Sophie Fiennes
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Sophie Fiennes (pronounced /ˈfaɪnz/ "fines"; born in 1967) is an English filmmaker. Exploring a broad range of ideas and diverse modes of creativity, Fiennes' films play with notions of performance and identity.
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[edit] Biography
She is the daughter of photographer Mark Fiennes and novelist/painter Jini Fiennes(AKA Jennifer Lash), and the sister of Ralph Fiennes, Martha Fiennes, Magnus Fiennes and Joseph Fiennes.
Following a foundation course in painting at Chelsea School of Art, Fiennes worked with director Peter Greenaway from 1987 – 1992. She managed the UK based dance company, The Michael Clark Company from 1992-1994 and began making her own films in 1998. With Greenaway she worked on films and TV projects including Drowning by Numbers and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. She met the British choreographer and dancer Michael Clark in 1990 during the shooting of Prospero’s Books, in which Clark performed the role of Caliban in the film. This led to Fiennes producing Michael Clark's Modern Masterpiece (Mmm...), Clark's live stage work which toured Japan, Canada and the UK, winning the Time Out award for Best Live Event of the Year.
Lars from 1-10 (1999) her first short film for The Independent Film Channel (USA) is about Danish Dogme film maker Lars von Trier and was selected for festivals including Sundance, Edinburgh, Resfest, London, Tokyo and Los Angeles.
She was commissioned by BBC 2’s radical arts series TX to make a film about her friend and collaborator Michael Clark. The Late Michael Clark (2000/50 min ) screened in festivals IMZ - Monaco, Moving Pictures - Toronto and ReelDance - Sydney.
The innovative London contemporary arts organisation ARTANGEL and Channel 4 ( UK ) commissioned Because I Sing ( 2001 / 74 min ). This film of Belgium choreographer Alain Platel's extraordinary one off Artangel London event brought together 16 radically diverse amateur London choirs creating a strange and powerful choral portrait of the capital.
Hoover Street Revival (2003), Fiennes’ feature documentary about a Pentecostal church in Los Angeles, was shot over the period of a year in South Central LA. It is an account of the charismatic ministry of Noel Jones in the Greater Bethany Church in Los Angeles. It was released theatrically in the UK June 2003 and screened in festivals Edinburgh, Adelaide, Israel, Amsterdam and London and in the USA at Egyptian Theatre, Redcat & Sundance Channel.
VSPRS Show and Tell for ZDF/Arte is about Les Ballets C. de la B.’s recent controversial dance performance VSPRS. A mesmerising documentary, the dimensions of ecstasy and trauma that form the core of the performance are masterfully captured, whilst interviews with Platel and the dancers themselves add an extra layer of insight to the performances.
Fiennes' work The Pervert's Guide to Cinema, is presented by the philosopher and psychoanalyst, Slavoj Žižek. It was described by Time Out London as "essential viewing for cinephiles"[citation needed]. With Žižek's engaging and passionate approach to thinking, he delves into the hidden language of cinema, uncovering what movies can tell us about ourselves.
Her films also act as powerful portraits of some of today's most iconic individuals. After two and a half years of recording observational material, Fiennes' is currently working on the development of a feature documentary of legend Grace Jones.
[edit] Awards
Sophie Fiennes was awarded a NESTA fellowship in 2001.
[edit] Films
- Lars from 1-10
- The Late Michael Clark
- Because I Sing
- Ramallah!
- Hoover Street Revival
- The Pervert's Guide to Cinema
- VSPRS Show and Tell
