Sally Potter facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sally Potter OBE
Potter in 2020
Born	Charlotte Sally Potter (1949-09-19) 19 September 1949 (age 75) London, England
Alma mater	London Contemporary Dance School
Occupation	Film director screenwriter
Years active	1979–present

Charlotte Sally Potter OBE (born 19 September 1949) is an English film director and screenwriter. She is known for directing Orlando (1992). This film won the audience prize for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival.

Growing Up and Starting Out

Potter was born and grew up in London, England. Her mother was a music teacher. Her father was an interior designer and a poet. Her younger brother, Nic Potter, became a bassist for a rock band. Sally grew up in a family that encouraged asking questions and thinking for themselves. This background helped shape her work as a filmmaker.

When she was 17, Sally wanted to make films in the UK. She learned early on that she had to find her own way. She knew that if she waited for someone to give her money, she might never make anything. This taught her to be creative and find solutions.

Sally's Creative Journey

Potter started making films when she was just 14 years old. She used an 8mm camera that her uncle gave her. At 16, she left school to focus on filmmaking.

From 1968 to 1970, she worked to support herself. She was a kitchen worker and a picture researcher for the BBC. She joined the London Film-Makers' Co-op. This was a place where filmmakers could share ideas and make experimental short films. One of her early films was Play (1970).

Exploring Dance and Music

Sally also trained as a dancer and choreographer. She studied at the London School of Contemporary Dance. She created both film and dance pieces. One of these was Combines (1972). Later, she started her own dance company called Limited Dance Company.

Potter also became a performance artist and theatre director. She directed shows like Mounting and Death and the Maiden. She was also part of several music bands. She wrote songs and sang. She worked with composer Lindsay Cooper on a song cycle called Oh Moscow. They performed it across Europe and North America.

Sally continued to work with music in her films. She helped create the soundtrack for Orlando. She also wrote the music for her film The Tango Lesson. She even sang a song in the final scene. Later, she worked with Fred Frith on music for her films Yes and Rage.

Potter said that choreography taught her how to direct. Dancing taught her how to work with others. She found that dance was a great way to create art without needing a lot of money.

Returning to Filmmaking

Potter returned to filmmaking with her short film Thriller (1979). This film was very popular at international festivals. Her first full-length movie was The Gold Diggers (1983). It starred Julie Christie.

She then directed another short film, The London Story (1986). She also made a documentary series for Channel 4. It was called Tears, Laughter, Fear and Rage (1986). Another film was I am an Ox, I am a Horse, I am a Man, I am a Woman (1988). This film was about women in Soviet cinema.

Major Film Works

Orlando (1992)

Sally Potter became widely known for directing Orlando (1992). This film starred Tilda Swinton. It was based on Virginia Woolf's famous novel. Potter adapted the book for the screen herself.

Orlando won more than 25 international awards. It received two Academy Award nominations. It won the Felix award for best Young European Film in 1993. It also won top prizes at festivals in St Petersburg and Thessaloniki.

The novel Orlando was thought to be very hard to turn into a movie. This is because it takes place over 400 years. The main character also changes from a man to a woman. It took seven years to get enough money to make the film. The actual filming and editing took 20 weeks. But preparing for the film, like writing the script and finding locations, took four years.

The Tango Lesson (1996)

Potter's next film was The Tango Lesson (1996). In this movie, she also performed with the famous dancer Pablo Veron. The film was first shown at the Venice Film Festival. It won the Ombú de Oro for Best Film in Argentina. It also received nominations from BAFTA and the US National Board of Review.

The Tango Lesson is partly based on Sally's own life. It shows her experiences learning Argentinian Tango with Pablo Veron. She learned to dance while writing the script for another film called Rage. This was the first time Potter performed on screen. She said she had to perform because the idea for the film came from her own wish to dance.

People still send letters to Potter about how much The Tango Lesson touched them. She thinks people respond to the passion behind the film. She was 46 when she danced the Tango with the world's best tango dancer. It was scary but also full of passion.

The Man Who Cried (2000)

The Man Who Cried (2000) premiered at the Venice Film Festival. It starred famous actors like Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, and John Turturro. Christina Ricci plays a Jewish girl who was separated from her father in Soviet Russia. She travels to America to find him.

Yes (2004)

This film followed The Man Who Cried. Yes (2004) starred Joan Allen, Simon Abkarian, and Sam Neill. Potter wrote Yes after the attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001. It was a return to her more experimental style of filmmaking. The script was written like a poem. The film also had a much smaller budget than her previous movie.

Potter explained how they made the film with less money. They shot scenes at a very slow speed. This allowed them to film in low light and still see people's faces clearly. She found this method to be very beautiful.

Rage (2009)

Rage (2009) was a groundbreaking film. It was the first full-length movie to premiere on cell phones. The cast included Judi Dench, Steve Buscemi, Lily Cole, and Jude Law. Rage was shown at the Berlin Film Festival in 2009. It was also nominated for a WEBBY award in 2010.

Ginger & Rosa (2012)

Potter's seventh feature film was Ginger & Rosa (2012). She wrote and directed it. The film starred Elle Fanning and Alice Englert as the two main characters. It was first shown at the Telluride Film Festival. The film was released in the UK in 2012 and in North America in 2013.

The Party (2017)

In 2017, Potter's black comedy The Party was released. It was chosen to compete for the Golden Bear at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. It won the Guild Film Prize there. The film has a cast of many well-known actors. These include Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Emily Mortimer, and Cillian Murphy.

The Roads Not Taken (2020)

Potter's drama The Roads Not Taken was released in 2020. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. It was nominated for the Golden Bear award. The story follows Molly (Elle Fanning) as she cares for her father, Leo (Javier Bardem). Leo suffers from early-onset dementia.

Potter did a lot of research for the film. She wanted to show Leo's illness accurately and sensitively. She talked to a neurologist to make sure everything was medically correct. Javier Bardem also visited a clinic to understand the condition better. They learned that dementia can take many different forms. Most people think dementia is only Alzheimer's, but Alzheimer's is just one type of dementia.

Filmography

Short film

Feature film

Documentary film

• Tears, Laughter, Fear & Rage (1986)
• I Am An Ox, I Am A Horse, I Am A Man, I Am A Woman (1988)

Awards and Honors

Sally Potter's films and video work have been shown in special retrospectives. These include events at the BFI Southbank in London and MoMA in New York. She was also given the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2012. This honor was for her contributions to film.

See also

In Spanish: Sally Potter para niños