Carol Morley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carol Morley
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Morley at the 58th BFI London Film Festival Awards in October 2014
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Carol Anne Morley
14 January 1966 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Director, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1993–present |
Carol Anne Morley (born 14 January 1966) is an English film director, screenwriter, and producer. She is known for making interesting films, including documentaries and fictional stories.
One of her most famous films is Dreams of a Life, released in 2011. This film is about Joyce Carol Vincent, a woman who sadly passed away in her North London apartment in 2003 and was not found until 2006. Carol Morley's film explores Joyce's life through interviews with people who knew her.
Carol's older brother is Paul Morley, a well-known music journalist and producer.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Carol Morley was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. When she was sixteen, she left school to become a singer in different bands. She was in a band called The Playground when she was thirteen and later joined a band named TOT.
Carol faced a difficult time when she was young, as her father passed away when she was eleven. She also experienced some challenges during her teenage years. In 1982, the same year she left school, a famous nightclub called The Haçienda opened in Manchester. Carol spent a lot of time there until she was 21.
Around 1986 or 1987, Carol moved from Stockport to London. She decided to study Fine Art Film at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. She graduated in 1993 with an honors degree in film and video. After leaving Manchester, she did not return for twelve years. When she finally did, it was to make her documentary The Alcohol Years.
Filmmaking Career
Carol Morley has written and directed many films since 1993. These films vary in length, from short films to full-length movies.
Early Films and Documentaries
While studying at Central Saint Martins, Carol made two films for her degree. One was called Girl, a short film shot on 16mm film that explored feelings of conflict. Her other degree film, Secondhand Daylight, was set in a fast-food restaurant and featured young people discussing their problems. It was also shot on 16mm film.
Her film I'm Not Here was inspired by a letter from actor Alec Guinness about customer service in shops. This film looked at boredom and the lives of shop assistants. In the short film The Week Elvis Died, an 11-year-old girl meets the famous DJ Tony Blackburn.
During her time at Saint Martins, Carol began working on her first full-length documentary, The Alcohol Years. This film is about her experiences as a young person in Manchester during the early 1980s. In the documentary, Carol interviews people she knew to understand more about that period of her life. The film was directed and filmed by Carol and produced by Cairo Cannon. They own a film company together called CAMP (Cannon and Morley Productions).
Everyday Something is a short film from 2001. It is based on Carol's collection of newspaper clippings and explores unusual events in ordinary people's lives. In Return Trip, Carol finds an old friend, Catherine Corcoran, and they revisit India, where they had traveled as teenagers. Stalin My Neighbour is a film about missing people and a character obsessed with local history.
Later Films and Notable Works
The Fear of Trilogy was a very short film (3 minutes) made quickly using a mobile phone. Her short film The Madness of the Dance (2006) explored topics like mass manias and obsessive behaviors.
Carol Morley's first fictional film, Edge, was released in 2010. It tells the story of six guests who get stuck at the Cliff Edge Hotel during winter.
In 2006, the remains of Joyce Carol Vincent were found in her apartment, three years after she passed away. This sad event inspired Carol Morley to create the docu-drama Dreams of a Life. In this film, actress Zawe Ashton plays Joyce Vincent.
Carol was a special guest at the 4th annual Screen Stockport Film Festival, where she discussed her film The Falling.
In 2015, Carol Morley's young-adult novel, 7 Miles Out, was published.
In May 2017, it was announced that Carol would direct Patricia Clarkson in Out of Blue. This film is based on Martin Amis' novel Night Train. Filming started in October in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the movie was released in 2018.
In 2021, filming began for Typist Artist Pirate King. This film was written and directed by Carol Morley and is based on the life of artist Audrey Amiss. Carol did a lot of research using Audrey Amiss's archives to write the screenplay. The film features actors like Monica Dolan, Kelly Macdonald, and Gina McKee. It was produced with her long-time partner, Cairo Cannon, along with Jane Campion and others. The film was released in 2023.
Filmography
Short Films
- Girl (1993) – Her graduation film
- Secondhand Daylight (1993) – Her graduation film
- I'm Not Here (1994)
- The Week Elvis Died (1997)
- Everyday Something (2001)
- Return Trip (2001)
- Stalin My Neighbour (2004)
- The Fear of Trilogy (2006)
- The Madness of the Dance (2006)
Feature Films
- The Alcohol Years (2000)
- Edge (2010)
- Dreams of a Life (2011)
- The Falling (2014)
- Out of Blue (2018)
- Typist Artist Pirate King (2023)
Other Roles
- Editor: True Blue Camper (1996)
- Producer: Forgotten Pilots (1999)
Awards and Nominations
Carol Morley's films have received several awards and nominations.
For I'm Not Here
- Won the Gold Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival.
For Edge
- Chosen for the London Film Festival in 2010.
- Chosen for the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2011.
For Dreams of a Life
- Nominated for Best Documentary at the Grierson Award, London Film Festival.
- Nominated for Best Documentary by the London Critics Circle.
- Nominated for Best Documentary at the London Evening Standard Film Awards.
For The Falling
- Nominated at the London Film Festival with Florence Pugh and Carol Morley.
