Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard are London-based artists and filmmakers. They first met at Goldsmiths College in the mid-nineties and, after striking up a relationship which motivates them to always push harder and do better, have since gone on to create a number of award-winning projects over a multitude of platforms. The dynamic duo’s ability to mix art and cinema with the presence of theatre has resulted in beautifully crafted narratives and an innovative form of filmmaking.
Initially known for pioneering the use of re-enactment within contemporary visual art, Iain and Jane’s early work saw them create a series of major live works for the Institute of Contemporary Arts, culminating in their critically acclaimed live re-creation of David Bowie’s final performance as Ziggy Stardust, ‘A Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide’.
Transitioning seamlessly into moving image, Iain and Jane’s first foray into long form came with their feature, ‘20,000 Days on Earth’. Premiering at Sundance and set across a 24 hour period in a fictitious day in the life of Nick Cave, the film has since received a landslide of nominations and awards, most notably winning Best Director and editing awards at Sundance and Best Debut Director at the British Independent Film Awards, whilst also being nominated for a BAFTA and an Independent Spirit Award.
The pair’s love for storytelling has been a constant throughout their body of work. With a taste for exploring the space between reality and hallucination, Iain and Jane have also garnered recognition for their multiple television projects and advertising campaigns. They wrote and directed the series ‘Neil Gaiman’s Likely Stories’ for Sky Arts (starring George Mackay, Rita Tushingham and Johnny Vegas), and ‘Murder: The Big Bang’ for the BBC (starring Jessica Barden and Michael Smiley). They have also directed the Bacardi x Major Lazer campaign, ‘Music Liberates Music’, which is designed to support Caribbean music and its artists.
Music culture continues to play a significant role in Iain and Jane’s work. Along with promos for ‘Daughter’ and ‘Gil Scott-Heron’, their ambisonic sound installation with Scott Walker was presented at Sydney Opera House. A live performance, Silent Sound, was scored by Jason Pierce (Spiritualized) and their video work Walking After Acconci features the first on-screen appearance by Ben Drew, aka musician Plan B.
As artists, their work has been collected by various institutions across the globe including Tate Gallery, the Arts Council Collection, and the Government Art Collection.
