Franny Armstrong
Franny Armstrong ( born February 3, 1972 in London) is a British documentary filmmaker, film producer, director and environmental activist.
Life
At the age of seven years she wrote and directed her first play at the elementary school. As a child, she began to play the drums. In an ad in Melody Maker was the drummer of the band The London Independent Playthings. The group broke up after three years and one album. Armstrong was then drummer with The Band of Holy Joy, who stood at the music label Rough Trade under contract. At University College London, she received her degree in zoology. Her dissertation, "Is the human species on suicide? " Provided the template for their later film The Age of Stupid ( 2009).
In 1997, Armstrong in Camden / London production company Spanner Films. In the same year she turned with McLibel her first documentary about a sensational libel action brought by McDonald's against two environmental activists who launched one of the most protracted court cases in England and to a loss of image of the fast-food chain (→ McLibel case). The film was made without authority or budget only with the help of a crew of volunteers, including the film director Ken Loach, who directed the trial. The first broadcast in 1997 was stopped by lawyers of the BBC One and Channel 4. The film was only eight years later, after the case was decided before the European Court of Human Rights, shown on BBC Two. The documentary had significant viewership and was considered by many critics. McLibel was nominated at the British Independent Film Awards for "Best Documentary ". It was shown in fifteen countries.
2002 Armstrong turned her second documentary entitled Drowned Out, on the resistance of Indian families against the impending destruction of their homes due to the flooding of the Sardar Sarovar dam. The film was nominated at the 2004 British Independent Film Awards for "Best Documentary ". Also in 2002 was the documentary short film Baked Alaska, which refers to the consequences of global warming.
In March 2009 came Armstrong's film The Age of Stupid, an end-time docudrama with Pete Postlethwaite in the lead role, in the movie theaters.
In September 2009, Armstrong founded the climate change campaign 10:10 first with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions in the UK in 2010 to reduce by 10% and to raise awareness of climate change issues ( the project is now international). In the course of the campaign, she published, together with Richard Curtis, in October 2010, the short film No Pressure.
In November 2009 Armstrong was attacked in Camden in the street by three adolescents with iron bars. She was rescued by London mayor Boris Johnson, who happened to be passing just drove by bike.
Armstrong lives and works in London.