CFF: Typist Artist Pirate King with Director Q&A (12A)

Dir Carol Morley | 2023 | 108 mins + 30 mins Q&A | English 

In Carol Morley's fifth feature, we follow troubled, misunderstood artist Audrey Amiss (played by Monica Dolan) and her psychiatric nurse (Kelly Macdonald) on a fictionalised road trip to Sunderland, in a last-ditch effort to get Amiss' work exhibited, and reconnect with her sister Dorothy (Gina McKee).

The real-life Amiss trained as a painter at the Royal Academy during the 1950s. Even though her career sadly never gained much traction due to her struggles with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as a lack of exposure, her work is immortalised in her very own archive at the Welcome Collection in London - of which Morely was the very first to explore, a fact which becomes apparent in how she handles Amiss' life story.

During the course of the film, we see Amiss' mental illness take hold, to both dramatic and darkly comic effect. Amiss' more obviously erratic and abrasive side is showcased alongside beautiful scenes that make clear the compassion and sympathy Morley holds for her subject - acting as a testament to the partnership between Dolan and her director, and their joint refusal to succumb to the usual narratives glamourising the supposed link between art and mental illness in order to create a thoroughly humanising display instead. 

'Carol Morley’s warm and sympathetic film imagines the artist, whose mental illness curtailed her ambitions, on a tragicomic road trip to exhibit her work' - The Guardian

'Morley’s ambitious efforts, from her script to her direction, make “Typist Artist Pirate King” an absorbing feature. The brilliant performances ensure that her vision comes to life' - In Their Own League

Film critic, musician, radio & television presenter and podcaster Mark Kermode will host the Q&A with Carol Morley

Saturday 18th November, 7.45pm

Tickets: £8.50/£13/£10

A £1 Poly Fund payment is added to each ticket sold.