Costume Designer Sammy Sheldon Differ will be in conversation with writer and curator Keith Lodwick to talk about her career, which includes a wide array of genres and periods, among which several Marvel films as well as Kenneth Brannagh’s A Haunting in Venice and the upcoming Kraven the Hunter, by J. C. Chandor.
ABOUT SAMMY SHELDON DIFFER
Sammy Sheldon Differ was born in Oldham, North Manchester, and left school at 16 to study art and design at Rochdale College of Art. Sammy fell in love with film at an early age, watching westerns, Hammer Horror movies and, most influentially, the original Star Wars. After leaving college at 19 she started her career at the Royal Exchange Theatre as an assistant costume maker and under the helm of Ginnie O’Brien, learning from some of the most amazing costume designers and makers during the late 80’s. She then studied Costume Design at Wimbledon School of Art 1990 to 1993. After graduating, she began work as an assistant designer to David Blight on various theatre productions, designing later costumes for numerous pop promos and adverts. Artists she worked with include Pulp, This is Hard Core, Jamiroquai, Jamelia, Beverly Knight, Eternal, The Wannadies, Shola Ama and many more. Sammy then became an assistant designer to Janty Yates on films including Ridley Scott’s Gladiator and Jake Scott’s Plunkett & Macleane. She went on to design costumes for Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down and the mockumentary Calcium Kid, starring Orlando Bloom.
Other film credits include The Green Zone (Paul Greengrass), Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (Guillermo Del Toro), Stardust (Matthew Vaughn), Kinky Boots (Julian Jarrold) and A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Garth Jennings) among many others. Television work included the Wall to Wall TV series and Ancient Egyptians.
Sammy has received BAFTA Film nominations for her work on Morten Tyldum’s The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley and Michael Radford’s The Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons. She’s also received a BAFTA TV nomination for the BBC’s modern adaptation of The Canterbury Tales: The wife of Bath as well as Costume Designers Guild Awards nominations for The Imitation Game and Ex Machina, X-Men: First Class and V for Vendetta.
Sammy has worked on many different genres of film, period, fantasy, modern, war and superhero. Her more recent film credits include Assassin’s Creed, by Justin Kurzel, Marvel’s Ant-Man, Annihilation, Jurassic World, Fallen Kingdom, Artemis Fowl and Marvel’s Eternals, Quantumani, A Haunting in Venice and the yet to be released Kraven the Hunter.
ABOUT KEITH LODWICK
Keith Lodwick is a curator, writer, and historian. He is the former Curator of Theatre and Screen Arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. At the V&A, Keith curated Vivien Leigh: Public Faces, Private Lives and was the V&A assistant curator for the major exhibition Hollywood Costume, one of the most successful exhibitions in the museum’s history. Keith has contributed to a wide range of publications including Oliver Messel: In the Theatre of Design, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty and Shoe Reels: The History and Philosophy of Footwear in Film.
THE SOHO HOTEL
Hosted in a luxury screening room at The Soho Hotel, the hotel is based in the heart of London’s entertainment neighbourhood. Following the film, enjoy a three course meal at Refuel Bar & Restaurant with a menu that celebrates fresh, seasonal produce.