant
Titles:
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Digital Main Titles & End Roller Design
Music:
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Composer
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Composer
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Music Performed by
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Music Supervisor
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Music Mixed by
Sound:
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Music Recording Engineer
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Sound Designer
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Interviews Recorded by
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Sound Recordist
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Boom Operator
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Boom Operator
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Re-recording Mixer
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Foley Supervisor
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Foley Editor
Consultant:
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Sales & Distribution Consultant
Publicity:
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Electronic Press Kit
Supplier:
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Archive Footage courtesy of
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Archive Footage courtesy of
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Filmed with
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Camera & Grip Equipment
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Lighting Equipment
Film processing:
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Digital Grading by
Unknown:
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Made with the support of
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Made with the support of
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The Greatest Films of All Time 2012
Voted for by 1 critic and 1 director.