Attwood, David

   b. 1952

   Film-maker

   David Attwood has directed films for television (often joint ventures with US/UK stations) aimed at a young avant-garde audience. Wild West (1992) was written by Harwant Bains, a 29-year-old of Punjabi extraction but born and raised in Southall. Attwood’s film was likened to Stephen Frears’ My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) (written by Hanif Kureishi), and dealt with the family relations of anarchic young Indian Londoners. His mini-series based on Daniel Defoe’s novel, The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders (1996) was acclaimed. It treated farcically the life of someone who, though both prostitute (Moll) and thief (of Flanders lace) in the picaresque tradition, triumphed over her difficulties.

   MIKE STORRY