Peter Strickland (director)

Peter Strickland is a British film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his films Berberian Sound Studio (2012), The Duke of Burgundy (2014) and In Fabric (2018).

Peter Strickland
Peter Strickland in September 2018
Born (1973-05-21) 21 May 1973 (age 51)
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active1996–present

Life and career

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Strickland was born to a Greek mother and British father, both teachers, and grew up in Reading, Berkshire, where he was a member of Progress Theatre, directing his own adaptation of The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.[1] In 1997, his short film Bubblegum was entered in the Berlin Film Festival.[2] He made a short version of what would become Berberian Sound Studio in 2005.[3] For most of the 2000s, he lived in Slovakia and Hungary.[4]

His first feature, the low-budget rural revenge drama Katalin Varga, was financed by an inheritance from an uncle and filmed in Romania over a period of 17 days in 2006.[2][4] It won the European Film Award for European Discovery of the Year in 2009.[5]

His second, Berberian Sound Studio, is a psychological thriller set in a 1970s Italian horror film studio and starring Toby Jones.[6] It was previewed at London FrightFest Film Festival in August 2012[3] and at the 2012 Edinburgh International Film Festival, where Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph described it as the "stand-out movie".[7] In 2013, the film obtained the Best International Film Award at BAFICI.[8] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian described Berberian Sound Studio as marking Strickland's emergence as "a key British film-maker of his generation".[9]

His third feature, the chamber drama The Duke of Burgundy, was an homage to Jess Franco starring Sidse Babett Knudsen and Chiara D'Anna.[10] It received overwhelming praise from critics, and appeared on The A.V. Club and Indiewire best film lists for 2015.[11][12]

In 2018, Strickland released In Fabric, a psychological horror film about a haunted dress purchased in a London department store. Like his previous film, it received universal critical acclaim. It appeared in multiple best of the year critics' polls, including those of The Playlist and Sight & Sound.[13][14]

Filmography

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Radio credits

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  • The Len Continuum (2015, BBC Radio 4)
  • The Stone Tape (2016, BBC Radio 4)
  • The Len Dimension (2017, BBC Radio 4)
  • The Third Consecutive Event in Talbot Leigh (2019, BBC Radio 4)
  • Jason's Mates (2022, BBC Radio 4)

References

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  1. ^ 'Peter Strickland celebrates win at British Film Awards', 9 February 2010, archived from the original on 6 March 2016, retrieved 22 October 2013
  2. ^ a b Bergan, Ronald (19 June 2009). "'Should I buy a flat in Bracknell or make a film in Transylvania?'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  3. ^ a b Cummings, Basia. "Foley Cow! Berberian Sound Studio Director Peter Strickland Interviewed". The Quietus. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  4. ^ a b Leigh, Danny (23 August 2012). "Peter Strickland: 'I'm glad British film produces mainstream crowd-pleasers, but I don't want to make one'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  5. ^ "Peter Strickland wins European Discovery Award for KATALIN VARGA". The Agency. 20 February 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  6. ^ French, Philip (2 September 2012). "Berberian Sound Studio – review". The Observer. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  7. ^ Collin, Robbie (28 June 2012). "Berberian Sound Studio, Edinburgh International Film Festival 2012, review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  8. ^ "BAFICI 2013". Festivales de Buenos Aires. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  9. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (1 September 2012). "Berberian Sound Studio – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  10. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (1 September 2012). "Exclusive Audio Interview: Peter Strickland talks Jess Franco and "THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY"". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  11. ^ "The 25 Best Films Of 2019". The Playlist. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  12. ^ "The 50 Best Films Of 2019". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  13. ^ "The 25 Best Films Of 2019". The Playlist. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  14. ^ "The 50 Best Films Of 2019". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
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