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Charlotte Wells

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For the 19th-century American phrenologist and publisher, see Charlotte Fowler Wells. For the fictional character, see Harlots (TV series)#Cast and characters.
Charlotte Wells
Born
Charlotte Anna Wells

(1987-06-13) 13 June 1987 (age 37)
Morningside, Edinburgh, Scotland
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Film director
  • film producer
  • screenwriter
Years active2014–present
Websitecharlotte-wells.com

Charlotte Wells (born 13 June 1987) is a Scottish director, writer, and producer. She is known for her feature film debut Aftersun (2022),[1] which premiered in 2022 during Critics' Week at Cannes Film Festival, receiving 121 nominations and 33 awards, including Gotham and British Independent Film Awards.[2] Wells has worked on numerous other films, such as Blue Christmas (2017), and her films have been screened at festivals all around the globe.

Early life and education

Wells was born in Edinburgh. She attended secondary school at the independent George Heriot's School.[3] Wells did not live with her father, who passed away when she was sixteen years old.[4] However, she remembers him as a very involved parent, despite the living situation. The father-daughter dynamic was a frequent topic of conversation after her first feature-film debut Aftersun, a film about a father and daughter.

Wells was interested in film from a young age, but did not initially pursue it. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Classics from King's College London and then a Master of Arts from Oxford University. She went into finance and rediscovered film through helping Callum Just, a school friend, run Digital Orchard, a post-production and DIT agency.[5] She used this experience to apply to New York University's joint business and film graduate program with the intention of becoming a producer. She completed a dual Master of Fine Arts and Master of Business Administration at Tisch School of the Arts and the Stern School.

While at NYU, Wells created three short films: Tuesday (2015), about a sixteen-year-old learning to cope with a big loss, featuring Megan McGill, which earned Wells the Best Writer Nominee at BAFTA Scotland New Talent Awards 2016;[6] Laps (2016), about a normal weekday, until the main character is sexually assaulted on the New York subway, featuring Thea Brooks, which earned Wells Special Jury Recognition at the SXSW Short Film Awards and Special Jury Award for Editing at Sundance 2017;[7] and Blue Christmas (2017), about a debt collector who goes to work instead of seeing his wife on Christmas Eve to avoid her worsening psychosis, featuring Jamie Robson and Michelle Duncan.[8]

Career

Before starting her career in the film industry as a producer, Wells helped run Digital Orchard, a company specialising in film, finishing images, developing film and digital imaging. Wells was a fellow at the 2020 Sundance Institute Screenwriters and Directors Labs with her feature film debut Aftersun, which premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim. The film is a drama starring Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio. She received many accolades as a breakthrough director and appeared on numerous year-end lists. Aftersun received an Academy Award nomination for Paul Mescal's performance.

Aftersun

Aftersun is a coming-of-age drama which tells the story of a young woman, Sophie, recalling a holiday she took with her father, Calum (Paul Mescal), 20 years prior, for Calum's 31st birthday. The 11-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) does not spend a lot of time with her father, who does not live with her and her mother anymore. The time they spend on this holiday is very precious to them. Calum takes Sophie on a trip to a Turkish budget resort, where Calum struggles with feelings of depression. The adult Sophie is trying to remember her father by looking back on this holiday, and piece together the memories she has with the help of the videos she and her father took on vacation.

The film is partly shot on 35mm film by the actors themselves, on a MiniDV camera.[9] This camera records many of the experiences Sophie had on that holiday, from playing with friends at the resort to spending time with her father. The 35mm footage is spread throughout the film, showing the audience more intimate parts of the father-daughter dynamic from Sophie's perspective. The film shows a vulnerable side of this dynamic, with Calum's battle with depression as a dark side, as well as the struggle of living apart from your father. Adult Sophie is, as she was when she was young, slowly figuring out who her father was as a person, rather than a father.

This sparked a lot of conversation regarding Charlotte Wells' personal life. Well's father died when she was sixteen, and she lived apart from her father. However, she did not feel as though he was not involved enough.[4] The father-daughter dynamic was not something that Wells was trying to uncover in her film, but something that rather came to be during the making. The first goal was to show how any relationship can shift over time.[4] Aftersun received 121 nominations, including a nomination for best actor at the 2023 Academy Awards for Paul Mescal's performance.[10] The film was named the Best Directorial Debut of 2022 by the National Board of Review. [11]

Filmography

Year Title Credited as Notes Ref(s)
Director Producer Writer
2014 F to 7th No Yes No TV series (8 episodes) [12]
2015 Tuesday Yes No Yes Short [13][14]
2015 In a Room Below No Yes No Short [15]
2016 Red Folder No Yes No Short [16]
2016 Briefcase No Yes No Short [17]
2016 Alice No Yes No Short [18]
2017 Laps Yes No Yes Short [19][14]
2017 Blue Christmas Yes No Yes Short [20][14]
2017 Eté No Yes No Short [21]
2019 Raf No Yes No Feature [22]
2022 Aftersun Yes No Yes Feature [23]

Accolades

Year Association Category Film Result Ref.
2022 BIFA Award Best Director Aftersun Won [24]
2022 Gotham Independent Film Awards Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award Won [2]
2022 New York Film Critics Circle Best First Film Won [25]
2022 National Society of Film Critics Best Director Won
2023 Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directing – First-Time Feature Film Won [26]
2023 BAFTA Awards Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer Won

References

  1. ^ Wise, Damon (November 3, 2022). "Charlotte Wells On The Surprise Success Of Her Festival Hit 'Aftersun': 'I'm a Little in Awe'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Kay, Jeremy (28 November 2022). "'Everything Everywhere All At Once', 'Aftersun' director Charlotte Wells among 2022 Gothams winners". Screen Daily. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Twitter account of the English Department of George Heriot's School, Edinburgh". 1 December 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Li, Shirley (2022-10-29). "When a Father Is Just Out of Reach". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  5. ^ Abraham, Raphael (11 November 2022). "Director Charlotte Wells on her debut Aftersun — the most lauded British film of the year". Financial Times. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Winners Announced: BAFTA Scotland New Talent Awards 2016". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. April 14, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  7. ^ "SXSW 2019 Film Award Winners". South by Southwest. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  8. ^ Macaulay, Scott (2022). "25 New Faces of Independent Film: Charlotte Wells". Filmmaker. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  9. ^ "DP Gregory Oke captured the color of memory on 35mm for Charlotte…". Kodak. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  10. ^ "Oscar nominations 2023: The full list". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  11. ^ nbr_admin (2022-12-08). "NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW ANNOUNCES 2022 AWARD WINNERS". National Board of Review. Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  12. ^ F to 7th (TV Series 2013– ) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-12-04
  13. ^ Wells, Charlotte, Tuesday (Short, Drama), Megan McGill, Anita Vettesse, David Leith, retrieved 2023-12-04
  14. ^ a b c "Charlotte Wells". Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  15. ^ In a Room Below (2015) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-12-04
  16. ^ Red Folder (2016) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-12-04
  17. ^ Briefcase (2016) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-12-04
  18. ^ Alice (2016) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-12-04
  19. ^ Wells, Charlotte (2017-01-21), Laps (Short, Drama), Thea Brooks, Sydney Buchan, Germain Gulick, retrieved 2023-12-04
  20. ^ Wells, Charlotte (2018-01-20), Blue Christmas (Short, Drama), Jamie Robson, Michelle Duncan, Lewis McGowan, retrieved 2023-12-04
  21. ^ Été (2017) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-12-04
  22. ^ Raf (2019) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-12-04
  23. ^ Wells, Charlotte (2022-11-18), Aftersun (Drama), Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall, BBC Film, British Film Institute (BFI), Screen Scotland, retrieved 2023-12-04
  24. ^ Ntim, Zac (4 December 2022). "Best Director". British Independent Film Awards. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  25. ^ Davis, Clayton (2 December 2022). "New York Film Critics Circle Announcing 2022 Winners". Variety. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  26. ^ Tapp, Tom (February 18, 2023). "DGA Awards: Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert Win for Everything Everywhere All At Once – Complete Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
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