Screening Progamme Discussion Chairs John Roberts Feature Film Director After writing and directing a number of independent shorts, John studied direction at the National Film School where his work included the BAFTA winning short film, 'Say Goodbye' (1990). This was followed in 1992 by an Academy Award for his graduation film, 'This Boy's Story', subsequently screened as a Film on 4. John made his feature debut as director, with producer David Puttnam, on Warner Brothers’ 'War of the Buttons' (1994). He made his first US feature, 'Paulie', for Dreamworks. It won the BAFTA award for Best Children's Feature Film in 1998. John’s television work, includes the 2001 feature for BBC Films, 'Station Jim.' He has written many original screenplays and adaptations, for amongst others, Warner Brothers and Miramax, and is currently in pre-production on a road movie set in Cuba, 'Day of the Flowers.'
Larry Sider Film Editor & Sound Designer
Sider has elevated the profile of sound in screen production through the biennial symposium, the School of Sound, an international four-day event exploring the use of sound in film, multimedia and digital art. At the core of the SOS is the integration of theory with practice, and art with entertainment. Speakers at the SOS have included Oscar-winning sound designers Walter Murch and Randy Thom, composers Gabriel Yared, Carter Burwell, Simon Fisher Turner and Heiner Goebbels, and directors Ken Loach and, Mike Figgis. From these meetings came the book, Soundscape: The School of Sound Lectures 1998-2001. The next SOS is in April 2009.
Antony Thomas Documentary Producer/Director Born in Calcutta, Thomas was taken to South Africa when he was six years old. He moved to England in 1967, where he has written, directed and produced 40 major documentaries and dramas. He is also author of a highly-acclaimed biography Rhodes, the Race for Africa. Thomas has succeeded in creating programmes with a strong message that are also highly popular. The opening programme of his 1998 series on obesity, Fat, won three awards from the British Medical Association and was also one of the ten most popular programmes of the week in the UK, with an audience of 9.5 million. When his drama Death of a Princess was originally shown in the United States, it earned one of the highest ratings in the history of PBS, while his 2004 programmes on the Ancient Greek Olympics were sold to 83 countries. His latest offering, a two-hour documentary on The Qur’an, was first shown on British television (Channel 4) on July 14th 2008 and on American television (National Geographic) on August 5th 2008
Nikki Parrott Feature Film & Documentary Producer Nikki formed Tigerlily Films in 2000 with Natasha Dack. She graduated from the London College of Printing (now London College of Communications) with a BA(Hons) in Film and Video. After working for a few years in the press and releasing departments at distributors Metro Tartan, she took up a place on the MA in Film and Television at the Royal College of Art. FILMS Paul Watson Documentary Producer / Director In the early 1970’s Nik Powell set up Virgin Records with Richard Branson and in the space of ten years the pair turned a small mail-order record operation into a multi-million pound conglomerate. In 1982 Powell went into partnership with Stephen Woolley, having sold out from Virgin in the previous year. Together they formed Palace Video, followed by Palace Pictures, and then Palace Productions, soon establishing each as highly regarded entities within the film distribution and production industry. Powell has acted as Executive Producer on all of Palace’s productions including Neil Jordan’s COMPANY OF WOLVES, OSCAR NOMINATED MONA LISA, Michael Caton-Jones’ SCANDAL, and Neil Jordan’s multi Oscar nominated THE CRYING GAME. Nik and Stephen Woolley’s new company Scala produced Iain Softley’s BACKBEAT, Terence Davies’ THE NEON BIBLE, Shane Meadows’ TWENTYFOUR: SEVEN, Mark Herman’s Oscar and Golden Globe nominated LITTLE VOICE, Fred Schepisis’ LAST ORDERS starring Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Tom Courtenay, Helen Mirren, David Hemmings and Ray Winstone, Charles Dance’s LADIES IN LAVENDER, starring Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, Miriam Margolis and Daniel Bruer and Nik also executive produced CALENDAR GIRLS. Nik was appointed Director of the National Film and Television School in 2005, although he remains as non-executive chairman of Scala Productions. He is also: Industry Seminar
Sylvie Bringas Animation Producer/Director Sylvie was born in France where she trained as a visual artist. In 1989 she moved to the UK where she established herself as a producer and maker of animation films. She jointly wrote, directed and produced the short documentary animation SILENCE, which won the Golden Hugo in 1998 and was short-listed for Academy Award Nominations in 1999. In 2002, Sylvie was awarded an Animate! commission for which she made ROOM SERVICE which won Best Experimental Film at Imaginaria in 2005. During her producing years Sylvie started an ongoing creative relationship with directors Robert Morgan (THE CAT WITH HANDS) and Liana Dognini (BYE BYE). She set up Animus Films Ltd in 2002, where she produced award winning shorts – THE SEPARATION (Cymru BAFTA winner, 2003) and MONSTERS (Silver Melies, 2005) by Robert Morgan, HIS PASSIONATE BRIDE (BAFTA nominated in 2004) by Monika Forsberg. Sylvie is currently involved in animation education at the Royal College of Art and Westminster University, where she is developing a research project on African animation practice.
Asif Kapadia Writer/Director
Ken McGaugh Visual Effects Supervisor, Double Negative Ken received a Bachelors of Electrical Engineering at Georgia Tech University where he graduated with highest honours. He then made the leap into Visual Effects as a technical assistant at Industrial Light and Magic. He started developing ground breaking VFX tools at ILM in 1996. In his four years there as Technical Director, he developed the now Ken then moved to Double Negative where he was instrumental in developing volumetric In his year and a half at WETA, Ken’s leading role in sub-surface scattering techniques and shader development for Gollum, has already earned him a VES Award and a Technical Achievement Academy Award. After working behind-the-scenes for a couple of years developing Double Negative's colour and image pipeline, Ken moved into compositing and now VFX Supervising. VISUAL EFFECTS BIOGRAPHY Andrew Speller Skillset Representative, Director of Photography Andrew has been freelance throughout his careers in the Camera Department, progressing through the grades from Documentary Assistant to Focus/1st AC, to Operator and now DoP. In these grades he has been involved in all types of productions, embedded documentaries, promos, commercials, TV dramas and features. The nature of this work means that he has travelled extensively and has developed a genuine interest in other people’s lives and cultures. Used to being presented with all types of situations and environments has given Andrew the ability to respond in a creative and balanced way to the unexpected. As Focus, he worked on many promos including those for Eric Clapton, Tina Turner and Pink Floyd and the features Another Time, Another Place and 1984. As an operator, he worked on many commercials including the well known Renault Clio Nicole…Papa, VW Earing Squeak and the Stella Artois Carnations campaigns. Other features include Defence of the Realm, White Mischief, Venus Peter, and working in the action unit on Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. For Television he has worked on many productions including the award winning series Reckless for Granada. Most of Andrew’s work is as a DoP for TV Drama but Cambodia Dreams, a documentary shot over many years, was recently completed and screened at the Frontline Club in London. Andrew has a keen interest in all the visual arts, both as a spectator and practitioner and is a member of the Guild of British Camera Technicians.
Paul Watson Documentary Producer/Director
Elizabeth Wood Director of DocHouse, Documentary Producer/Director Elizabeth Wood is the Director of DocHouse, established in 2002. As Director of this organisation, she has devoted the last five years to promoting independent documentary in the UK. DocHouse’s activities include a wide range of screenings, educational events and training courses. She has created dedicated cinema slots for international documentary in London at The Other Cinema, The Ritzy, The Barbican, the ICA and the Riverside Studios. In collaboration with The Tate Modern, The London Film School, Film London, the BBC and the National Film and Television School she has designed and run a number of highly successful documentary courses as well as hosting 12 ‘Best of British’ - DocHouse Masterclasses in the cinema sponsored by the Grierson Trust. Elizabeth is a producer/director and has run her own production company - Woodfilm Productions Ltd – from 1980. She was series producer for Bloodties a six part series for BBC2's The History Zone and also Spotlights’99 a six part drama series for Film Four’s new talent during 1999/2001. Amongst the many other programmes, she has produced and directed for Channel 4 is: The Future of Things Past - a feature length documentary on British Calendar Customs surviving in the twentieth century. Formerly she spent six years in the US as a freelance director at WNET and WGBH, after studying at the New York University Graduate Film School and also lectured in film at the Dept of Visual and Environmental Studies, Harvard University. From 1991 to 1998 she was a tutor and then course leader at the Royal College of Art, Film and TV Department and created the documentary specialism for that department. At the National Film and Television School she has supervised and tutored the Documentary Graduation Films. She also executive produced several young film makers for the BBC's ’10 x10' and ‘Picture This' strands and Carlton's ‘Metroland'. Currently she runs the ‘Summerdocs’ course at the National Film and Television School in partnership with DocHouse. She has been External Examiner in undergraduate and postgraduate film departments including at Staffordshire, Middlesex and Goldsmiths University and has served on the Arts Council Production Board, the Board of South West Media Development Agency and as a jury member for the Grierson Awards. She has had articles published in Dox, DocWaves and Vertigo magazines.
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