FRANNY ARMSTRONG

Franny Armstrong spent 10 years making her film about the McLibel case in which a postman and a gardener took on one of the largest corporations in the world.

From the tender age of 4, Franny Armstrong knew she was going to be a rock drummer. And indeed she was. Until, at the age of 23, she read about a trial in which the fast food giants were suing a gardener and postman for libel. So she reluctantly put down the drumsticks and picked up a video camera. Three years later, in August 1997, Franny's first documentary, McLibel, was released to great critical acclaim.

McLibel's infamy quickly grew after the film was pulled by lawyers at both the BBC and Channel 4. Apart from finally being broadcast on BBC2 this year, it has now been watched by an estimated 18 million viewers - on eight other mainstream TV channels worldwide, on countless cable & satellite channels, Spanner's website www.spannerfilms.net (1500 people per month), at film festivals, at schools and colleges, and at community screenings around the world; from Peru to Slovenia, China to Turkey.

McLibel has had a timely release to coincide with a more general backlash against the Fast Food industry. Fast Food Nation, Jamie’s School Dinners and SuperSize Me have also fuelled the fire. McLibel though is so inspiring because it shows two ordinary people from the UK willing to take on a massive multinational corporation and to fight for what they believe in for as long as it takes.

Franny's second major documentary, Drowned Out, (2002) follows the fight against the Narmada Dam in India. She filmed it over three years, battling against illness, rain, solar battery chargers, six language barriers and police arrests. The 75 minute film was runner-up for Best Documentary at the British Independent Film Awards, the OneWorld Media awards ("a masterfully crafted study of a stand-off between the powerless and the powerful") and the San Francisco International Film Festival ("a film of enormous heart, grit and insight that is both taut political essay and enormously moving plea".).

Franny's films are produced through Spanner Films, the independent TV production company, based in London, which she founded in 1999. Working entirely outside the mainstream TV industry, her films have now been seen by a total of 49 million people.