The Arbor (15)

Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar was the author of three raw and witty plays, including The Arbor and the film Rita, Sue and Bob Too, drawing heavily on her experiences growing up on the notoriously deprived Buttershaw estate. She was also someone who led a short and often troubled life, dying of a brain haemorrhage, aged 29, while drinking in her local pub.

Filmmaker Clio Barnard spent two years interviewing Dunbar’s family and friends, and these personal accounts form the backbone to this extraordinary film. Actors flawlessly lip-synch the interview material to gripping, moving effect. Barnard’s integration of fact and fiction is inventive and seamless, and though the impact is shattering, it is filled with compassion.

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