Shona Auerbach is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

film director and cinematographer.

Early career

Auerbach began her career as a stills photographer. She studied film at

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

and cinematography at

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

before completing her

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

at the Polish National Film School in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

. Her first directorial effort was the 1996 short subject ''Seven'', which won her awards from the Munich International Festival of Film Schools, the Montecatini Filmvideo International Short Film Festival in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and the Capalbio Cinema International Short Film Festival in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. She spent the next several years directing commercials while at the same time preparing her debut

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

, ''

Dear Frankie ''Dear Frankie'' is a 2004 British drama film directed by Shona Auerbach and starring Emily Mortimer, Gerard Butler, Jack McElhone, and Sharon Small. The screenplay by Andrea Gibb focuses on a young single mother whose love for her son prompts h ...

'', which was shown at numerous film festivals in 2004 and was released commercially in early 2005. She also served as cinematographer on both films.

Awards and recognition

For ''Dear Frankie'', Auerbach was nominated for the

BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer The BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer is presented annually at the British Academy Film Awards in London. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), is a British organisation that hosts annua ...

and the BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Director. She won the

Heartland Film Festival The Heartland International Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. The festival was first held in 1992, its goal is to "inspire filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion pictu ...

Crystal Heart Award, the High Falls Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature Film, the Jackson Hole Film Festival Cowboy Award for Best Feature Film, the Los Angeles IFP/West Film Festival Audience Award for Best International Feature Film, the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Interna ...

Golden Zenith Award, the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

Women in Cinema Lena Sharpe Award, and the WinFemme Film Festival Award (part of Women's Image Network Awards) for Best Film or TV Show Directed by a Woman.

Personal life

Auerbach is married to cinematographer Graeme Dunn.

References

External links

Shona Auerbach - Official Website
*
BBC interview

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auerbach, Shona British film directors British cinematographers Living people Movie stills photographers British women photographers Year of birth missing (living people)