Race heats up for coveted Palme d’Or in Cannes

A FAMILY drama starring an actor who grew up in Kerry and a first-time actress competes for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival today.

Fish Tank, directed by Andrea Arnold, centres around a teenager and the disruptive effect her mother’s new boyfriend has on their close family life.

Other British films competing for the coveted Palme d’Or are Jane Campion’s Bright Star and Ken Loach’s Looking for Eric, which stars former Manchester United footballer Eric Cantona.

They face stiff competition from some cinema heavyweights; legendary directors Pedro Almodovar from Spain, Lars von Trier from Denmark and Ang Lee from Taiwan are all up for the award.

Fish Tank stars Michael Fassbender, the Irish-raised actor who won plaudits for his portrayal of Bobby Sands in Hunger last year, alongside 17-year-old first-time actress Katie Jarvis, who was cast after being spotted arguing with her boyfriend at Tilbury station in Essex.

Jarvis was not in Cannes for the film’s launch as she is at home in Tilbury, after giving birth to daughter Lily-Mae last week.

Arnold said she went for Jarvis after deciding she wanted a “real” person for the role. “I wanted a girl who would not have to act, could just be herself,” she said.

After drawing a blank with casting agencies, Arnold spent time looking around youth clubs, markets and shopping centres around Essex before finding Jarvis at a station.

“She was on one platform arguing with her boyfriend on another platform, giving him grief,” she said.

“It (filming) was an interesting experience for her, because she’d never done anything like this before in her life – she was not long out of school and hadn’t yet done any form of work.

“Going on a film where she was up at five-six o’clock in the morning – and she’s in every scene – was very intense for her.”

Arnold said the significance of the Cannes nomination had not really sunk in for the young actress.

“I don’t think she quite understands what this means,” she said.

“There was a picture of her in the Evening Standard a few weeks ago.

“That (was something) she could see and understand and was interested in, but festivals and things – it’s not something that’s been part of her life.”

Jarvis has an agent now, but Arnold said she was still undecided about whether to pursue an acting career.

Interviewed for the film’s production notes, Jarvis said: “I learned a lot doing the film. Whereas before I was doing nothing all the time, it made me learn that I could do things if I wanted to do it.

“It was hard, but it was fun and rewarding. It shows you don’t have to go to drama school to get into it, but I think I was one of a kind, I don’t think anybody else will get picked off a train station.”