Nicola
Williams: The Wrong Flowers
Nicola Williams studied Film Production
& Cinematography at the University of Northumbria and her graduation
documentary film 20th Century Hercules was awarded the
prestigious Visual Innovation Award from course patron, Director
Mike Figgis and the Tyne Tees Script Award. She has made several
documentaries and short films and also works as a freelance camera/lighting
person.
Developed in partnership with Art & Power, a membership led
group of disabled artists that seeks to empower people through high
quality artistic expression, the starting point for The Wrong
Flowers was a poem by Brenda Cook – the end point is
a unique and personal portrait. Filmmaker Nicola Williams spent
a week in remembrance workshops with Brenda Mary Cook, a script
was developed and the film was shot on location at Ashton Gate Primary
School, Westonbirt Arboretum and Central Studios. The film was funded
by the BFI, South West Media Development Agency and HTV West.
The Wrong Flowers is set in the 1940s and explores Brenda’s
early experiences and relationships. She creates a fantasy world
and refuses to allow her individuality to be dimmed. Brenda Cook
herself appears in the film.
The Watershed in Bristol has developed
a learning resource which includes the complete film with clips
and stills, and provides approaches to using a short film in the
classroom at Key Stages 2 and 3.
Exhibition:
The film was broadcast on HTV West and has been included in the
following festivals: Brief Encounters, 7th Intl. Short Film Festival,
Bristol (where the British jury commended the art direction as ‘truly
beautiful’); ViewFinders: International Film Festival for
Youth, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Picture this...Film Festival,
Calgary, Canada (Best under 10 drama/performance: film on disability);
KynnysKINO4, Helsinki (Winner of First Prize); 5th Disability Film
Festival, London; Projections International Disability Film Festival,
Toronto.
|
