About a Girl (2001 film): Difference between revisions

About a Girl
About a Girl
Directed by	Brian Percival
Written by	Julie Rutterford
Produced by	Janey de Nordwall; Rebecca Wright
Starring	Ashley Thewlis; John Slater; Sue Jaynes; Loren Crook
Cinematography	Geoff Boyle
Edited by	Phil Tune
Release date	25 August 2001 (Edinburgh Film Festival);
Running time	9 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

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About a Girl is a nine-minute short film directed by Brian Percival. In 2001, it won the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film. It also won an award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival for Best British Short, the TCM Classic Shorts Award prize at the London Film Festival, and the Jury Prize at the Raindance Film Festival. The script was written by Julie Rutterford and the film was produced by Janey de Nordwall. The leading role was played by Ashley Thewlis.

Plot

About a Girl opens with a striking shot of a silhouette — against a skyline of clouds above a field — of a girl singing the Britney Spears song "Stronger" and doing the dance routine. It cuts abruptly to a close-up of the girl talking to the camera. She is walking against a backdrop of Manchester's industrial landscape, talking non-stop, mixing wry statements about stardom and singers with random quotes from her parents and descriptions of her life: her relationship with her dad, her frustrations with her mum, her desire to become a famous singer, and the band she has formed with her friends. Her monologue is interrupted and intercut with different scenes of her with her family and her dad; her in a perfume department, sitting on a bench singing "Stronger" again, and on the back of a bus with her friends singing "Oops!... I Did It Again" (also by Britney Spears) and doing the dance routine featured in the music video for the song.

As she goes on walking alongside a canal, the girl's stories become more and more underlain by an uncomfortable feeling that the gravity of her experiences does not match her flippant retelling of her everyday life: her descriptions of her pop idols and her favourite ice cream are mixed with hints about family troubles, poverty and domestic violence. The 'underside' to her light-hearted storytelling is revealed when she throws the plastic bag she has been carrying into the canal. An underwater shot reveals a baby surrounded by blood. The film ends with the girl walking away while humming to herself.

Cast

Ashley Thewlis as Girl
John Slater as Father
Sue Jaynes as Mother
Loren Crook as Toddler

External links

About a Girl at IMDb
About a Girl at the BBC Film Network

This short film–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|2001 film by Brian Percival}}
-{{Infobox film
+{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
+{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
+{{no footnotes|date=April 2013}}{{Infobox film
 | name           = About a Girl
 | image          =
 | caption        =
 | director       = [[Brian Percival]]
 | producer       = Janey de Nordwall<br>Rebecca Wright
 | writer         = [[Julie Rutterford]]
 | screenplay     =
 | story          =
-| based on       = <!-- {{based on|title of the original work|writer of the original work}} -->
+| based_on       = <!-- {{based on|title of the original work|writer of the original work}} -->
-| starring       = [[Ashley Thewlis]]<br>[[Sue Jaynes]]<br>[[Laren Creek]]
+| starring       = [[Ashley Jade|Ashley Thewlis]]<br>John Slater<br>Sue Jaynes<br>Loren Crook
 | music          =
 | cinematography = Geoff Boyle
-| editing        =
+| editing        = Phil Tune
 | studio         =
 | distributor    =
 | released       = {{Film date|2001|8|25|Edinburgh Film Festival|df=y}}
 | runtime        = 9 minutes
 | country        = United Kingdom
 | language       = English
 | budget         =
 | gross          =
 }}
-'''''About a Girl''''' is a nine-minute short film directed by [[Brian Percival]].  In 2001 it won the [[BAFTA Award for Best Short Film]].  It also won an award at the [[Edinburgh International Film Festival]] for Best British Short, the [[Turner Classic Movies|TCM]] Classic Shorts Award prize at the [[London Film Festival]], and the Jury Prize at the [[Raindance Film Festival]].  The script was written by [[Julie Rutterford]] and the film was produced by [[Janey de Nordwall]]. The leading role was played by [[Ashley Thewlis]].
+'''''About a Girl''''' is a nine-minute short film directed by [[Brian Percival]].  In 2001, it won the [[BAFTA Award for Best Short Film]].  It also won an award at the [[Edinburgh International Film Festival]] for Best British Short, the [[Turner Classic Movies|TCM]] Classic Shorts Award prize at the [[London Film Festival]], and the Jury Prize at the [[Raindance Film Festival]].  The script was written by Julie Rutterford and the film was produced by Janey de Nordwall. The leading role was played by [[Ashley Jade|Ashley Thewlis]].
 ==Plot==
-''About a Girl'' opens with a striking shot of a silhouette &mdash; against a skyline of clouds above a field &mdash;  of a girl singing the Britney Spears song "[[Stronger (Britney Spears song)|Stronger]]" and doing the dance routine. It cuts abruptly to a close-up of the girl talking in a strong [[Manchester dialect|Mancunian accent]] to the camera: "If Jesus were alive today &mdash; right, he'd probably be a singer." She is walking against a backdrop of Manchester's industrial landscape, talking non-stop, mixing wry statements about stardom and singers with random quotes from her parents and descriptions of her life: her relationship with her dad, her frustrations with her mum, her desire to become a famous singer, the band she has formed with her friends. Things any 13-year-old might talk about. Her monologue is interrupted and intercut with different scenes of her with her family and her dad; her in a perfume department, sitting on a bench singing "Stronger" again, and on the back of a bus with her girlfriends singing "[[Oops!... I Did It Again (song)|Oops!... I Did It Again]]" by Britney Spears and doing the routine.
+''About a Girl'' opens with a striking shot of a silhouette &mdash; against a skyline of clouds above a field &mdash;  of a girl singing the [[Britney Spears]] song "[[Stronger (Britney Spears song)|Stronger]]" and doing the dance routine. It cuts abruptly to a close-up of the girl talking to the camera. She is walking against a backdrop of Manchester's industrial landscape, talking non-stop, mixing wry statements about stardom and singers with random quotes from her parents and descriptions of her life: her relationship with her dad, her frustrations with her mum, her desire to become a famous singer, and the band she has formed with her friends. Her monologue is interrupted and intercut with different scenes of her with her family and her dad; her in a perfume department, sitting on a bench singing "Stronger" again, and on the back of a bus with her friends singing "[[Oops!... I Did It Again (song)|Oops!... I Did It Again]]" (also by Britney Spears) and doing the dance routine featured in the music video for the song.
-As she goes on walking alongside a canal, the girl's stories become more and more underlain by an uncomfortable feeling that the gravity of her experiences does not match her flippant retelling of her everyday life: her descriptions of her pop idols and her favourite ice cream are mixed with hints about family troubles, poverty and domestic violence.
+As she goes on walking alongside a canal, the girl's stories become more and more underlain by an uncomfortable feeling that the gravity of her experiences does not match her flippant retelling of her everyday life: her descriptions of her pop idols and her favourite ice cream are mixed with hints about family troubles, poverty and [[domestic violence]]. The 'underside' to her light-hearted storytelling is revealed when she throws the plastic bag she has been carrying into the canal. An underwater shot reveals a baby surrounded by blood. The film ends with the girl walking away while humming to herself.
+==Cast==
-The 'underside' to her light-hearted storytelling is revealed in a shocking scene when, stating that she has become "good at hiding things", she throws the plastic bag she has been carrying into the canal. A camera shot from under the water reveals a baby surrounded by blood.
+*[[Ashley Jade|Ashley Thewlis]] as Girl
+*John Slater as Father
+*Sue Jaynes as Mother
+*Loren Crook as Toddler
 ==External links==
-* {{imdb title|296484|About a Girl}}
+* {{IMDb title|296484|About a Girl}}
-* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p0055x2k About a Girl] at the [[BBC Film Network]]
+* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/films/p0055x2k About a Girl] at the [[BBC Film Network]]
-[[Category:British films]]
 [[Category:2001 films]]
-[[Category:British short films]]
+[[Category:British drama short films]]
 [[Category:Films set in Manchester]]
+[[Category:2001 short films]]
+[[Category:Films about child abuse]]
+[[Category:Films about domestic violence]]
+[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
+[[Category:English-language short films]]
 {{short-film-stub}}