Paddy Considine

Shane Meadows' muse is branching out on his directorial career, having etched out a considerable reputation through films such as Dead Man's Shoes (and the less impressive, albeit dirt-cheap, quickly shot Le Donk...).

The Sundance film festival has long been a platform for independent American cinema, launching the careers of directors as diverse as Quentin Tarantino, Darren Aronofsky and the Coen brothers. Lately, though, things have been changing. As the event pays more and more attention to European film, the British have begun to infiltrate the brunches and gifting suites that spring up every year in Park City, Utah. In 2008 it was James Marsh with his vertiginous doc Man on Wire, in 2009 it was Duncan Jones with his philosophical sci-fi parable Moon, and last year Chris Morris became an unlikely Sundance hero with his biting jihadist comedy Four Lions.

This year the honour fell to Paddy Considine, for his dark, blue-collar drama Tyrannosaur. Though the film features serious brutality – notably (unseen) violence against animals – which often raises the temperature in the US, the actor's self-penned debut as a features director went down a storm with audiences and jury alike, winning a prize for its two leads and a directing award for Considine. (source)

Detailed Gdn feature (Feb 2011)

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