Six Things About... Lenny Abrahamson
In the first of this week's YDA interviews we find out six things about Lenny Abrahamson, the director of feature films Room and Frank, and one of the directors behind the smash hit TV series that was Normal People.
)
In 2022 the Young Director Award's YDA Week is breaking from previous years' thematic approach and will, instead, be talking to a series of directors to find out six things about each.
From the movies that lit the spark for their cinematic journeys, to the commercials that they admire most, and the piece of advice they'd most like to pass on to the next generation of filmmakers, each interview asks six questions that drill down into each director's passions and inspirations.
Credits
powered by
First up is Irish director Lenny Abrahamson who, after studying philosophy at university, made his first short film, called 3 Joes [1991] before heading to the US to study for a PhD in philosophy. Six months later philosophy's loss was filmmaking's gain as Abrahamson returned to Ireland to take up filmmaking full time.
Since then he's worked in the commercials arena before moving into feature, his first being Adam & Paul [2004]. Since then he's gone on to direct Michael Fassbender in Frank [2014] and Brie Larson in Room [2015], which was nominated at the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay.
In 2020 he directed six episodes of the hit television series Normal People, which was adapted from Sally Rooney's equally successful novel, and has recently finished directing seven episodes of the TV adaptation of Rooney's previous novel, Conversations With Friends.
In the above interview Abrahamson talks about how Kubrick's 2001 impacted him, his cinematic puritanical streak, the challenges of making movies and why it's sometimes wise to 'de-professionalise' yourself.
Tomorrow we'll be finding out Six Things About... Sara Dunlop
+ membership
Access the world's largest advertising database. With an intuitive toolset that helps you explore, present and collaborate more effectively.
Learn More
