UK

Synopsis

SUFFRAGETTE is an intense drama that tracks the story of the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement as they fought for the right to vote, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal State. These women were not primarily from the genteel educated classes, they were working women who had seen peaceful protest achieve nothing. Radicalised and turning to violence as the only route to change, they were willing to lose everything in their fight for equality – their jobs, their homes, their children and their lives. The character of Maud, played by Carey Mulligan, is one such foot soldier. The story of her fight for dignity is both heart-breaking and inspirational.

Director's Biography

Sarah's feature debut was BRICK LANE, which earned her a BAFTA nomination and BIFA nomination and The Alfred Dunhill Talent Award at the BFI London Film Festival. Prior to this Sarah's first full-length drama, the Dennis Potter Award winning THIS LITTLE LIFE for BBC, won her the TV BAFTA for Best New Director and both the Royal Television Society and Women in Film and TV Award for Best Newcomer. Sarah was selected as one of Variety's "Ten Directors to Watch" at the Sundance IFFl.

While training at the NFTS and after she graduated, Sarah made many short films, which have screened internationally and won many awards. Sarah’s feature documentary THE VILLAGE AT THE END OF THE WORLD was nominated for The Grierson Award and won the prestigious Margaret Mead Award. Sarah is currently developing THE UNLIKELY PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY with Film4.

Filmography:
2015 SUFFRAGETTE
2012 VILLAGE AT THE END OF THE WORLD, doc.
2007 BRICK LANE
2000 LOSING TOUCH, short
2000 THE GIRL IN THE LAY-BY, short
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Sarah Gavron

Written by: Abi Morgan

Produced by: Faye Ward

Cinematography: Eduard Grau

Editing: Barney Pilling

Production Design: Alice Normington

Costume Design: Jane Petrie

Make-Up & Hair: Sian Grigg

Original Score: Alexandre Desplat

Cast: Carey Mulligan (Maud Watts), Helena Bonham Carter (Edith Ellyn), Brendan Gleeson (Inspector Arthur Steed), Anne-Marie Duff (Violet Miller), Meryl Streep (Emmeline Pankhurst)

Nominations and Awards

  • European Production Designer 2016
  • Feature Film Selection 2016