Paul Laverty | |
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 Paul Laverty on the set of The Angels' Share in 2011 | |
| Born | 1 April 1957 Calcutta, India |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, lawyer |
Paul Laverty (born 1 April 1957 [1] ) is a screenwriter and lawyer best known for his screenplays for films directed by Ken Loach.
Paul Laverty was born in Calcutta, West Bengal, to an Irish mother and Scottish father. He was educated at All Souls' School in Wigtown where he grew up. He obtained a philosophy degree at the Gregorian University in Rome while studying for the priesthood at the Pontifical Scots College. [2] Thereafter he obtained a law degree at Strathclyde Law School, in Glasgow. During the mid-1980s, he travelled to Nicaragua and lived there for almost three years. He worked for a Nicaraguan domestic human rights organisation which provided hard evidence of human rights abuses during the war between the elected Nicaraguan Government (The Sandinistas) and the United States backed "Contras" in which the subject of human rights became highly contested. Every major human rights organisation including Amnesty and Americas Watch accused the US backed contras of systematic abuse against Nicaraguan civilians. He travelled to the war-zones and obtained corroborated eyewitness accounts which were passed on to international human rights organisations. He also travelled widely in El Salvador, during its civil war, and Guatemala, too. (His interests in Latin America affairs continued much later with long research trips to Chiapas in Mexico, and along the US-Mexican border concentrating on the city of Juárez.)
After his time in Central America Laverty made contact with director Ken Loach for whom he wrote Carla's Song (1996), his first screenplay, which starred Robert Carlyle. For his acting in My Name is Joe (1998), Peter Mullan won the Best Actor award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. Bread and Roses (2000), detailing the experiences of migrant labour, was shot in Los Angeles, and featured Adrien Brody in a leading role. Laverty's next script, Sweet Sixteen (2002) won best screenplay award in the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. [3]
The two men collaborated on The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) which concerns Irish War of Independence in early 1920s. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Laverty has written eight full-length feature scripts and one short directed by Ken Loach. Both work closely with producer Rebecca O'Brien. Loach's comedy featuring the French footballer Eric Cantona, Looking for Eric (2009), is a collaborative effort with Laverty, as is his film about mercenaries in Iraq, Route Irish (2010). [4]
Laverty has been in a relationship with Spanish filmmaker and actress Icíar Bollaín since 1995, after meeting on the set of Ken Loach's Land and Freedom (1995). [5] The couple live in Edinburgh with their three children. [6] [7]
Carla's Song is a 1996 film directed by Ken Loach and written by Paul Laverty, that deals with the impact of the Contra War in Nicaragua. It is a United Kingdom–Spain–Germany co-production.
Land and Freedom is a 1995 film directed by Ken Loach and written by Jim Allen. The film narrates the story of David Carr, an unemployed worker and member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, who decides to fight in the Spanish Civil War for the republicans, a coalition of Socialists, Communists and Anarchists against a nationalist coup d'état. The film won the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes.
Sweet Sixteen is a 2002 coming-of-age crime drama film directed by Ken Loach. Set in Scotland, the film tells the story of Liam, a teenage boy from a troubled background who dreams of starting afresh with his mother as soon as she has completed her prison term. Liam's attempts to raise money for the two of them are set against the backdrop of the Inverclyde towns of Greenock, Port Glasgow and the coast at Gourock.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a 2006 Irish war drama film directed by Ken Loach, set during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921) and the Irish Civil War (1922–1923). Written by long-time Loach collaborator Paul Laverty, the film tells the fictional story of two County Cork brothers, Damien and Teddy O'Donovan, who join the Irish Republican Army to fight for Irish independence from the United Kingdom, only for the two brothers to then find themselves on opposite sides during the subsequent Irish Civil War.
Hidden Agenda is a 1990 political thriller film directed by Ken Loach with a screenplay by Jim Allen. The film stars Frances McDormand, Brian Cox, Brad Dourif, Maurice Roëves, Ian McElhinney, Mai Zetterling and Michelle Fairley. The plot follows the investigation of a killing in Northern Ireland by British security forces.
Robert Dwyer Joyce (1836–1883) was an Irish poet, writer, and collector of traditional Irish music.
Icíar Bollaín Pérez-Mínguez is a Spanish filmmaker and actress. She is best known for directing Te Doy Mis Ojos, which won 7 Goya Awards. Bollaín has won other awards for acting and script-writing, as well as for directing.
Pádraic Delaney is an Irish actor known for playing Teddy O'Donovan in the Ken Loach film The Wind That Shakes the Barley, for which he earned an IFTA nomination as well as being named Irish Shooting Star for the 2007 Berlin Film Festival. In addition, he is known for his role as English aristocrat Lord George Boleyn, brother-in-law of King Henry VIII of England in Showtime's The Tudors.
El Sur is a 1983 drama film directed by Spanish filmmaker Victor Erice, who also wrote the screenplay. The film was produced by Elias Querejeta, and starred Icíar Bollaín as the adult main character. It is based on Adelaida García Morales' short novel of the same name.
Barry Ackroyd, BSC is an English cinematographer and director. Ackroyd has frequently worked with directors Ken Loach and Paul Greengrass. He worked on Kathryn Bigelow's 2008 war film The Hurt Locker, and with Greengrass on the critically acclaimed 2013 biographical thriller Captain Phillips, the former earning him a BAFTA Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. In 2014, Ackroyd became the president of the British Society of Cinematographers.
Looking for Eric is a 2009 sports comedy-drama film directed by Ken Loach and written by Paul Laverty. It is an international co-production between the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium, and Spain. It stars Steve Evets, Eric Cantona, John Henshaw, and Stephanie Bishop. It follows a middle-aged postman who, working for the Manchester sorting office, is going through a dreadful crisis.
Route Irish is a 2010 drama-thriller film directed by Ken Loach and written by Paul Laverty. It is set in Liverpool and focuses on the consequences suffered by private security contractors after fighting in the Iraq War. The title comes from the Baghdad Airport Road, known as "Route Irish". The film was a British-French co-production. It was selected for the main competition at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.
Even the Rain is a 2010 drama film directed by Icíar Bollaín and written by Paul Laverty. It is one of Icíar Bollaín's most ambitious films, internationally co-produced film by companies from Spain, Mexico and France. Shot in Bolivia, in the Chapare jungle, and in the city of Cochabamba, the film is a large production with more than 4,000 extras in total, with about 300 of the extras being indigenous people, as well as a team of 130 people and more than 70 locations, almost all of them outdoors.
Paul Trijbits is a Dutch-born film and television producer living in London, with his wife Patricia and children Jakob and Lea.
Kenneth Charles Loach is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialism are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty, homelessness, and labour rights.
William Ruane is a Scottish actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Sweet Sixteen (2002) and The Angels' Share (2012), and in the soap opera River City.
Rebecca O'Brien is a BAFTA-winning film producer, known especially for her work with Ken Loach. O'Brien was born in London, England.
Sorry We Missed You is a 2019 drama film written by Paul Laverty and directed by Ken Loach.
Yuli: The Carlos Acosta Story is a 2018 dance biopic about the Cuban ballet director and dancer Carlos Acosta; based on his biography and starring Acosta as the adult version of himself, it was directed by Icíar Bollaín.
The Old Oak is a 2023 drama film directed by Ken Loach and written by Paul Laverty. It is a co-production between the United Kingdom, France and Belgium.
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