Carol Morley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carol Morley
|
|
|---|---|
Morley at the 58th BFI London Film Festival Awards in October 2014
|
|
| Born |
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 well-known for her film Dreams of a Life, released in 2011. This film tells the story of Joyce Carol Vincent, a woman whose life story was discovered years after her death.
Carol's older brother is the music journalist and producer Paul Morley.
Contents
About Carol Morley
Her Early Life
Carol Morley was born in Stockport, Cheshire, England. When she was eleven, her father passed away. At sixteen, she left school to become a singer in different bands. She was in a band called The Playground when she was thirteen. Later, she joined another band named TOT.
After her time in bands, Carol decided to study Fine Art Film. She attended Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. She graduated from Central Saint Martins in 1993. She earned an honours degree in fine art film and video.
Becoming a Filmmaker
Carol Morley has written and directed many films. From 1993 to 2011, she made 12 films. These films varied in length, from just 3 minutes to 93 minutes long.
Early Short Films
While at Central Saint Martins, Carol made two films for her degree. One was called Girl. This short film was shot using 16mm film. It used special film techniques to show feelings of conflict. Her other degree film was Secondhand Daylight. This film was set in a fast food restaurant. Young people in the film talked about their problems. It was also shot on 16mm film.
I'm Not Here was a film inspired by a letter. The actor Alec Guinness wrote to a newspaper. He complained about how little attention customers got in shops. Carol's film was about boredom and shop assistants. In her short film The Week Elvis Died (15 minutes), Carol wrote and directed the story. It shows 11-year-old Karen meeting Tony Blackburn. Blackburn played himself in the film. This film was also shot on 16mm film.
Documentaries and Features
During her college years, Carol started working on her first feature film. It was called The Alcohol Years. This film is a documentary about her early adult years in Manchester. She spent a lot of time in a famous club called the Hacienda. In the documentary, Carol wanted to find out what happened during this time. She interviewed people she knew back then. Carol directed and filmed it herself. Cairo Cannon produced the film. Carol and Cairo own a company together called CAMP. This stands for Cannon and Morley Productions.
Everyday Something is a short film (14 minutes) from 2001. It was shot on 35mm. This film was based on Carol's collection of newspaper clippings. It explored unusual things that happen in ordinary people's lives. In Return Trip (24 minutes), Carol found an old friend, Catherine Corcoran. They went back to India together. They had traveled there as teenagers. Stalin My Neighbour (15 minutes) is about Carol's interest in missing people. The main character, Annie, loves local history. But she tries to forget her own past. This film was released on the same DVD as The Alcohol Years.
The Fear of Trilogy (3 minutes) was filmed with a mobile phone. It was shot and edited in just one day. Her short film The Madness of the Dance (18 minutes) was finished in 2006. It explores large group behaviors and individual obsessions. For example, it looks at things like the "biting mania" and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
Carol Morley’s first fictional film was Edge. It was released in 2010. The film tells the story of six guests. They are stuck at the Cliff Edge Hotel during winter.
Recent Projects
In 2006, the remains of 38-year-old Joyce Carol Vincent were found. This happened three years after her death. This event inspired Carol to make the film 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. She answered questions about her film The Falling. Carol Morley's young-adult novel, 7 Miles Out, was published in 2015.
In May 2017, it was announced that Carol would direct Patricia Clarkson. This film was Out of Blue. It was based on Martin Amis' novel Night Train. Filming started in October in New Orleans, Louisiana. The film was released in 2018.
In 2021, filming began for Typist Artist Pirate King. Carol wrote and directed this film. It is based on the life of artist Audrey Amiss. Carol did a lot of research on Audrey Amiss's old papers. The film stars Monica Dolan, Kelly Macdonald, and Gina McKee. It was produced with her long-time partner, Cairo Cannon. Other producers included Jane Campion, Anne Sheehan, Reno Antoniades, and Ameenah Ayub Allen.
Films by Carol Morley
Short films
- Girl (1993) – Graduation Film
- Secondhand Daylight (1993) – 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)
Editor
- True Blue Camper (1996)
Producer
- Forgotten Pilots (1999)
Awards and Recognition
I'm Not Here
- Won the Gold Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival
Edge
- Chosen for the London Film Festival in 2010
- Chosen for the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2011
Dreams of a Life
- Nominated for Best Documentary, Grierson Award, London Film Festival
- Nominated for Best Documentary, London Critics Circle
- Nominated for Best Documentary, London Evening Standard Film Awards
The Falling
- Nominated at the London Film Festival with Florence Pugh and Carol Morley
