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Birds Eye View Film Festival 8-14th March 2007

FILM & MASTERCLASS: BIRDS EYE VIEW FILM FESTIVAL

Directing masterclass with Laurie Collyer
Wednesday 14th March ICA CINEMA 2: 6.15PM

TICKET PRICE: £10 LIMITED AVAILABILITY

Laurie Collyer made her directorial debut at Sundance 2000 with acclaimed documentary Nuyorican Dreams (‘An outstanding work of verite observation, "Nuyorican Dream" finds wrenching drama’ – Variety). Whilst waiting for funding on Sherrybaby (for which she wrote the highly acclaimed script), Laurie has been busy writing two more scripts.

The process of creating her new film Sherrybaby began when Laurie Collyer and her script were selected to take part in the 2001 Sundance Filmmaker’s Lab in Sundance, Utah, where screenwriters and filmmakers meet each year to flesh out and develop promising projects. The Lab was an invaluable opportunity for Collyer to pull together the loose strands in order to finish her script, as well as to meet people that might help her see it to the screen. “The Sundance Lab gave me everything I needed to make my script good, to get the movie made, and to keep me humble for the rest of my life,” she says.

This is a rare chance to meet an award winning director and writer, find out about her career and discover some directorial do’s and don’ts.

Session includes preview screening of Sherrybaby
[Laurie Collyer, US, 2006, 96' event total 110']

Golden Globe nominated for her role as Sherry Swanson, Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Secretary) does justice to this brilliantly scripted and heartfelt US independent.

“From the age of 16 to 22 heroin was the love of my life. I mean, I had a daughter and I never even took care of her, and I want to take care of her..." Sherry Swanson

Three years after entering prison for robbery as a 19-year-old heroin addict, Sherry Swanson (Maggie Gyllenhaal) begins her first day of freedom, clean and sober. A model prisoner who has undergone personal transformation, she immediately sets out to regain custody of her young daughter Alexis (Ryan Simpkins), who has been cared for in her absence by her brother Bobby (Brad Henke) and his wife Lynn (Bridget Barkan).

Unprepared for the demands of the world she’s stepped back into, Sherry’s hopes of staying clean, getting a job, and becoming a responsible mother are challenged. Lynn’s concerns about Sherry’s ability to care for Alexis threaten to destroy the already delicate relationship she has with her daughter, as well as her newfound sobriety.

Disillusioned and haunted by wounds from her childhood, Sherry is eventually confronted with life-altering questions about her own survival and what it means to be a good mother.

‘Maggie Gyllenhaal is such a miracle of an actress...Your heart opens up and bleeds for her.’ Entertainment Weekly