Lynne Ramsay

Lynne Ramsay (born 5 December 1969) is a Scottish film director, writer, producer, and cinematographer best known for the feature films Ratcatcher (1999), Morvern Callar (2002), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), and You Were Never Really Here (2017).

Ramsay began her career by garnering attention through her short films beginning with "Small Deaths", followed by "Kill the Day" and "Gasman", all receiving awards and nominations.

Gaining recognition from these films she was approached to write a treatment that would eventually become her debut feature film Ratcatcher funded by BBC Scotland and Pathé.

Ramsay’s Ratcatcher was given many awards along with Ramsay being awarded BAFTA’s Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.

Her films are marked by a fascination with children and young people and the recurring themes of grief, guilt, death, and its aftermath.

They are low on dialogue and explicit story exposition, and instead use images, vivid details, music, and sound design to create their worlds.

Ramsay was born in Glasgow on 5 December 1969.

She studied fine art and photography at Napier College, Edinburgh.

Ramsay cites watching Maya Deren's film Meshes of the Afternoon in school as a turning point in her career, inspiring her to apply to film school on a whim and encouraging her turn towards filmmaking.

Originally focused solely on cinematography she eventually moved toward directing feeling a stronger connection to being a director and documentarian.

In 1995, she graduated from the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, England, where she specialised in cinematography and direction.

The film is based on Alan Warner's 1995 novel of the same name, Morvern Callar.

Ramsay won the 1996 Cannes Prix de Jury for her graduation short film, "Small Deaths".

Her second short film, "Kill the Day", won the Clermont Ferrand Prix du Jury; her third, "Gasman", won her another Cannes Prix du Jury in addition to a Scottish BAFTA for Best Short Film.

"Small Deaths" (1996), is Ramsay's debut short film that she completed as her graduating film at the UK's National Film and Television School.

It is a series of three vignettes of children grappling with familial realities and the repercussions of their actions.

Ramsay is the writer, director and cinematographer for this film.

"Kill the Day" (1997), written and directed by Ramsay, captures a day in the life of a heroin addict recently released from jail, and in the process inventively probes the inner workings of memory.

"Gasman" (1997), also written and directed by Ramsay, is about a brother and sister who attend a Christmas party with their father, and encounter two other children who are strangely familiar with him.

Ratcatcher (1999), Ramsay's debut feature, won critical acclaim and numerous awards.

It was screened at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival and opened the Edinburgh International Film Festival, winning her the Guardian New Directors prize.

She also won the Carl Foreman Award for Newcomer in British Film at the 2000 BAFTA Awards, the Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival and the Silver Hugo for Best Director at the Chicago International Film Festival.

In 2001, it was announced she was slated to direct the adaptation of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, which she had read in a manuscript form prior to its publication.

Morvern Callar (2002), won Samantha Morton the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress, and Kathleen McDermott the Scottish BAFTA Award for Best Actress.

It also won the 2002 C.I.C.A.E. Award and the Award of The Youth at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.

The motion picture soundtrack includes tracks from Stereolab, Aphex Twin, Broadcast, Velvet Underground, and Nancy Sinatra.

Ramsay is credited as the writer and director.

It was featured in the Directors Fortnight for the Cannes Film Festival 2002 and then went on to open the Edinburgh International Film Festival in August of the same year.

The film also featured at the Telluride, Toronto, San Sebastian, Dinard and Stockholm Film Festivals of 2002.

It was nominated for seven British Independent Film Awards.

She experienced great frustration in her involvement with adapting the novel, during which personal and professional problems saw her step away from the project in 2004, with the job of directing eventually going to Peter Jackson, whose version of the film received largely negative reviews.

She stated in an interview: "People started to call it 'The Lovely Money,' they were getting greedy around it. And I could feel the vibes. It became like the Holy Bible, I kept handing in drafts and I thought they were good, but it was like 'But that's not exactly like the book, the book's going to be a success.' That was the mistake they made with the project."

She stated additionally that she considered Jackson's interpretation of the film, with a desire to stick as closely as possible to the original story, as partially responsible for what she considered the lacklustre quality of the finished product.

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), was Ramsay's next feature-length film in which she was the writer, producer and director.

The film, based on Lionel Shriver's novel, is about a mother dealing with the aftermath of a school massacre committed by her son.

"Swimmer" (2012), was co-commissioned by BBC Films, Film4 and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The short was nominated for the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) in the category for Best Short Film.

In April 2013, she was selected as a member of the main competition jury at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

It won a BAFTA Award for Best Short Film at the 66th British Academy Film Awards in 2013.

In 2015, she was named as a member of the jury for the main competition at the 2015 Venice Film Festival.