The British director Mike Leigh has been making critically acclaimed films and plays for 50 years. He is perhaps best known for his collaborative, improvisation-led approach, which involves rehearsing with an ensemble cast over an extended period of time. Much like real life, a Mike Leigh film is recalled not in chronological plot terms, but in single, impressionistic shots that contain everything there is to know: a mother standing in the doorway of her teenage daughter’s bedroom in Life Is This story is from Kinfolk Issue Forty-One Buy Now Related Stories Films Issue 49 Ruben Östlund Crude, contrary—and killing it: Meet the auteur of awkwardness. Films Issue 49 Mamoudou Athie The shape-shifting actor is on a roll. Films Issue 49 Fares Fares After almost 25 years, the master actor steps behind the camera. Films Issue 48 Slaying It On the building blocks of horror. Fashion Films Issue 44 Wardrobe Malfunction Why does the fashion in films so often disappoint? Arts & Culture Films Music Issue 42 Peer Review Iranian artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat pays homage to the iconic Egyptian singer Oum Kulthum.
Arts & Culture Films Music Issue 42 Peer Review Iranian artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat pays homage to the iconic Egyptian singer Oum Kulthum.