First look at Typist Artist Pirate King, the new film celebrating Sunderland artist Audrey Amiss

A new film celebrating the life of a Sunderland artist whose work went unrecognised during her lifetime is going on general release.

'Typist, Artist, Pirate, King' tells the story of Audrey Amiss, who attended Sunderland College of Art before earning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Art in 1954.

She studied painting, but was forced to give it up after being detained in hospital due to mental health issues.

On release, she trained as a typist rather than returning to college.

She continued to work throughout her life, however, and amassed a vast collection of work which was only discovered after her death in 2013, at the age of 79.

The work was subsequently donated to London-based museum the Wellcome Collection.

The new film received its UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival in March and goes on general release tomorrow, Friday, October 27.

It is a fictionalised account of a road trip by Audrey and her psychiatric nurse Sandra from her home in London back to Sunderland in time to secure an open call exhibition slot, and was filmed on location across the city, including Seaburn and the East End, in November 2021.

Bafta winner Monica Dolan plays Audrey, with Harry Potter and Trainspotting star Kelly Macdonald as Sandra. Peterlee's Gina McKee plays Audrey's sister Dorothy.

The film is dedicated to Dorothy, who read the script, but passed away while the film was still being edited.

Director Carol Morley was inspired to tell Audrey's story after she was awarded a screenwriting fellowship at the Wellcome Foundation.

She told The Guardian: “Somebody said, ‘We’ve got the archive of a woman who saved the wrappers of everything she ate every day'."

Those wrappers were part of the collection of Audrey's work, which had not yet been catalogued, she explained: “I was given two hours in a room with it – and I was there all day.

"I had to find out more.”

Looking through the vast collection, Morley found Audrey's passport, with the words Typist, Artist, Pirate. King, written in under 'occupation'.

Newcastle's Tyneside Cinema is screening Typist, Artist, Pirate, King at 5pm on Saturday, November 4, followed by a question and answer session with Carol Morley.

To book, visit https://tynesidecinema.co.uk/event/typist-artist-pirate-king/