Marleen Gorris facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marleen Gorris
Marleen Gorris (1982)
Born	(1948-12-09) 9 December 1948 (age 76) Roermond, Netherlands
Nationality	Dutch
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter
Known for	Antonia's Line (1995)

Marleen Gorris, born on December 9, 1948, is a Dutch writer and director who is now retired. She is known for her strong support of equal rights for women and for LGBTQ+ people. These ideas are often shown in her films.

Her movie, Antonia's Line, won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1995. This made her the first woman to win an Oscar in this category. She has also won two Golden Calf awards, which are major film awards in the Netherlands. She received many other nominations, including one for the BAFTA Awards.

Early Life and Education

Marleen Gorris was born in Roermond, Netherlands, on December 9, 1948. Her parents were working-class and Protestant, living in a mostly Catholic area.

She studied drama at the University of Amsterdam. She also earned a master's degree in Drama from the University of Birmingham, England.

Gorris started making films with very little experience. Her first film, A Question of Silence, came out in 1982. The Dutch government helped pay for this movie.

Marleen Gorris's Film Career

Marleen Gorris began writing movie scripts when she was about 30 years old. She first showed her script to a Belgian filmmaker, Chantal Akerman. Akerman told Gorris that she should direct the film herself.

First Film: A Question of Silence (1982)

The movie, A Question of Silence (1982), caused a lot of discussion around the world. It told a story from the point of view of a female psychiatrist. Her job was to talk to three women who had committed a serious act against a man.

Some people thought the film showed strong feelings women might have about unfair systems. Others felt it went too far. Even though the film was well-made, many viewers were surprised that it didn't clearly condemn the women's actions.

In 1982, Gorris won the Golden Calf for Best Feature Film for A Question of Silence. She won this award again in 1995 for Best Direction for her famous film Antonia's Line.

Later Films and Themes

After her first film's success, Gorris released Broken Mirrors in 1984. This film was similar to A Question of Silence in how it was made and its themes. Many of the same actors and crew worked on it.

Broken Mirrors explored women's experiences and viewpoints. It focused on unfair power dynamics. The film suggested that women could find strength by working together.

Gorris did not make another film until The Last Island in 1990. This movie also showed conflict. It was about a group of plane crash survivors stuck on an island.

International Success with Antonia's Line (1995)

In 1995, Marleen Gorris had her biggest international success with Antonia's Line. The movie starred Willeke van Ammelrooy. It told the story of an independent woman and the women in her family who came after her.

Some critics felt that the male characters in the film were shown as not very important or effective. However, many critics loved the film. It won several international awards, including a Golden Calf and an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.

Other Notable Works

Her next film was Mrs Dalloway (1997), based on a book by Virginia Woolf. It starred Vanessa Redgrave. This film also won international awards.

She then directed The Luzhin Defence (2000), based on a book by Vladimir Nabokov. It starred John Turturro and Emily Watson. The movie was about the love story between a chess champion and a strong-willed woman.

Carolina (2003), starring Julia Stiles and Shirley MacLaine, was released directly to video in 2005.

Gorris's 2009 film, Within the Whirlwind, also starring Emily Watson, did not get a distribution deal. Emily Watson explained that it was released around the time of a big economic downturn, so no one was buying films.

Retirement from Filmmaking

In June 2017, Marleen Gorris announced that she had retired from making films. Two years before, she had experienced a burnout and collapsed while working on a film called Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle. Another director, Mike van Diem, took over the project.

Legacy and Recognition

In 2012, the London Feminist Film Festival chose A Question of Silence as a 'Feminist Classic'. They celebrated it with a special screening for its 30th anniversary. The film has been shown often in the UK since then, including at University College London in 2019 and at the Leeds International Film Festival in 2023.

Personal Life

Marleen Gorris shared that she is a lesbian after the success of Antonia's Line. Her partner, Maria Uitdehaag, worked as the first assistant director on the film. Gorris mentioned her partner in her Academy Award acceptance speech.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Marleen Gorris para niños

• List of female film and television directors
• List of lesbian filmmakers
• List of LGBT-related films directed by women