Andrea Arnold facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Andrea Arnold OBE
Arnold at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival
Born	(1961-04-05) 5 April 1961 (age 64) Dartford, Kent, England
Education	AFI Conservatory
Occupation	Filmmaker
Years active	1982–present
Children	1

Andrea Patricia Arnold is an English filmmaker and former actress. She was born on April 5, 1961. She won an Oscar for her short film Wasp in 2005. Her movies like Red Road (2006), Fish Tank (2009), and American Honey (2016) have all won the Jury Prize at the famous Cannes Film Festival. Her first documentary, Cow, was shown at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

Andrea Arnold has also directed episodes for TV shows. These include the second season of the HBO series Big Little Lies, and four episodes each of the Amazon Prime Video series Transparent and I Love ....

Early Life and Education

Andrea Patricia Arnold was born in Dartford, Kent, England. She was the oldest of four children. Her parents were very young when she was born, and they separated early on. Andrea grew up on a council estate, which is a type of public housing. She spent her childhood exploring the "chalk pits, fields, woods and motorways" around Dartford. Her mother raised all four children by herself. This experience later inspired Andrea's short film, Wasp.

Even as a young girl, Andrea loved writing stories. When she was 10, she wrote a play about the slave trade. Later, while studying dance, she created a performance using quotes from The Diary of Anne Frank. She left school at 16 to become an actor. When she was 18, she started working as a host and actor on a children's TV show called No. 73. She worked in TV for 10 years, but she kept writing stories. Andrea realized she wanted to turn her stories into films. She then studied at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles to learn about filmmaking. She felt that her background and accent had held her back in Britain.

After finishing her studies and returning to Britain, she had her daughter, Coral. Then, she began making short films for TV.

Career in Film and TV

Early TV Work

In the late 1970s, Andrea Arnold started her TV career as a dancer on shows like Top of the Pops. She became well-known as an actor and TV presenter on the 1980s children's show No. 73. On this Saturday morning show, she played a character named Dawn Lodge. The show was a mix of a sitcom and a chat show, set in a house. It also had music, competitions, and cartoons, which was common for British children's TV at the time. After a few years, Andrea realized she didn't feel comfortable acting in front of the camera.

In 1988, No. 73 changed into 7T3, moving its set to a theme park. This new version only lasted one season. Andrea then spent two more years as part of the Motormouth presenting team. In 1990, she presented and wrote for A Beetle Called Derek, a show about the environment for teenagers.

Directing Films

After her TV presenting career, Andrea Arnold studied directing at the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles. She also trained in screenwriting in Kent. Her early short films include Milk (1998) and Dog (2001). In 2004, she won an Oscar for her short film Wasp.

She also directed an episode of the Channel 4 series Coming Up in 2003.

Wasp

Wasp was a 26-minute short film released in 2003. Andrea Arnold wrote and directed it. The film stars Natalie Press as a single mother with four young children. She tries to start a relationship with an old friend, played by Danny Dyer. The story is set in Andrea Arnold's hometown of Dartford. The UK Film Council and Britain's Channel 4 supported the film. Wasp won the Sundance Short Film Prize in 2005. It also earned Andrea Arnold an Oscar.

Red Road

Red Road was a 2006 film. It was part of a project where different new directors made films using the same characters. The story is about a CCTV security operator who sees a man from her past on her monitors. The film is named after the Red Road flats in Glasgow, Scotland, where it is partly set. These flats were once the tallest residential buildings in Europe. The movie was filmed using handheld cameras and natural light, giving it a realistic feel.

Andrea Arnold often used first-time actors in Red Road. She believed that using unknown actors makes the film's world feel more real. Red Road cost about $1 million to make and was filmed in six weeks. It won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Andrea also won the 2007 BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for directing Red Road.

Fish Tank

Fish Tank was first shown in 2009 at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. It also won the Jury Prize there. The film later won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film in 2010. Andrea filmed Fish Tank entirely in the UK. She made sure to shoot the film in the order of the story. This helped the new actress, Katie Jarvis, understand her character's journey. Andrea only gave her a day's worth of script at a time. The film cost about $2 million to make, which is a low budget for a full-length movie. Fish Tank won many awards, including Best Film at the Evening Standard Film Awards.

Wuthering Heights

Andrea Arnold's third film was based on Emily Brontë's famous 1847 book, Wuthering Heights. It starred Kaya Scodelario and James Howson. This was the first film Andrea directed that she did not write herself, though she did help write the screenplay. The film was made in 18 months, which was faster than her previous films. It won Best Cinematography at the Venice Film Festival in 2011, praised for its beautiful visuals.

American Honey

Arnold's fourth film, American Honey, came out in 2016. It follows a group of young adults who travel across the country selling magazine subscriptions. The story shows their journey as they drink, smoke, dance, joke, and talk in their van. The film was first shown at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and won Andrea her third Jury Prize. The movie features a mix of professional actors and people who had never acted before. Many of the non-actors were found in places like construction sites and beaches. The main actress, Sasha Lane, was discovered by Andrea on a beach during spring break. Andrea filmed the movie in story order, not telling the actors what would happen next.

Cow

Andrea Arnold's 2021 documentary, Cow, shows the life of a dairy farm cow.

Bird

In June 2023, Andrea Arnold started filming her new movie, Bird, in Kent. Barry Keoghan plays a main role in the film.

Other Activities

Andrea Arnold is very involved with film festivals around the world. In 2012, she was a judge for the main competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. In 2013, she was also a judge at the 70th Venice International Film Festival.

In September 2013, Andrea was chosen as the first "Filmmaker in Residence" for the New York Film Festival. This program gave her a chance to work on new films and share her knowledge with others. In 2014, she was the head of the jury for the International Critics' Week at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. She was also a jury member for the 2017 Sheffield Doc/Fest.

Filmography

Short Films

Feature Films

Documentary

• Cow (2021)

Television

Awards and Honors

Andrea Arnold has won many awards for her films.

Major Awards

Honorary Awards

See also

In Spanish: Andrea Arnold para niños

• List of British film directors
• List of British Academy Award nominees and winners
• List of film and television directors
• List of female film and television directors
• Women's cinema