Self Made

Synopsis

Self Made is Turner Prize-winner Gillian Wearing’s debut feature.

If you were to play a part in a film, would you be yourself or a fictional character?

Hundreds of people responded to this advert when it was placed in local and national newspapers, online and in job centres around London and Newcastle. Seven people were selected to appear in Self Made, where they attend a Method Acting workshop to explore their fantasy selves. The workshops are led by experienced drama teacher Sam Rumbelow and form the core of the film. As the film progresses, the participants use real life experiences to bring their characters to life, and ultimately star in their own mini-film. Revelation is key to the process, as is creating an environment that allows the unexpected to happen.

About the director

Gillian Wearing was born in Birmingham in 1963. She graduated from Goldsmith’s College in 1990. One of the most prominent artists of her generation, Wearing won the Turner Prize in 1997 and her work in video and photography has been exhibited widely both in the UK and internationally. Previous solo shows include the Serpentine Gallery, London, ICA Philadelphia, MCA Chicago and the Musee Rodin, Paris, with forthcoming exhibitions at the Whitechapel Gallery, London and K21m Dusseldorf. Her work is also held in the collections of the Tate and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Wearing lives and works in London.

According to the filmmakers

We are currently living through uncertain times that are forcing many people to question and redefine established notions of identity. In a world in which CCTV, reality television and “fictionalised” documentary makes us all into performers, reality and fiction are rapidly becoming interchangeable commodities. Self Made will show how it is possible to blur the divisions of reality and fiction and expose how real people see their own lives as a movie. Are we all playing a role, consciously or unconsciously?

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