UK filmmaker wins Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film

British filmmaker Andrea Arnold's 'Wasp' has won the Academy Award for Best Short Film, Live Action category.
Shot in Dartford and starring Nathalie Press (My Summer of Love) Wasp tells the story of a single mother of four who, when an old boyfriend (Danny Dyer, Football Factory) reappears, takes a few risks to enjoy a couple drinks down the pub and almost ends up paying a high price.
Accepting her Oscar in Los Angeles Arnold said: "It's a long way from Dartford! This is truly overwhelming. I'm not really used to this kind of thing. I'd like to thank everyone who worked on the film. Everyone worked extremely hard. They know who they are. The beers are on me when we get home. In English, I'd say that this is the dog's bollocks. Thank you very much."
Arnold adds the Oscar to the 30 awards she has previously collected for Wasp, including The Sundance Short Film Prize, the Time Out Critics Prize and Best Live Action Film at the Worldwide International Short Film Festival, Toronto.
Wasp is Arnold's third short film, and it was initially commissioned by the UK Film Council and Channel 4 for Cinema Extreme scheme with support from Screen South, the Regional Film Development Agency for the UK Film Council.
She is currently working with Lars Von Trier's Zentropa on her first feature, 'Advance Party', a project that involves three filmmakers writing a film using the same nine characters.
Born in Dartford, Andrea Arnold studied film at The American Film Institute in Los Angeles.
Arnold's second short, 'Dog' was screened Cannes in the International Critics Week and won several awards including The Jameson Award at Brief Encounters UK.
Her first short, 'Milk' was also selected for the International Critics Week.
(SP)