Jane Arden (29 October 1927 – 20 December 1982) was a Welsh film director, actress, screenwriter, playwright, songwriter, and poet.

Biography

She had two sons, Sebastian and Dominic. Sebastian runs Release the British centre of expertise on drugs, the law and human rights. Dominic is the chief executive officer of 3DD Entertainment, a British film distribution and production company.


Death and legacy
Arden took her own life at Hindlethwaite Hall in Coverdale, Yorkshire on 20 December 1982. She was initially buried in Darlington West Cemetery, but on 14 February 2011, her remains were exhumed and moved by her family to Highgate Cemetery in London.

In July 2008, Arden was one of the topics discussed in the Conference of 1970s British Culture and Society held at the University of Portsmouth.

In 2009, the British Film Institute restored the three major feature films Arden made with her creative associate Jack Bond: Separation (1967), The Other Side of the Underneath (1972) and Anti-Clock (1979). The films became available on DVD and Blu-ray in July 2009. Bond was involved in the restoration and reissue processes, and the release of the films was accompanied by exhibition of the restored features at the National Film Theatre and The Cube Microplex in Bristol. Her books – poetry and plays – remain out of print.

As a tribute to Arden, the experimental-music group Hwyl Nofio, fronted by Steve Parry from Pontypool, included the song "Anti-Clock" on their album Dark (2012).