Charlotte Colbert

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Charlotte Colbert
Born1987 (age 36–37)
New York, US
NationalityFrench-British
Alma materLondon Film School
Known forFeature films and Multimedia Art Installations
SpousePhilip Colbert
Children2
ParentSir James Goldsmith (father)
RelativesJemima Khan (half-sister)

Charlotte Colbert (born 1987[1]) is a Franco-British film director and multi-media artist which the Evening Standard described as "a natural born magician."[2]

Early life[edit]

Born in New York state,[3] Colbert is the seventh of eight children of Sir James Goldsmith, the businessman who died in 1997.[4] Her mother is the French journalist Laure Boulay de la Meurthe, with whom Goldsmith openly had a long-term relationship while married to Annabel Goldsmith. Colbert is a half-sibling of Jemima.[4] She went to 12 different schools and lived with various relatives before graduating high school in France.[3] She studied philosophy and liberal arts in Montreal and then went on to become European distributor for the moon-cup[5].

Art[edit]

Photography[edit]

Colbert's work has been likened to that of Toomer, Breton, and Dalí[6] and described as an "exploration into the human mind".[7]

Her solo show A Day At Home was described by The Huffington Post as "a surreal meditation on domesticity and self-destruction".[8]

Colbert has been exhibited internationally, including Basel, and Istanbul Art Fair, Philip's, Christies and Sothebys as well Institutions and Museums.

Multi-media sculptures and Installations[edit]

Charlotte Colbert, Benefit Supervisor Breathing (2017), featured in AnOther Magazine.[9]

Colbert's multi-media video sculptures are made of layered TV screens encased in rusty metal. The Benefit Supervisor Sleeping is a 170 kg video installation, 21st-century reinterpretation of Lucian Freud's famous painting of Sue Tilley. It is described as inverting the male gaze and "re-frame Sue Tilley, the subject of Freud's Benefit Supervisor series, from objectified to objectifier".[10] ‘I like the idea of turning the tables, subverting the male gaze. Sue is now looking at us.’ says Charlotte Colbert.[11]

Mother and Child (2017) at Gazelli Art House, London

In 2018 she collaborated with Lily Cole doing a 3 meter video sculpture of the activist and model breastfeeding her child in response to the stigmatisation of breastfeeding in public.

In 2017 she made a video sculpture of Lee Soon-Kyu , a 79 year old South Korean woman who was abruptly separated from her husband when the Korean War started. She did not see him for 65 years until finally she was allowed a 3 day visit to North Korea during which her son, now in his sixties, was able to see his father for the first time. "Her sitting for a moving image portrait was an extremely moving experience for me."[12]

Charlotte Colbert, Lee Soon-Kyu (2017)

Her show Dreamland Siren curated by Simon de Pury and UTA Artist Spac exhibited at Fitzrovia Chapel during Frieze Art Fair. It showcased monumental sculptures. [13] "Loosely inspired by Alice in Wonderland {...} the exhibition invites us to become aware of what we dream and visualise collectively".[13] The artist collaborated with composer Isobel Waller-Bridge to devise a soundscape for the exhibition which was released on vinyl and also collaborated with spoken word poetess Hollie McNish who wrote a poem called dreamland for the show.

Dreamland Sirens at the Fitzrovia Chapel, London, 2023

[14]

"Colbert conjures fantastical worlds by blending the boundaries between reality and imagination," wrote Rachel Hajek of the Design Museum.[15]

Film[edit]

Colbert studied screenwriting at the London Film School.[3][16] She is the co-author of feature film Leave to Remain about underage asylum seekers in Britain[17] with a score by Mercury Prize-winning band Alt-J.[18] It won awards at the BUFF Film Festival[19] and the Bergamo Film Meeting.[20]

In 2016, she wrote and directed The Silent Man, described in ID as "the most surreal shorts you'll ever see"[21] with Simon Amstell, Sophie Kennedy-Clark, Ben Miller, and a cameo by Cillian Murphy. She wrote and directed two award winning animated shorts The Girl With Liquid Eyes[22] with Maryam d'Abo and The Man With the Stolen Heart with Bill Nighy based on her book of short stories Topsy Turvy Tales.

She is a producer on Dali Land directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho), co-produced with Pressman Films. It is a biopic about artist Salvador Dalí starring Sir Ben Kingsley, Ezra Miller, Andreja Peijic, and Suki Waterhouse.[23]

Colbert directed and co-wrote She Will with Alice Krige, Kota Eberhart, Malcolm McDowell, and Rupert Everett produced by Dario Argento and Ed Pressman Films with an original score by Clint Mansell. The film was nominated for a BIFA and won the Golden Leopard for the best first film at the Locarno Film Festival. It was Critic's Pick In the New York Times, and Mark Kermode described it as "an edgy psychological horror meets feminist fable".[24] Jessica Kiang in Variety called it "A Superb, Sly Horror-Drama Debut Delivering Otherworldly Feminist Vengeance",[25] Guillermo del Toro wrote it "a remarkable directorial debut, purely cinematic", and Alfonso Cuarón said "it sits in the tradition of great psychological horror films [which] leaves one questioning long after [it] is finished".[26][27]

For the release Colbert collaborated with designer Ashley Williams and street artist Clayton on capsule collections supporting End Violence Against Women and Girls and worn by model and activist Lily Cole as well as Adhel Bol.[28]

Colbert is the founder of Popcorn Group, a production company known for the short Leading Lady Parts[29] (with Emilia Clarke, Florence Pugh and Gemma Chan), as well as for co-producing Fleabag[30] in the WestEnd, and Alice Lowe's time travelling romcom TimeStalker with the BFI.[31]

Publishing[edit]

Colbert was one of the publishers of The Artists Colouring Book of ABCs done in support of the Kids Company,[32] featuring works by Grayson Perry, Alex Katz, and Tracey Emin.

Philanthropy[edit]

Colbert set up the Popcorn Writing Award in Edinburgh, and now runs it with the BBC Writersroom. The award champions brave and imaginative writing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe every year.[33] Past committee members have included Fatima Bhutto, Aurora, Jonny Woo, Lena Headey, and Enda Walsh.

Colbert also set up the NFTS x Popcorn Writing Award[34] which allocates a prize to the most original script from NFTS film school screenwriting graduates.

Colbert is on the board of the Isla Foundation[35] and the Ecology Trust.

Personal life[edit]

Colbert has two children with artist Philip Colbert. They reside in Lewes, East Sussex.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "▷ Charlotte Colbert | Buy Original Art Online | Artsper". ▷ Artsper | Buy Original Art Online - Artworks: Paintings, Photos and More. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  2. ^ O'Sullivan, Charlotte (22 July 2022). "She Will: A horror which seeks to scar rather than scare, and succeeds". Evening Standard. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Arsenault, Bridget (14 October 2023). "Artist Charlotte Colbert Discusses Her Frieze London Exhibition". Air Mail. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Clarke, Cath (8 July 2022). "'Sisters, you're flowing through me!' The director whose horror film channels centuries of female rage". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Charlotte Colbert". ISLA Foundation. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Charlotte Colbert's surreal housewife shots | Photography | Agenda".
  7. ^ Alexander, Ella. "Charlotte Colbert: A Day At Home". www.vogue.co.uk.
  8. ^ "Surreal Black-And-White Photos Of A Housewife's Worst Nightmare (NSFW)". Huffington Post. 1 December 2013.
  9. ^ https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/10542/the-artist-liberating-lucian-freuds-most-famous-muse
  10. ^ "The Artist Liberating Lucian Freud's Most Famous Muse". 5 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Charlotte Colbert Archives". Twin Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  12. ^ Walton, Millie (14 May 2019). "In conversation with artist duo Philip and Charlotte Colbert". Lux Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  13. ^ a b Soward, Anne (13 October 2023). "Fall down the rabbit hole into Charlotte Colbert's Frieze Week dreamland". wallpaper.com. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  14. ^ https://www.fitzroviachapel.org/event/dreamland-sirens-2-2/2023-10-12/
  15. ^ "Charlotte Colbert - Seeing Red London Saturday, March 16, 2024". Phillips. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  16. ^ "Graduate Achievements – London Film School". lfs.org.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  17. ^ "British Council Film: Leave to Remain". British Council Film.
  18. ^ "Leave to Remain: Teenage asylum seekers star alongside Toby Jones in". Independent.co.uk. 20 February 2013.
  19. ^ "Leave to Remain – BUFF Malmö". 5 February 2014.
  20. ^ "PREMI -Bergamo Film Meeting". www.bergamofilmmeeting.it.
  21. ^ "surreal short film 'the silent man' will leave you disturbed". 23 May 2016.
  22. ^ "The Girl with Liquid Eyes" – via www.imdb.com.
  23. ^ DeFore, John (18 September 2022). "'Dalíland' Review: Ben Kingsley and Ezra Miller Get Surreal in Mary Harron's Eye-Opening Art-World Portrait". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  24. ^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (14 July 2022). "'She Will' Review: Payback Is a Witch". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  25. ^ Kiang, Jessica (15 August 2021). "'She Will' Review: A Superb, Sly Horror-Drama Debut Delivering Otherworldly Feminist Vengeance". Variety. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  26. ^ https://twitter.com/RealGDT/status/1555573790377218050
  27. ^ Yossman, K. J. (3 August 2021). "'She Will': First Clip of Locarno Selection From Debut Director Charlotte Colbert (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  28. ^ "Artist Charlotte Colbert On Empowering Women And Her New Exhibition 'Dreamland Sirens'". Grazia. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  29. ^ TBB. "Must Watch! – Time's Up UK 'Leading Lady Parts' short film Starring Wunmi Mosaku & More… | The British Blacklist". Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  30. ^ "Fleabag Tickets | Wyndham's Theatre | WestendTheatre.com". www.westendtheatre.com. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  31. ^ Ntim, Zac (19 October 2022). "Alice Lowe Romcom 'Timestalker' Starts Shooting With Nick Frost, Tanya Reynolds, and Aneurin Barnard Joining Cast". Deadline. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  32. ^ "Easy as ABC: famous artists collaborate on children's colouring book". 13 November 2013.
  33. ^ "Popcorn Award for New Writing – Longlist and Judging Committee Announced". BBC. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  34. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (22 November 2021). "NFTS & UK Production Company Popcorn Group Launch New Writers Award; First Winner Is "Bridgerton-esque" TV Pilot 'Silly Girl'". Deadline. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  35. ^ "ISLA Foundation – Creative philanthropy in action". ISLA Foundation. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
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