Potter, Sally

   b. 1947

   Film-maker

   Sally Potter is something of a controversial figure in British independent cinema and a champion of feminist issues. Her 1979 short ‘thriller’ is now regarded as a ‘classic’ feminist deconstruction of sexual politics in its re-working of ‘La Boheme.’ Her feature debut The Gold Diggers (1983) pursued similar themes, challenging the ‘oedipal trajectory’ of contemporary narratives and their inherent misrepresentation of general issues. Working in television towards the late 1980s she made several programmes including Women in Soviet Cinema and Tears, Laughter, Fear and Rage, a discourse examining the representation of emotion. In 1992 she achieved international recognition with her exuberant adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, blending visual flare with a more conventional narrative structure but still remaining true to her concerns regarding the corruption of sexuality. In Tango (1977), she further explored her long-time affair with the dance (and with her tutor), but the film received mixed responses owing to its rather claustrophobic self-indulgence.

   See also: film, feminist

   ROB FILLINGHAM