Fishtank: Questions&Answers

* Director: Andrea Arnold
* No particular audience.
* The director didn't want a professional actress.
* Katy Jarvis (lead character) was the perfect girl, however the initial idea of the film had to change because originally the director wanted a fantastic dancer, but Katy hated dancing yet she was the perfect personality.
* Cost of music was expensive - Leona Lewis song there was no music, just a few lyrics = £10,000.
* Nike Clothing, needed legal clearance; they didn't invest because Katy wasn't the type of role model they wanted, there was too much authenticity to her character, she wasn't aspiration enough. Marketing isn't reflective of what people are.
* There was 50 prints distributed countrywide. Distributor was Artificle Eye.
* Film Census: people fought to have the film certified as a 15 not an 18 because they felt people needed to see it. The director's vision is important.
* BBC weren't happy with 10year old Tyler smoking and drinking - full reports had to be written.
* Government believed it was conforming to the already overtly sexualised media.
* Music Video showed the opposite to real life, highlighted the unreality of them.
* Mia's passion for dancing - she wants to belong to the street troupe from her neighbourhood, she was influenced by the internet.
* There wasn't any thoughts or discussions on how teenagers were portrayed.
* Film was shot in continunity; Connor and Mia didn't know that they would sleep together until the day of shooting.
* Sex scene was a "minefield" especially in the USA, careful filming - no nudity. Andrea didn't want to cut away from it.
* You can see the change in Mia from the start to the end of the film.
* The reason is was named "Fish Tank" was because it is Mia's world looking out or our world looking in.
* There was no pretense, how it was filmed is how it is.
* Mia doesn't fit in, ends up in a strip club.
* Kidnapping of the child was revenge on Connor.
* Realistic interpretation: Katy Jarvis, director chanelled her natural self into the story.
* 4:3 ratio instead of widescreen: concentrated more on the characters.
* Andrea didn't want it to be a commercial success, however the producer felt as many people as possible should see it.