Kim Longinotto
Encyclopedia
Kim Longinotto is a British documentary film maker, well known for making films which highlight the plight of female victims of oppression or discrimination. Longinotto studied camera and directing at the National Film and Television School
in Beaconsfield
, England, where she now tutors occasionally.
to the National Film and Television School
. Whilst studying she made a documentary about her boarding school which was shown at the London Film Festival, since then she has continued to be a prolific documentary film maker.
Longinotto is an observational filmmaker. Observational cinema, also known as direct cinema, free cinema or cinema verite, usually excludes certain documentary techniques such as advanced planning, scripting, staging, narration, lighting, reenactment and interviewing. Longinotto’s unobtrusiveness, which is an important part of observational documentary, gives the women on camera a certain voice and presence that may not have emerged with another documentary genre.
National Film and Television School
The National Film and Television School was established in 1971 and is based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and it is located close to Pinewood Studios.-History:...
in Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...
, England, where she now tutors occasionally.
Biography
Longinotto was born to an Italian father and a Welsh mother in 1952, her father was a photographer who later went bankrupt. She was sent to a draconian all-girls boarding school at the age of 10 where she found it hard to make friends due to the mistress forbidding anyone to talk to her for a term after becoming lost during a school trip. After a period of homelessness Longinotto went on to Essex University to study English and European literature and later followed friend and future film-maker Nick BroomfieldNick Broomfield
Nicholas "Nick" Broomfield is an English documentary film-maker. He is the son of Maurice Broomfield, a photographer.Broomfield works with a minimal crew, recording sound himself and using one or two camera operators...
to the National Film and Television School
National Film and Television School
The National Film and Television School was established in 1971 and is based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, and it is located close to Pinewood Studios.-History:...
. Whilst studying she made a documentary about her boarding school which was shown at the London Film Festival, since then she has continued to be a prolific documentary film maker.
Longinotto is an observational filmmaker. Observational cinema, also known as direct cinema, free cinema or cinema verite, usually excludes certain documentary techniques such as advanced planning, scripting, staging, narration, lighting, reenactment and interviewing. Longinotto’s unobtrusiveness, which is an important part of observational documentary, gives the women on camera a certain voice and presence that may not have emerged with another documentary genre.
Filmography
- Pride of Place (1976) - Director / Camera (as Kim Longinotto Landseer)
- Theatre Girls (1978) - Director/Cinematographer
- Underage (1982) - Director/Cinematographer
- Eat the Kimono (1989) - Director/Cinematographer
- Hidden Faces (1990) - Director/Cinematographer
- The Good Wife of Tokyo (1992) - Director
- Dream Girls (1994) - Director/Cinematographer/Producer
- Shinjuku BoysShinjuku BoysShinjuku Boys is a 1995 film by Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams. It explores the lives of three transgender women to men who work at the New Marilyn Club in Tokyo, Japan.-Plot:...
(1995) - Director/Cinematographer/Producer - Rock Wives (1996) (TV) - Director / Camera
- Divorce Iranian Style (1998) - Director / Camera
- Gaea Girls (2000) - Director/Cinematographer/Producer
- Runaway (2001) - Director/Cinematographer
- The Day I Will Never Forget (2002) - Director/Cinematographer
- Sisters in LawSisters in LawSisters in Law: Stories from a Cameroon Court is a feature-length documentary film by Florence Ayisi and Kim Longinotto portraying aspects of women's lives and work in the judicial system in Cameroon, West Africa.-Plot:...
(2005) - Director/Cinematographer/Producer - Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go (2007) - Director/Cinematographer/Producer
- Rough AuntiesRough AuntiesRough Aunties is a 2008 documentary film directed by Kim Longinotto about a group of women who protect and care for abused, neglected and forgotten children in Durban, South Africa. It won the Grand Jury Prize in the 'World Cinema — Documentary' category at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival....
(2008) - Director/ Cinematographer - Pink Saris (2010) - Director / Camera
Awards
- Shinjuku Boys (1995) was judged Outstanding Documentary at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
- Divorce Iranian Style (1998) won the Grand Prize for Best Documentary San Francisco International Film FestivalSan Francisco International Film FestivalSan Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest continuously running film festival in the Americas. Organized by the San Francisco Film Society, the International is held each spring for two weeks, presenting an average of 150 films from over 50 countries...
and the Silver Hugo AwardHugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
at the Chicago International Film FestivalChicago International Film FestivalThe Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
. - Runaway (2001) received the Children Rights Award (Filmpreis für Kinderrechte) at the Unabhängiges Filmfest Osnabrück
- The Day I Will Never Forget (2002) was awarded the Amnesty InternationalAmnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
DOEN Award at IDFA and Best Doc UK Spotlight at Hot DocsHot DocsHot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is North America's largest documentary film festival, conference, and market, held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
. - Sisters in Law (2005) won the Prix Art et Essai and Special Mention Europa Cinemas at the Cannes film festivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in 2005. - Rough Aunties (2008) won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
and was in the official selection for Sheffield Doc/Fest 2009. - Pink Saris (2010) won the Special Jury Award at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2010, where Longinotto also won the Inspiration Award, a trophy given to a figure in the documentary world who has championed the medium.