ACTING (2026)
Documentary | Language: English | 145'
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In UK Cinemas from Friday 5 June
SYNOPSIS
In the summer of 2021, renowned theatre company Cheek By Jowl joined forces with filmmaker Sophie Fiennes to create the first in-depth documentation of the company's unique acting process and philosophy. The end result is a richly detailed and thrilling celebration the work of Cheek By Jowl's directors, Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod, and their vital method of creating theatre.
Using four key scenes and several soliloquies from Macbeth, Declan and Nick worked with eight actors over two weeks in Twyford Abbey, a derelict mansion on the outskirts of London. Sophie Fiennes operated as a single shooter with the camera harnessed to her body, offering audiences immersive and privileged access the company's work.
UPCOMING UK CINEMA SCREENINGS
BERTHA DOCHOUSE LONDON - Preview + Q&A with Sophie Fiennes & Sophie Khan Levy (who was recently awarded a BAFTA for her role in EastEnders) - 1st June - Book Tickets
BERTHA DOCHOUSE LONDON - Screening - 6th June - Book Tickets
CINE LUMIERE LONDON - Screening + Q&A with Ralph Fiennes, Declan Donnellan & Nick Ormerod (Cheek by Jowl) - 5th June - Book Tickets
CAMEO CINEMA EDINBURGH - Screening + Q&A with Sophie Fiennes - 6th June Book Tickets
FACT CINEMA LIVERPOOL - Screening + Q&A with Sophie Fiennes - 7th June - Book Tickets
ALDEBURGH CINEMA - Screening + Q&A with Sophie Fiennes - 21st June - Book Tickets
PRESS QUOTES
“Describing an actor’s process is notoriously tricky; Acting instantly soars to the top of the class.”
Fionnuala Halligan , Screen Daily
“A celebration of artistic collaboration"
Manuela Lazic, EIFF
“Compelling and moving"
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
CAST & CREW
Cast - Declan Donnellan (Director, Cheek by Jowl), Nick Ormerod (Director, Cheek by Jowl), Grace Andrews, David Burnett, Amber James, Orlando James, Sophie Khan Levy, Jonathan Livingstone, Ekow Quartey, Hannah Young
Director - Sophie Fiennes
Cinematographer -Sophie Fiennes
Editor - Sophie Fiennes
Production - Martin Rosenbaum, Shani Hinton, Sophie Fiennes, Cheek By Jowl, Lone Star Productions, Amoeba Film Ltd
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR - SOPHIE FIENNES
Sophie Fiennes is an English filmmaker best known for her films Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami (2017) and Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow (2010), as well as for her collaborations with philosopher Slavoj Žižek: The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema (2006), and The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology (2013).
Fiennes’ formally inventive approach often combines observational documentary with performance film. Film critic Danny Leigh identified this in her early work: “Almost uniquely, Fiennes remains adamant she wants [Michael] Clark – or whoever she happens to be dealing with – to be understood through their work rather than the other way round; not for her the hackneyed game of small-screen head shrinking.” Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw says her 2010 film Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, “could be described as a ‘participatory documentary’ in the sense that the film-maker gets alongside her subject and in some way contributes to the art being created.” Fiennes’ work has screened internationally in festivals including Cannes, Toronto, Rotterdam, IDFA and Sundance, distributed theatrically and broadcast. Her work has shown in museums including MOMA New York; Hammer Museum Los Angeles; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art Denmark; Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Japan; Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid. Tate are acquiring the installation current/SEE, which comprises a 13-minute extract of her film, The Late Michael Clark, originally commissioned by the BBC. The installation was produced on the occasion of the Barbican exhibition, Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer, in 2020.
Sophie Fiennes was awarded a NESTA fellowship in 2001 to support her innovative approach to filmmaking and she won the Arte France Cinema award at Rotterdam's Cinemart in 2007. Sophie Fiennes teaches at University College London, where she is Senior Tutor on the Creative Documentary by Practice MFA, and Mentor for the Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) MA.[4] She has also taught at the IDFA summer school.
