The artistry will be glittering at the second edition of the Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival, which runs in London from 12th March to 8th April at the Royal Ballet and Opera, Sadler’s Wells, South Bank Centre and Tate Modern.
Following on from the hugely successful inaugural event in 2022, this iteration of the festival created in partnership with the world-famous French luxury jewellery company features 15 dazzling shows from a whole gamut of different cultures.
Taking place at iconic venues in our capital city, Dance Reflections showcases artists who, in the words of Catherine Renier, President & CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels, have specialised in, “Collaborations with prestigious partners, contributions to major choreographic events, support for emerging and touring artists… These various commitments, in keeping with the values of creation, transmission and education dear to the Maison, all meet the same objective of celebrating contemporary choreographic art.”
Including repertory works, dance workshops, artist forums and awareness-raising initiatives, all emphasising the connections between dance heritage and modern choreography, the festival highlights imaginative ways in which dancers have evolved exciting new…
A tribute to the work of one of the fundamental figures of French Modernist painting
After three years in the making, the Amar Gallery is bringing to London Hélène de Beauvoir: The Woman Destroyed, a unique exhibition featuring paintings and works on paper from the 1950s to 1980s by this French artist, crucial to the feminist movement. Often overshadowed in the past by her older sister, Simone – the groundbreaking […]
Despite being separated in time by nearly 200 years, Sigmar Polke felt a deep admiration for Francisco de Goya. The show at Museo del Prado, Sigmar Polke. Affinities Revealed, explores how the Spanish master influenced the work of the German painter, after he saw for the first time Goya’s Time and the Old Women in […]
I jumped at the chance to review this movie as I am a big fan of Emile Hirsch, who I found electrifying in Nick Kassavetes’s Alpha Dog (2006). The rest of the leading cast are equally outstanding, starting with the legendary Michael Madsen, who has graced our screens with blockbusters like Thelma & Louis (1991), Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kill Bill (2003, 2004), and another favourite of mine: Donnie Brasco (1997); Johnathan Rhys Meyers (Bend it Like Beckham – 2002, Vanity Fair – 2004, Match Point – 2005); Paz Vega (Sex and Lucia – 2001, Rambo: Last Blood – 2019); and Jeremy Piven (Serendipity – 2001, Entourage – 2015).
Directed by Alessio Della Valle, and produced by Martha Capello, American Night is an action-packed neo-noir film that follows a stolen, priceless piece by Andy Warhol (Pink Marilyn) as it arrives in New York City with a narcoleptic courier (you’ll recognise Fortunato Cerlino if you are a fan of Gomorrah). After being given super strict instructions by a sexy Asian femme fatale, he makes a complete shambles of the transport of the painting, which gets him jammed up with a young mafia boss, passionate about fine art (Emile Hirsch). Things get heated as art dealer John Kaplan (Rhys Meyers) tries to juggle the mob and his talent as an art forger with his love for Sarah Flores (Paz Vega).
Gangster Michael Rubino (Emile Hirsch) and art dealer John Kaplan (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) fight for money, art, power and love.
Kaplan seems not to have learnt from the past, as he often has flashbacks depicting these same tough guys beating him to a pulp when some previous business went wrong. He must be really desperate to still be engaged with their enterprise. His desperate plays and shady entanglements with these violent crooks, along with a reckless drunken affair, ruin the relationship with the one true love of his life, also a professional in the art scene.
As well as these tensions, we are also entertained with female assassins, Chinese triad warfare, and a hint of comedy in a superbly written screenplay that will have you completely gripped from the start to a Scarface-like mansion shoot out to climax, and finally, a cheeky twist at the very end, which I’m sure many will be unable to guess, try as you may.
Slightly reminiscing of Pulp Fiction, American Night looks good and successfully engages the audience.
The makers of American Night clearly wink at American Pop Art after Andy Warhol and Tarantino (I think there is a bit of a homage to Pulp Fiction here). Their appetite for nostalgia is even clearer when villain Rubino (Emile Hirsch) relates the old “scorpion and frog” tale, which some might remember from Orson Welles’s Mr Arkadin (1955). In fact, at some point in the movie, Rubino shaves off his hair and reveals a scorpion tattoo.
There are several more pop culture touchstones in the movie, which although somehow enjoyable, may feel a little bit over the top and on occasion risk rendering the whole film slightly too rich in clichés, maybe even a touch dogmatic. However, overall, I did enjoy the movie very much. It is smart, stylish and sexy.
American Night is available now on Digital Download from iTunes, Apple TV, Google, Microsoft, Virgin Media, Rakuten, Sky and Chili.
Having jumped to international stardom for her role in the acclaimed action-thriller Run Lola Run for which she won a BAMBI Award for Best Actress, Franka started her career as an actor in the comedy film After Five in the Forest Primeval (1995), for which she won a Bavarian Film Award for Best Young Actress. Her first movie in the English language was Blow (2001), alongside Johnny Depp. The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy followed, sealing her reputation as a Hollywood household name.
Home marks her directorial debut. Starring the legendary Kathy Bates, Jake McLaughlin (Warrior, Savages) and Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones, The Fall ), Home is a bittersweet drama that tells the story of a 40-year-old man (Marvin, played by Jake McLaughlin) returning home to look after his dying mother (Kathy Bates) after spending 20 years in prison for killing a neighbour’s grandmother.
Kathy Bates is sublime as Marvin’s dying mother, Bernadette.
As Franka said herself, this film is about beauty and brutality coexisting, about fragility and strength. As it couldn’t be otherwise with Kathy Bates, she absolutely shines as Bernadette, Marvin’s mother and Jake McLaughlin’s performance is, in my view award-winning, conveying with total conviction the disorientation that Marvin feels as an ex-con having spent all his adult life in jail and his willingness to be given a second chance. Somehow it reminded me of a classic Western where the loner comes back to his hometown to fight for his place, looking for redemption. Like many Westerns, Home is set in one of those godforsaken towns that exist by the dozen in the fringes of L.A. Franka very appropriately refers to them as “California tristesse”.
Watch the trailer now:
Things quickly get difficult for Marvin as he starts developing a relationship with Delta (played beautifully by Aisling Franciosi) one of the grandchildren of the woman he murdered, and whose brothers are seeking revenge. I have to admire the sensitivity with which Franka directed these actors, easing them into their characters, all of them full of complexity and contradictions. Franka wanted viewers to embrace their emotions when watching this film, to allow themselves to feel anger, joy, pity… “I didn’t want to give viewers any easy answers,” says Franka. “Suffering and despair are universal, I wanted the audience to see both sides.”
Jake McLaughlin’s character, Marvin, is a complex character full of contradictions.
Another thing that caught my attention was the extreme attention to detail in every frame. Bernadette’s house looks old, chipped or broken trinkets spread on dusty shelves. This is a home that has seen better and happier times from which nothing is left. Bernadette is a tough no-nonsense woman, verging on cold, but details like a deck of cards with a small-dog face on the back hint that she hasn’t always been this way. Again, the use of antithesis by Franka, as with Marvin’s character, who one minute seems brutal and the next shows his tenderness and vulnerability.
Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones, The Fall) plays Delta, granddaughter of the woman Marvin murdered 20 years ago.
I genuinely enjoyed Home and look forward to seeing what Franka Potente will bring us next as a film director.
Selected and introduced by Imtiaz Dharker, illustrated by Mikki Lee
The Folio Society makes some of the most beautiful books in the world, fiction and non-fiction. Just in time for St Valentine’s, they have published a new anthology of 155 poems over 264 pages on the subject of love. Acclaimed British poet, artist and filmmaker, Imtiaz Dharker, has researched and collected the work of ancient and contemporary voices from around the world exclusively for The Folio Society.
Dharker describes herself as a “Scottish Muslim Calvinist” adopted by India and married into Wales. Her selection for this book reflects the richness and variety of her background and interests. Love Poems is a wonderful selection of poetic responses to love across the ages, from Rumi, Shakespeare and Christina Rosetti to Philip Larkin, Michael Ondaatje and Carol Ann Duffy (former Poet Laureate), just to name a few. Korean-American illustrator Mikki Lee celebrates the diversity of the collection through a series of highly stylised artworks, while a metallic blocked-cloth binding – textured Cloud Dragon paper endpapers, a stunning blocked cloth slipcase and twin ribbon markers complete this beautiful edition, perfect for gifting or adding to your own collection.
Lee’s illustrations are highly stylized and graphic with texture, patterns, and coloured lines.
In Love Poems, Dharker has skillfully woven a narrative through her selection, with poems flowing between themes rather than arranged according to geography or chronology. This edition embraces the cultural diversity of classical and contemporary poetry, discovering little-known poems while also showcasing the better-known favourites.
From tempestuous and passionate to subtle and pensive, the wide-ranging voices and experiences in this compilation will resonate with readers of all ages. The ebb and flow of style, length, era and language is refreshing and fluid, as love is portrayed in a myriad of ways.
Book Illustration Competition winner Mikki Lee has produced a stunning body of work. Her mesmerising artwork beautifully interprets the collection, setting this unique volume apart with eight integrated colour illustrations. In this book we can appreciate her natural affinity for nature and her love for creating scenic illustrations.
LOVE POEMS is available exclusively from The Folio Society.
When I think of Fabergé, I imagine aristocrats in the Amber Room at the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg, swirling around as the orchestra played, arriving by sleigh, wrapped up in fur and adorned with Fabergé jewels.
Adored by the Russian Royal family, we now have a chance to know the man considered one of the best goldsmiths in history. Although his London branch is little known, it was truly important for his business. Fabergé’s huge success at the 1900 Paris Exposition made it clear that he would have a keen customer base outside Russia. He chose London for its wealthy and international clientele. King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra were already avid Fabergé collectors.
Royalty, aristocrats, American heiresses, exiled Russian Grand Dukes, Maharajas, all flocked there as his creations became a social currency for gifting. With over 200 pieces by the Russian master, this exhibition at the V&A London is your chance to explore timeless stories of love, friendship and tragedy of the Russian Imperial family. One such piece is a sparkling aquamarine and diamond tiara – a token of love from Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin to his bride Princess Alexandra of Hanover and Cumberland on their wedding day (see opening picture above).
The King’s mistress, Mrs George Keppel, gifted the King an elegant art-nouveau cigarette case with a snake laid in diamonds biting its tail – a symbol of unbroken and everlasting love. A nephrite cigar box, set with a sepia enamelled view of the Houses of Parliament, was bought by Grand Duke Michael of Russia on 5 November 1908 and given to King Edward VII.
Imperial presentation box by Fabergé in nephrite coloured gold, diamonds and ivory. Chief Workmaster Henrik Wigstrom, St. Petersburg, 1904. Private collection. Image courtesy of Wartski, London.
During the Great War and Russian Revolution Fabergé’s production suddenly shifted from exquisite objects to munitions. In 1917, as the Revolution hit Fabergé’s workshops in Russia, its outpost in London ceased to operate.
The spirit of Fabergé is shown in the work of one of his best-known female designers, Alma Pihl, including a scintillating “ice crystal” pendant made from rock crystal, diamonds, and platinum.
The legacy of Fabergé through his iconic Imperial Easter eggs can be admired through the collection on display at this show, which includes several that have never been shown in the UK, including the largest Imperial Egg – the Moscow Kremlin Egg – inspired by the architecture of the Dormition Cathedral, on loan from the Moscow Kremlin Museums and the Alexander Palace Egg, featuring watercolour portraits of the children of Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra – containing a surprise model of the palace inside.
Although Carl Fabergé’s firm ceased to exist, the myth crystallised around the Imperial Easter Eggs and the demand for Fabergé pieces has endured with his designs continuing to inspire, captivate and delight.
Fabergé in London: Romance to Revolution V&A London. Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL Until 8th May 2022 ww.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/Fabergé
Words: Lavinia Dickson-Robinson
Opening picture: Aquamarine and diamond tiara by Fabergé. Workmaster Albert Holmstrom, St. Peterburg, circa 1904. Photo courtesy of HMNS. Photographer: Mike Rathke
In this film, we are bought into the lives of quite a wealthy family with a young daughter. Spooked by a dark tale from her mother’s wartime past, she starts to believe her adored cleaner is a thief. Through the eyes of this child, we experience feelings of mistrust and discernment of a very sensitive nature.
Inspired by stories from the aftermath of his family’s Holocaust survival, director Mark Rosenblatt explores, through the tiniest of domestic details, the subtle and complicated impact of trauma on the next generation.
In the opening scene, young Ruthie (Izabella Dziewanska) plays alone in her large family home, without a care in the world. During her escapades, we come into a scene with the maid busy on duty, dusting down bookshelves and ornaments. As soon as the maid is aware the child is present in the room, she chases her little miss through the halls in a playful manner, letting us know of a happy and healthy relationship between the two. Clearly, she has been steadily employed with this family for some time.
Sophie McShera plays Lynn, maid to the Hirths, suspected a thief, “a ganef”, by young Ruthie.
Their playful romp is interrupted by keys opening the front door. Mum is home and the daughter rushes to greet her. Draped in diamond earrings, a fur coat, and many shopping bags in hand, the woman is evidently one of class and affluence, and it’s a good thing her child has come to meet her at the door, away from any prying eyes. She discreetly hands the bags from the high-end fashion stores to her daughter and whispers to her to take them straight to her bedroom. The puzzled child does as she is told and hurries up the stairs. Now Mrs Hirth enters the room where the maid is, gives her the bags with the groceries and hands over her coat to be put away. She lets the employee know that she is retiring to her room to rest and mustn’t be disturbed.
Upstairs, as she begins to undress, her still confused daughter questions her. “Why couldn’t Lynn see the bags mummy?” Her response is cryptic, “Because people don’t need to see what they don’t need to see.” The young child remains mystified but stays persistent. “But why not?” she repeats. Her mother proceeds to tell her a story of when she was back home in Frankfurt and was the victim of an attack. “Do you remember the bad people I told you about that hurt us? One of the soldiers was a Ganef: A thief. He came into our home and took what was ours. But he could have never done so had he not known what we had…”
The film is told from Ruthie’s point of view and is firmly focused on the child’s relationship with the maid and her mother.
Later on in the day, as her mother is resting, our girl continues on with her leisurely strolls about the house, this time not as boisterous and nonchalant as earlier. Mother’s story seems to have gotten to her, “Can we not trust our own maid? And if not, who can we?”
As she walks along the upstairs landing, looking somewhat mesmerised, she catches sight of Lynn through the bannister, who is downstairs carrying on with her tasks. Humming away in her own world, polishing some trinkets on a desk, she has no idea that the young madame is observing her. After wiping down a small silver dish, she picks it up to admire it for a second. To the child’s complete astonishment and despair, Lynn now slips the dish into the pocket of her uniform and gets back to work.
Wow!! What should she do?
Ruthie’s world crashes when she sees her adored Lynn stealing a small ornament.
Although just 15 minutes long, I personally found this short film a masterpiece. It’s written and directed by Mark Rosenblatt and the three main characters are played by Lydia Wilson (Mrs Hirth), best known for her roles in films like About Time, Never Let Me Go and Star Trek Beyond; Sophie McShera (the maid), a familiar face to us all from the hit series Downton Abbey; and Izabella Dziewanska as Ruthie.
After watching, I got the opportunity to interview Suri Ellerton, who co-produced the piece along with Mark Rosenblatt.
What is it like producing short pictures with actors/actresses that have starred in globally acclaimed works?
It’s exciting! The level of talent that we had on this short (across the film – in both cast and crew) was honestly really humbling. We were grateful to have the superb casting director, Matilda James, as part of the team, who was crucial to the process of getting that level of acting talent on board. We were a little nervous about approaching Sophie to play another maid (!) but she was very gracious and took the part on with incredible energy. Aside from being hugely talented, Sophie is absolutely the most delightful human you can come across. We were equally fortunate to have the exceptional actress (and person), Lydia Wilson, playing Mrs Hirth. Despite Ganef being a much smaller project than what these actresses might do normally, they both treated the film and its process as a priority and took huge amounts of time preparing with Mark [Rosenblatt].
Suri Ellerton started her career in 2014 as a production assistant in Benny Fredman’s Suicide and has since worked in many films and co-founded Same Name Productions.
Were there any difficulties you had to overcome as a crew while filming?
One of our biggest challenges on set was the time crunch that is involved in shooting a film with a young child. Izabella, who played Ruthie, was only six at the time of shooting which meant she was only allowed to be on set for a very limited amount of hours (I think it was around three). Considering she was in practically every scene and we only had a few days to shoot, we had to plan everything to the tee (and even cut in some places) to get what we needed. Thankfully, our crew were incredibly professional and efficient, so it was still a good experience despite the pressure!
I found the young girl cast as the daughter to be an exceptional and very intelligent actress. How easy or difficult is it working with such young actors?
She is incredible, isn’t she? As I mentioned before, there are definitely logistic difficulties but in terms of everything else, working with Izabella was a dream. When we cast her originally, we could see she had something special, but it was also her first time on a film set, so we weren’t sure what to expect. Our director, Mark, spent a lot of time preparing her and talking to her about her character (he even wrote her a kind of children’s story for her to read so he could connect to her at her level.) But when we did our read-through with the actors, she was being energetic and silly (as appropriate for a six-year-old!). I remember worrying, “Is this going to happen on set when we have a maximum of three hours to film and there are a lot of people moving around her? How are we ever going to get this done?” But then, on the first day where cameras were rolling, she stepped on set and her energy totally changed. It was like she knew – “this is the important part, and I’m going to show them what I can do.” She was ready, she was professional and she just performed – which resulted in the incredible performance that you saw in the film.
Director Brian Lawes gives us a vivid insight into middle American life in Lost Kings. Only 16 mins long, but this quarter-hour is filled with intrigue, empathy and understanding.
Leading actor Dash Melrose plays Zuri, a young man, possibly in his late teens, living in a suburban town. He lives with and looks after his younger brother and from the very first scene, we can see that things aren’t too financially secure at home. A quick check in the kitchen reveals there is literally no food in the house, just some crumbs left in the last cereal box. Big brother is quick to leave to remedy this situation. The fact that he instructs his younger “bro” not to leave the house under any circumstance, gives us a strong indication that he’ll be left alone in the house for quite some time.
Searching for food, a boy breaks into a house. But when the owners return, he becomes trapped inside with those he’s stealing from.
Backpack equipped, Zuri comes to a local grocery store, with the aim of filling up the bag with what he can before slipping out unnoticed. Clearly, he’s not a thieving pro: he stutters, freezes and second-guesses in every motion, to the point the shopkeeper has to question if he’s ok or may need any assistance. This prompts him to rush out in a hurry.
As our big brother cycles through the streets mulling over his next move, we catch glimpses of the town and the surrounding housing. Here, we notice that is a quiet, clean, better-off side of town. Watching this scene, I asked myself how vast a gulf in class there could be in such an obviously more affluent neighbourhood. Maybe these boys could have parents heavily into drugs or not at all present. Who knows?
Jo Ashley and Cassie Self play the daughter and mother living in the house where Dash Melrose (Zuri) gets trapped.
We watch our protagonist steadily cycling through until he spots an opportunity, one that gets him into a jammy predicament and will be almost impossible to leave completely uncompromised.
Lost Kings effectively convey the heart-pounding experience of trying to evade capture together with the anxiety felt by a boy forced to take the responsibilities of an adult and provide for his younger brother, under circumstances that force him to go down a questionable path.
Superbly directed by Lawes, Dash Melrose impresses with a surprisingly mature performance.
After watching the film, I took part in a zoom meeting involving director Brian Lawes, producer Amanda Hayden, Jo Ashley Moore (who plays the daughter) and the leading actor, Dash Melrose. Dash shared certain techniques he used in order to transmit his mind and spirit into a character who has to resort to extreme measures to survive, while Brian involved us in the challenges he faced while directing and instructing a team of predominantly younger actors. It was particularly interesting to listen to Dash and Jo Ashley reasoning and discussing work strategies and theories, as well as past work experiences.
This is an excellent short film that I fully recommend. The suspense and emotional anxiety that expresses will keep you at the edge of your seat and probably make you shed a tear or two at the end.
Directed by the New York-based Scott Aharoni and Dennis Latos, Leylak takes us through a day in the life of an undertaker in New York, facing some grim news and tasked with the burden of sharing the information with the last person in the world he’d want to hurt.
Aharoni and Latos have a long portfolio of ad campaigns and several award-winning films under their production company DUO Entertainment. Their very own approach to cinematography shines through from the word ‘go’In the opening scene, we see a group of undertakers busy at work, getting on with their day. The camera steadily keeps its focus on one of them, Yusuf Çerik (played by Nadir Saribacak) suggesting he is our protagonist. After some moments Yusuf gets a phone call. He speaks in a foreign language (Turkish), but although we can’t comprehend his words, it is clear by his reaction and expressions that he has received some bad news.
Soon in the film we see that our friend has a teenage daughter called Renk (played by Isabella Haddock), grown and quite astute, continually demanding that her father brings her to visit someone. This will tweak the viewers’ interest greatly because surely this must relate to the prior phone call he had taken whilst on shift?!
Actors Nadir Saribacak and Isabella Haddock give stunning performances as father and daughter.
Through subtle cunning evasive techniques, the father manages to avoid taking his daughter to this final place of tragedy. Hostility grows between father and daughter, with family members getting involved to give advice, with the aim of avoiding a full-on family crisis. How much longer can our man avoid the inevitable?
This short film is very well concentrated, and its dynamic display of grief, emotions, and family politics will grab the attention of the viewers throughout.
After watching Leylak, I was lucky enough to take part in a live Q&A with the film’s writer (Mustafa Kaymak), one of the directors, and some of the cast members. What I found intriguing were certain techniques the director and cast members revealed they had to use in order to piece together the picture. For example, when taking shots on a bus, they shared that they were not granted any permits to shoot, so it was a matter of candid shooting, raw, expressive acting, literally just one chance to get it right.
In present-day Queens, New York, a Turkish undertaker is unable to face a shattering truth, at the risk of losing the dearest connection left in his life.
Also, throughout the film, covid masks are worn by the cast most of the time. The two actors informed us of how much of a challenge this was, and understandably so: with half of your face covered, it is of course far more difficult to convey expressions and emotions, especially in a piece of work filled with so much tragedy and heightened drama. Bravo to the cast.
Emilia Fox made her screen debut in the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice as Colin Firth’s sister (Georgiana Darcy). In the two and a half decades since, she has become one of the most beloved actors in the UK and the star in the country’s favourite forensic drama, Silent Witness.
Our editor Julia Pasarón had the chance to catch up with her at the Bvlgari Hotel in London, for a chat about her career, the importance of mental and physical health and her plans for the future.
Emilia comes from a long line of talented actors. Not only both her parents are actors but also her uncle, brother, cousins… One can’t help but wonder what family reunions must be like. “First and foremost,” she says with a smile, “we never talk about acting or the job, and that is a great relief.” I am not surprised she feels that way. It is easy to imagine the pressure to measure up to others in your family when everybody is in the same industry… and all of them are brilliant. “From the beginning, I wanted to carve my own way in the business,” she adds.
I think we have now opened the doors to positive change. We are talking about diversity, embracing it and celebrating it…
– Emilia Fox
With such lineage, most people would think acting was in Emilia’s blood, but she refutes this foregone conclusion quite vehemently, “It is not that it is in your blood, it is just that you feel comfortable around the job because you have seen it and been around it since childhood. It is no different to any other family business, be that greengrocers, lawyers or surgeons.”
Most importantly, Emilia is extremely proud of her heritage and absolutely adores her job. “It is very rare to be able to say, ‘I love going to work.’ That is exactly how I feel, I still get a great thrill when I get a job, when I am at the beginning of discovering and developing a character; it is sort of a birth process.”
Indeed she has brought to life an impressive list of characters over a career that expands 26 films and 57 tv shows, including the second Mrs de Winter in the 1997 adaptation of Rebecca, Sam Vincent in Delicious, and Violet Bradman with Judi Dench in Blithe Spirit to name but a few. In Emilia’s heart though, her character Dorota, who she played in her big screen debut, Roman Polanski’s The Pianist, is still one of her favourites. “I loved working with Roman and Adrian [Brody],” she says, “it was there that I learnt the difference between working on film and on tv.”
When she can take time off, Emilia loves travelling, especially a road trip.
Her previous experience was limited to her role as Georgiana Darcy in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. “I did it as a summer job while I was at university and had no idea about acting,” confesses Emilia, “I gave it a try hoping I would better at it than I was at waiting tables!”
She must have done something right because straight after, she landed the role of the second Mrs de Winter opposite Charles Dance, Faye Dunaway and Diana Rigg in Daphne de Maurier’s Rebecca. “I was trying to absorb everything like a sponge. It was an incredible opportunity to work with such stars.”
Perhaps though, it is with Silent Witness that she has had the opportunity to fully explore and develop a character. Dr Nikki Alexander has been evolving since 2004, when Emilia joined the cast. “In a profession that can be compared to gambling, Silent Witness has given me the luxury of familiarity,” she explains. “I am actually extremely risk averse, so with this character, over such a long time, I could try different things, be braver.”
Emilia joined the cast of Silent Witness in 2004 as forensic pathologist Dr Nikki Alexander.
Talking about brave, in the BBC series The trial of Christine Keeler (2019-2020), Emilia played Valerie Profumo, a complex character with whom she identified as a woman, wife and mother. “I loved playing her. She is the one that I took home, the one I didn’t let go of after the job. She was a character I could totally throw myself into.”
Playing strong women is Emilia’s thing. Between 2016 and 2019, she worked with Dawn French in Delicious, a Sky 1 series set in Cornwall about a celebrity chef married to the beautiful Sam (Emilia) who is having an affair with his first wife Gina (Dawn), a talented cook from whom he stole many of his recipes and cheated on for years. “As you can imagine,” Emilia says with the edge of laughter threatening to come out in her voice, “working with Dawn was a lot of fun, as it was working with Iain Glen and the rest of the cast.”
Styling by Arabella Boyce. Photography by David Venni. Hair by Ben Cooke. Make up by Elizabeth Beckett.
To read this interview in full, please order your copy of our new issue here!
An array of emerging talent in the UK was showcased on Thursday 4th November at the VIP event for the UK New Artist of the Year Award. The Robert Walters Group and leading national arts charity UK New Artists, ran the event in collaboration with renowned contemporary art platform Saatchi Gallery, Chelsea. The award helps to discover and champion the work of exceptional young artists whose work and vision represent contemporary Britain.
This year, the second edition of the award, saw a record breaking 963 submissions. This was painstakingly narrowed down to ten finalists, Anne von Freyburg, Catriona Robertson, Jarvis Brookfield, Jukka Virkkunen, Lucy Gregory, Maayan Sophia Weisstub, Molly Kent, Sam Tahmassebi, and Wesley George whose work demonstrated a strong and original voice of exceptional quality. The process involved the judges looking for artists who represent the UK’s richly diverse population and embody the experiences of their respective communities – artists who create bold, unique pieces of art that reveal their own perspectives and experiences, and who represent original viewpoints that will start new conversations across the UK art scene.
The brief for this year’s award was, Where do we go from here? Is there to be a ‘new normal’. Judges sought artists and works that explored the impact and aftermath of what has been a globally turbulent and trialling time for all – from our relationship to the things we once held close, right through to the pressure and barriers that the pandemic directly presented on our live
Anne von Freyburg, Feminising The Canvas.
Dutch artist, now based in London, Anne von Freyburg was named as the winner of the Robert Walters Group UK New Artist of the Year Award. Anne wowed the judges with her use of quality materials, technique and commitment to the process for her winning piece, Feminising The Canvas.
Anne presented a series of reconstructed Rococo portraits made from a mixture of tapestry and contemporary fashion fabrics. The imagery focused on a stylised idea around feminine beauty as found in the tradition of Boucher and Fragonard. Her works raised questions about taste, femininity, high and low art, and the constructs of female identity. The portraits were created with acrylic ink and then translated into hand-stitched fabrics and sewing techniques that give the work an almost bodily presence. Whilst on the one hand playful and referencing the decorative quality of their sources, the over-indulgence in these works also points to the excesses of throwaway fashion, selfies, and consumerism. By combining fine art with applied art in a conceptual way, Anne aims at blurring the boundaries between them.
Feminising The Canvas will be on display at the Robert Walters Group head office in Covent Garden for 12 months.
“Historically, craft have been perceived as lesser than fine art… I am challenging this underlying hierarchical system.”
– Anne von Freyburg.
Runner-up of this year’s award was Catriona Robertson, a Scottish/ British artist living and working in London. Robertson impressed the judges with her use of raw materials in her installation – Burrow Sprout Grow – which explores the architecture and the hidden spaces interwoven above and below ground within the fast-changing rising concrete landscape and urban geology. Her work was to identify the idea of being confined to the city during lockdown and with it, the lack of space and the idea of seclusion. It also focusses on the production of waste materials being accelerated during lockdown, with knock-on effects on climate change. Her message is clear: as humans we need to become more aware of our resources rather than just throw them away and re-use materials to re-make the spaces we have. The artist commented, “Having this support platform has given me the much-needed encouragement to keep making and the opportunity be able to share my work with a wider audience after my graduation.”
“Sustaining a sculptural practice feels much harder to sell work or to show it in different spaces”
– Catriona Robertson.
Judges of this year’s award included Robert Walters – art enthusiast, collector, and CEO of Robert Walters Group; Michael Forbes – artist and chair of Primary; Conor Rogers – artist and winner of the 2019 award; Cindy Sissokho – Curator at New Art Exchange and Associate Curator of Casablanca Biennale; Michelle Bowen – Director of UK New Artists; and Paul Foster – Interim Gallery Director of Saatchi Gallery. The awards ceremony and shortlist exhibition at Saatchi Gallery were curated by Garth Gratrix, an international artist, curator, and studio director.
Robert Walters commented, “The results from this year have been outstanding, and to see a 96% increase in the number of entries compared to 2019 is testament to why this award is so important.”
The exhibition is currently on display at the UK New Artist’s virtual gallery space until 5th December, designed and built by Ronan Somerville. During this time, where the public will be able to vote for their favourite artist to receive the “Public Choice Award”.
Opening picture: Winner – Anne von Freyburg, Runner-up – Catriona Robertson, Judges – Michael Forbes; Conor Rogers; Cindy Sissokho; Michelle Bowen; Paul Foster, and Curator – Garth Gratrix , of the UK New Artist of the Year Award 2021. Image credits: Reece Straw Words: Linda Hunting
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