Clio Barnard’s distinctive and highly accomplished documentary won the Innovation Award at Sheffield Doc Fest in 2010 and was nominated for the BAFTA for Outstanding British Debut in 2011. ‘The Arbor’ is the powerful story of playwright Andrea Dunbar (‘Rita, Sue and Bob Too!’). Dunbar, described as ‘a genius straight from the slums,’ wrote honestly and unflinchingly about her upbringing on the notorious Buttershaw Estate in Bradford. When she died at the age of 29 in 1990 her daughter Lorraine was just ten years old. Lorraine, now also at 29, is ostracised from Buttershaw and serving a sentence in prison. Through compelling interviews with Lorraine and other members of the Dunbar family we’re presented with contrasting views of Andrea.
★★★★ “Barnard has created a modernist, compassionate biopic” - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
