The Arbor

Andrea Dunbar was described as ‘a genius straight from the slums.’ The unflinchingly honest playwright wrote about her distressing upbringing on the Arbor, the notorious Buttershaw Estate in Bradford, UK. When she died tragically in 1990 at the age of 29, Andrea left behind her plays and three children by three different men. Although Lorraine, Andrea’s oldest daughter, acquired a knack for writing, she was unable to avoid a grim fate of her own. This documentary follows Lorraine and her other siblings on a powerful journey of reflection and self-discovery as they begin to understand the struggles their mother faced. Comprised of personal letters; interviews with Andrea’s family and friends; and a reading of her most celebrated play; The Arbor is as innovative in its construction and execution as it is heartbreakingly compelling. Winner of the Tribeca Film Festival’s Best New Documentary Filmmaker award.

“Barnard revisits the foredoomed career and tragic afterlife of this slum-born self-educated writer to electrifying effect, shooting mainly on location in Bradford, with actors lip-synched to actual recordings of the people they portray.” (J. Hoberman, Village Voice)

“Numerous celluloid experiments have fudged reality and fiction lately, but few are as formally inventive or socially revelatory as "The Arbor," Clio Barnard's intergenerational exploration of playwright Andrea Dunbar's working-class family. Dramatically spellbinding and intellectually stimulating, pic abstractly manipulates multiple layers of representation to shattering effect. Deploying a technique known as verbatim theater, in which actors lip-synch words recorded by the real-life people they're portraying, Barnard brilliantly counterpoints authentic sound with artificial imagery, criss-crossing the fragile boundaries separating narrative and documentary. A must-see entry in the ongoing evolution of cinematic formalism, "Arbor" also makes for one helluva popcorn outing.” (Ronnie Scheib, Variety)