'The Arbor' is one of the most exciting and innovative documentary projects of the year, combining audio interviews with lip-syncing actors and staged scenery, and interspersed with performances from a play in the area that the play is set, it piles layer upon layer of detail into it's story: that of British playwright
Andrea Dunbar, and the tumultuous life that she and her family led. It's out today and we were lucky enough to catch its director,
Clio Barnard, at the LFF. Here's what she had to say... OWF: What first drew you to
Andrea Dunbar?
CB: I guess 'Rita, Sue and Bob Too'! But I'm from near Bradford, it's where I grew up, and I'm the same generation as her and I just really liked the film, I liked the friendship between the girls, I liked that it doesn't moralise about them enjoying sex and I love the writing. So that's what drew me to her.
OWF: And were you surprised by what you encountered when you started looking deeper into Andrea's life?
CB: Well yes, I didn't really know anything about her life other than that she died tragically young, and I felt that was a real loss because her writing was so vital and had such energy and wit. I didn't start finding out about her life until I actually started interviewing people.
OWF: One of the most interesting things about Andrea's story was how such rich texts could come from such a deprived background, how did you go about showing how her work sprang from this place?
CB: I think in a way she wrote what she knew, and I think what was very extraordinary about her was her ability to write very directly, truthfully and honestly about very difficult things like racism and domestic abuse; and she had a way with words that way very economical I suppose. And Lisa, Lorraine and Andrew, her children , have that same way with words, being able to talk about complex issues very succinctly and directly... unlike me!
OWF: Unlike most of us I think!... But as well as these positive characteristics, the film dealt with a lot of sensitive issues surrounding both the area and Andrea's family, were you ever worried about how this could potentially paint a negative picture of the region and the participants of the film?
CB: Yes, and I tried my best to do it responsibly and so that there were lots of voices for her , not just Lorraine's. I suppose she becomes very central, and I think that's why it was vital that we heard what Lisa has to say, which is very different from what Lorraine says.
OWF: That counterpoint between the two sisters' views is a big part of the doc, was it difficult to cut together such sensitive material?
CB: It was very difficult and the editors I worked with worked incredibly hard to keep things balanced and do things responsibly, making sure we had the full consent of the people whose voices we were hearing. During the first part of the edit, which was just the sound, I was constantly in touch with people informing them of the direction things were taking and making sure that was OK. But it is incredibly difficult material and I tried to be as rigorous and sensitive as I could in handling that, and when people are open with you, the way they were with me, it's a relationship of trust and you have must not betray that trust.
OWF: I imagined that it would be very easy to paint a sensationalist picture of a family falling apart, was there any point when you wondered whether it was possible to portray something that wasn't big and dramatic and even hurtful to those participating in the film?
CB: I think the events that happened hurt the participants deeply and I suppose the reason I thought it was an important story is because, in a way, we all need to grieve for Harris and I'm glad if there's a collective grieving that comes out of the film. And I think the point at which Anne and Steve, who were Lorraine's foster parents, break down in the film is very important. Though I suppose there is the bigger question of why you would make private grief public, and I think the reason for that is because Harris's death was really in the public domain because of the circumstances, and because it was such a tragedy. And in that sense I think we have a collective responsibility to him, and children like him, and therefore it's important that we grieve for him.
OWF: With such emotive and emotional material, how important was this unique style of documentary filmmaking that you deployed? And what made you want to work in this way?
CB: Because I think often documentaries are shaped like fictions, and I think actually there's a very close relationship between documentaries and fiction and a lot of crossover. But we have this peculiar expectation with documentaries that they not be mediated, but of course it is and it always is, and, in a way, I think it's more honest and straightforward to acknowledge that it's constructed.
OWF: How hard was it to get the actors to imitate such strong emotion?
CB: It was very challenging for them and they did a remarkable job because they had to learn every breath, every pause, every swallow, and give a true performance.
OWF: Another very important thing in creating this combined artifice and intimacy was the way each scene was staged, how much time and effort went into getting that right?
CB: A lot. There was quite a big gap between finishing the audio cut and then shooting, and in that gap I storyboarded the whole thing while we were waiting for the financing to fall into place, and though it was a scary time when we thought this might not happen I actually did this storyboard and that turned out to be a great thing. Then I worked very closely with the DoP and the production designer to get things right. Like it was very deliberate to have the performance of 'The Arbor' on the Arbor performed as you might expect fiction to be shot, and the interviews and the documentary element shot just like fiction too, you know, actors hitting their marks and carefully lit tracking shots. The language of fiction really.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyNqRdM0Y4g OWF: When you were shooting on the Arbor itself did you get much time to chat to the residents about what you were doing?
CB: Oh all the time, yes! What you don't see on the film is that whenever we cut there were kids all over the sofas, riding their bikes through the doors, I got to know and love everybody on Brafferton Arbor in the time we were there. I think part of the reason those scenes have the energy they do is because of the people on the Arbor.
'The Arbor' has been screened as part of the BFI London Film Festival and is out in selected UK cinemas on Friday the 22nd of October. You can find my review of the movie HERE.