Sophie Fiennes

Sophie Fiennes (born 12 February 1967) is an English filmmaker best known for her films ''Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami'' (2017) and ''Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow'' (2010), as well as for her collaborations with philosopher Slavoj Žižek: ''The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema'' (2006), and ''The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology'' (2013).

Fiennes’ formally inventive approach often combines observational documentary with performance film. Film critic Danny Leigh identified this in her early work: “Almost uniquely, Fiennes remains adamant she wants [Michael] Clark – or whoever she happens to be dealing with – to be understood through their work rather than the other way round; not for her the hackneyed game of small-screen head shrinking.” Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw says her 2010 film ''Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow,'' “could be described as a ‘participatory documentary’ in the sense that the film-maker gets alongside her subject and in some way contributes to the art being created.” Fiennes’ work has screened internationally in festivals including Cannes, Toronto, Rotterdam, IDFA and Sundance, distributed theatrically and broadcast. Her work has shown in museums including MOMA New York; Hammer Museum Los Angeles; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art Denmark; Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Japan; Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid. Tate are acquiring the installation current/SEE, which comprises a 13-minute extract of her film, ''The Late Michael Clark'', originally commissioned by the BBC. The installation was produced on the occasion of the Barbican exhibition, Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer, in 2020.

Sophie Fiennes was awarded a NESTA fellowship in 2001 to support her innovative approach to filmmaking and she won the Arte France Cinema award at Rotterdam’s Cinemart in 2007. Sophie Fiennes teaches at University College London, where she is Senior Tutor on the Creative Documentary by Practice MFA, and Mentor for the Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) MA. She has also taught at the IDFA summer school. Provided by Wikipedia