franny
From the tender age of 4, Franny Armstrong knew she was going to be a rock drummer. And indeed she was. Until, at the age of 23, she read about a trial in which the fast food giants were suing a gardener and postman for libel. So she sadly put down the drumsticks and picked up a video camera. Three years later, in August 1997, Franny's first documentary, 'McLibel', was released to great critical acclaim.
McLibel's infamy quickly grew after the film was pulled by lawyers at both the BBC and Channel 4. Although never broadcast in the UK, it has now been watched by an estimated 18 million viewers - on eight mainstream TV channels worldwide, on countless cable & satellite channels, Spanner's website (1500 people per month), at film festivals, at schools and colleges, and at community screenings around the world; from Peru to Slovenia, China to Turkey.
Franny's second major documentary, 'Drowned Out', (2002) follows the fight against the Narmada Dam in India. She filmed it over three years, battling against illness, rain, solar battery chargers, six language barriers and police arrests. The 75 minute film was runner-up for Best Documentary at the British Independendt Film Awards, the OneWorld Media awards ("a masterfully crafted study of a stand-off between the powerless and the powerful") and the San Francisco International Film Festival ("a film of enormous heart, grit and insight that is both taut political essay and enormously moving plea".). It too has been broadcast round the world and the recent DVD version was reviewed as "Hunt it out, spread the word, and when, in a few years time, Franny Armstrong is being discussed as one of the key documentary film-makers of our generation, you can say you were in there at the start." (DVD Insider).
Franny's films are produced through Spanner Films, the independent TV production company, based in London, which she founded in 1999. Working entirely outside the mainstream TV industry, her films have now been seen by a total of 49 million people.
Both McLibel (the new, feature version) and Drowned Out are being released theatrically in the USA in April 2005.
For awards, film festivals and press reviews about these films see here
Franny has spoken at more than 80 film festivals, seminars and colleges around the world. She has been interviewed for TV news and chatshows (inc BBC and ABC Australia) and written articles for books, newspapers and magazines (inc The Guardian).
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