A Film and Name to Remember

About two months back, I started doing research on directors to whom we could submit a film project that I wrote.  I finally finished the report and sent it off to the producer a month ago.  Without getting into all the reasons, it wasn't a list of Dream Choices -- no, "Hey, let's try and get this Spielberg guy," but the challenge was finding extremely talented people who could attract a cast, but who were probably a bitter under the wire.  Some were American, but most British.  And a few from other countries.

At the top of the list, I had three people, and surprised the producer by including as one of those a British director who I’d never heard of or never even seen any of her films.  More surprising was that she's only had one feature released -- her second is still upcoming.  She's done a few documentaries and shorts, but that's it.  Yet she was one of my top three choices.  

The director's name is Sarah Gavron.  And my raving recommendation was notably because of nothing more than a trailer I saw of her upcoming movie.  As I said, It was only her second feature, and only a trailer, but it was enough to bowl me over.  I tracked down footage online from her first film, for which he had won the British Independent Film Award, and also watched clips from a documentary she did, all of which confirmed she was hugely talented.  But it was that trailer that made me press for her beyond all normal reason.  In fact, based only on the trailer, I even went so far as to say I thought she’ll be nominated for an Oscar, and that star Carey Mulligan will be nominated for Best Actress.  

(Believe it or not, I was actually being low-key, because if I'd said to him what I really thought, that I believed they both could win the Oscar -- without having even seen the movie, or know what the competition was -- it seemed far too presumptuous when wanting to be taken seriously by your producer.  But...I did say that to some other people.)

The movie is called Suffragette, and in addition to Carey Mulligan, it features Helena Bonham Carter, Brendon Gleeson and Meryl Streep.  I figured, too, that with a cast like that it spoke volumes of them being willing to work with her.

Well...last night, a friend sent me this from The Wrap, about the Telluride Film Festival –

‘Suffragette’ Telluride Review: Carey Mulligan Is the Reason to See This Masterwork

Produced, written, directed by and starring women, this isn’t a film the Oscars can pass by.

                                                                          * 
Well...Okay, I suspect she’s no longer a hidden secret now.  Nor all that much under-the-wire.  In fairness, as I said in my original list about Sarah Gavron, I don’t know if f she’d want to do our project.  Though the screenplay is at heart a drama that also has comedy and romance, her film choices thus far have been much more serious.  But it would have been nice for her to consider our film when she was still completely under-the-wire, regardless of the result.  Alas, that's no longer the case, so my guess is that we're likely out of the running.  But hope spring eternal.

For those who are interested, here’s the full review.

Mainly, though, I just wanted to write here about Suffragette and Sarah Gavron simply because I think you should know about this.  That and also, before other counties chime in -- and going out on a huge limb -- to get my two cents in long before the Oscars come along.  I simply think she's a major talent, regardless of what she does next.

This is the trailer for Suffragette.

And I repeat, as you watch this:  this is only her second feature film.