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Ali & Ava

Feature, 1h 35m, 2.39:1

Director & Writer Clio Barnard
Production Designer Stéphane Collonge



“An understated triumph... an essay in acceptance and love.”
The Guardian

Best Leading Actor
& Outstanding British Film of the Year
BAFTA Film Nominations




Ava (Claire Rushbrook) is an Irish Catholic grandmother and teaching assistant living on a white housing estate nursing the scars of an abusive ex-husband. Ali (Adeel Akhtar) is a charismatic music lover, devoted to his family and Pakistani community whilst hiding the pain of living with his estranged wife (Ellora Torchia). Both lonely for different reasons, Ava and Ali find each other and sparks fly, despite the intricacies of age, class, race and expectations of family and community.

Filmed in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.
Graphic Designer Chris Barber















INT. NINA’S HOUSE
 Production Designer’s request for a variety of Eastern European branded breakfast foods similar to items observed during a number of location recce visits to family households in the area. I created packaging in the Polish language for butter wraps, cereal, coffee, eggs, fizzy drinks, handmade bread, milk and yoghurts.
















EXT. PRIMARY SCHOOL
School signage to cover and match the style of the existing exterior location signage as well as school work, bags and ID cards. 















INT. PRIMARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM
Production Designer’s suggestion for one of the Solar System book cover options to reference the Charles and Ray Emes film Powers of Ten (1968) which depicts the relative scale of the universe based on a factor of ten, first expanding out from the Earth until the entire universe is surveyed, then reducing back inward until a single atom is observed.














INT. ALI’S HOUSE BEDROOM
Ali keeps treasured mementos in a book with the Director’s request for the cover to feature the moon. The Production Designer suggested a photo of Runa to be dressed into Ali’s Wallet which on the shoot day became an action prop as it was used in tandem with the book.













INT. ALI’S HOUSE SPARE ROOM / RUNA’S STUDY
Runa is studying for an MA in Peace and Conflict Resolution. I created secondhand book covers based around the subject.















INT. ALI’S HOUSE BASEMENT
Ali is a music aficionado and amateur rapper with a large record collection. I created approximately fifteen hip-hop and rap 12” LP sleeves to compliment the large number of soul and jazz LP sleeves supplied via product placement. There was also a requirement for an action prop 12” LP sleeve with the Director’s request for the imagery to feature a baby and to incorporate the colour orange in the style of the artwork for Sunfighter by Paul Kantner (1971) and The Dark Side Of The Moon by The Flaming Lips (2009).













INT. AVA’S HOUSE
Cookery book cover and double page insert (to match pages of purchased prop book) with the request for Hasselback potato recipe to suit scripted action. 














INT. AVA’S HOUSE CALLUM’S BEDROOM
 The Production Designer’s request was for the bedroom posters to be based around boxing, British nostalgia, football, MMA and Spitfire fighter planes. Callum was to have only a superficial interest in the above subjects as hobbies and instead lean toward the attitudes and allegiances they can imply. The Production Designer’s request for the framed photo of Callum and Karen was an exterior selfie at a funfair during the evening. Options for toothbrush blister packs opened in action.












INT. DAWN’S HOUSE
 Medical carton with dispensing label and leaflet to fit the Set Decorator’s purchased placebo capsule blister packs.















INT. JAMEELA’S HOUSE
 Jameela’s family photo album. Scritped photos of Ali’s Dad in a local football team, Ali’s Dad by a minaret in rural Pakistan and Ali in the school play as Dick Whittington. I also created some unscripted photos of Ali with his Dad and his sister Usma.

















EXT. TRAIN STATION
A short notice location change from a city centre train station to a small heritage line required 20+ signage pieces to cover and fit existing location fixtures and frames with the Production Designer’s request for a blue, white and black colour scheme.