A Scottish actress, born in 1960, Tilda Swinton studied English literature and political science at Cambridge from 1980 to 1983.
In 1985, she made her cinema debut in Caravaggio, by the English director Derek Jarman. For almost eight years, before the filmmaker’s death in 1994, they would go on to make seven films together, including The Last of England, The Garden, War Requiem and Wittgenstein.
Swinton achieved international recognition for her remarkable interpretation of Orlando in Sally Potter’s 1992 film of the same name.
Since, Swinton has acted in two films by Lynn Hershman-Leeson, Conceiving Ada and Teknolust, as well as Tim Roth’s War Zone and Robert Lepage’s Possible Worlds.
In 2001, she partnered with David Siegel and Scott McGehee in their film The Deep End, presented at the Directors’ Fortnight that year, in a role that earned her a number of international awards including a Best Actress nomination at the Golden Globes.
More recently, Swinton appeared in Spike Jonze’s Adaptation, David Mackenzie’s Young Adam, acclaimed at Cannes in 2003, as well as in Mike Mills’ Thumbsucker. In 2005, she starred alongside Keanu Reeves in Constantine.
Jury attendance
- Member Feature films, 2004
- Member Cinéfondation & Short Films, 2002
