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The Party

Competition 2017
© Oxwich Media Limited/ Adventure Pictures Limited
Janet has just been appointed minister in the shadow cabinet – the crowning achievement of her political career. She and her husband Bill plan to celebrate this with a few close friends. The guests arrive at their home in London but the party takes an unexpected turn for the worse when Bill suddenly makes two explosive revelations that shock Janet and everyone present to the core. Love, friendships, political convictions and a whole way of life are now called into question. Underneath their cultivated liberal left-wing surface people are seething. Their dispute leads to the big guns being brought out – even in a literal sense.
For her eighth theatrical feature British director and screenwriter Sally Potter, who last took part in the Berlinale Competition with Rage in 2009, has invited a stellar cast to join her party. Beginning as a subtly witty comedy replete with sharp-tongued dialogue, the film later veers off into tragedy. When life can no longer be controlled by reason, people will fight tooth and nail to protect their seemingly stable existence.
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by Sally Potter
with Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall United Kingdom 2017 English 71’ Black/White

With

  • Patricia Clarkson (April)
  • Bruno Ganz (Gottfried)
  • Cherry Jones (Martha)
  • Emily Mortimer (Jinny)
  • Cillian Murphy (Tom)
  • Kristin Scott Thomas (Janet)
  • Timothy Spall (Bill)

Crew

Written and Directed by Sally Potter
Cinematography Alexey Rodionov
Editing Anders Refn, Emilie Orsini
Sound Jean-Paul Mugel
Production Design Carlos Conti
Costumes Jane Petrie
Make-Up Naomi Donne
Casting Irene Lamb, Heidi Levitt
Line Producer Alice Dawson
Producers Christopher Sheppard, Kurban Kassam
Executive Producers Jim Reeve, Robert Halmi Jr., John Giwa-Amu
Co-Producer Michael Manzi

Produced by

Adventure Pictures

Additional information

World SalesGreat Point Media
London, UK
+44 203 873 0020
info@greatpointmedia.com

ICM Partners (US only)
New York, USA
+1 212 556 5600
awalker@icmpartners.com

Photos

Press Conference

Red Carpet

Sally Potter

© Gerhard Kessner

Born in London, UK, she made her first 8mm film when she was 14, followed by short experimental films. Since 1969, she has also worked as a performance artist, choreographer, dancer and musician. Her international breakthrough as a film director came in 1992 with her Oscar-nominated adaptation of Virginia Woolf's novel “Orlando”. Her films The Gold Diggers, The London Story, Yes, Rage and The Party have all screened at the Berlinale.

Filmography

1969 Jerk; short film 1970 Play; short film 1971 Hors d’oeuvres; short film 1979 Thriller 1983 The Gold Diggers 1986 The London Story; short film 1987 Tears, Laughter, Fears and Rage; TV series 1988 Women Filmmakers in Russia; Documentary · I Am an Ox, I Am a Horse, I Am a Man, I Am a Woman; documentary 1992 Orlando 1996 The Tango Lesson (Tango-Fieber) 2000 The Man Who Cried (In stürmischen Zeiten) 2004 Yes 2009 Rage 2012 Ginger & Rosa 2017 The Party 2020 The Roads Not Taken

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2020