Born in London to an English father and an immigrant Jewish refugee mother, she was educated at the Parliament Hill School for Girls in Camden. She first appeared on screen as Lucy Collins in the Liverpool soap opera Brookside from 1982 to 1988 and later became well known for her film work with directors such as Mike Leigh and Lars von Trier.
The first year's award was selected by Mike Leigh and given to Greg Hall for The Plague (2004) at the 10th Sarajevo film festival who described it as "Serious, funny, real, surreal, and totally anarchic. Very exciting twenty first Century kind of cinema."
The second award, at 11th Sarajevo Film Festival, was chosen by Emily Watson and given to Amy Neil for her short film Can't Stop Breathing.