Members' Screening: The Arbor

Clio Barnard's debut feature is a powerful documentary about Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar, whose talent emerged at the age of 15 when she wrote her first play, The Arbor, based on life on the tough Bradford estate where she lived.    

It was performed at the Royal Court and Dunbar was commissioned to write Rita, Sue and Bob Too, which was made into the film of the same name in 1986, directed by Alan Clarke. In The Arbor, Barnard continues her use of the verbatim technique by having local actors lip-synch to interviews with Dunbar's family and friends, and this is intercut with archive footage and a live restaging of Dunbar's first play.

The Arbor, dir. Clio Barnard, 2010 UK, 94 mins