The Lost Musician of Auschwitz
BBC2/Two Rivers/Access, 1 x 90’ feature
Director
Feature doc for cinema release to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, looking at the role of music in the camp. Combining documentary with stylised drama and musical performances shot around Auschwitz itself.
Executive Producers: Alan Clements, Danny Cohen and Emily Blavatnik.
Game of Throws: Inside Darts
Sky/Dorothy Street Pictures, 3 x 60’
Consulting Director
Working with the showrunners to map out the series, set the style and lead the initial shoot before handing over to the series director.
“Great entertainment with a thoughtful underbelly” 4 stars, The Times.
Executive Producer: Jess Orr
Camden
Disney+/Lightbox, 4 x 60’
Lead Director
Working alongside Oscar winner Asif Kapadia, I developed the series style and directed two episodes. I directed a cast of A-List talent including Dua Lipa, Chris Martin and Little Simz, to create a hybrid narrative led by archive and performances, combined with actuality and interviews with A-list talent. I also led work with the GFX team and DoP’s to create stylised sequences across the series.
Executive Producers: Simon Chinn, Suzanne Lavery, Dua Lipa.
Saved by a Stranger
BBC2/Blink Films, 4 x 60’
Series Director
A self shot investigative history series presented by Anita Rani which combined emotional, unfolding personal narratives with archive led historical story-telling.
“Profoundly affecting… a smart and sensitive examination of trauma, and how that can change over time.” The Guardian
“A masterful blend of serious reportage and deep emotion” The Daily Mail.
Shortlisted: Best Constructed Factual Series, The Grierson Awards 2021
Nominated: Best Popular Factual Series, Edinburgh TV Awards 2021
Executive Producer: Justine Kershaw
Stabbed: Britain’s Knife Crime Crisis
BBC1/Rogan Productions 1 x 60’
Director
A one off special for BBC1 with Duwayne Brooks, exploring the trauma inflicted by knife crime. This self-shot film balanced extremely sensitive unfolding access and narratives whilst working with a first-time presenter.
“Heart-felt, unflinching, elegiac TV that sounds a clarion call for social change”. The Observer.
Winner: Best Domestic Documentary, The Grierson Awards 2019
Winner: Best Presenter, The Grierson Awards 2019
Nominated: Televisual Bulldog Awards, Best Documentary 2020.
Executive Producer: James Rogan
Partygate: Inside the Storm
BBC2/October Films 1 x 60’
Director
Fast turnaround self-shot documentary featuring whistle-blowers revealing what happened inside No10 during COVID. This self-shot film required managing sensitive political access with complicated impartiality and legal considerations.
Executive Producer: Neil Blackwell
The Paris Project
Lightbox/undisclosed
Director
Pilot for high concept new reality doc/fantasy hybrid. In this visually inventive and ambitious project documentary characters fantasies were bought to life in homages to classic French cinema, weaving seamlessly in and out of documentary and fantasy sequences using inventive in-camera techniques. I developed the ideas for each sequence, working with a full multi-department crew including camera and art department to bring them to life on location in Paris
Executive Producer: Simon Chinn
Sarah Payne: The Untold Story
ITV1/Optomen 1 x 60’
Director
An intimate and emotional retelling of the tragedy of Sarah Payne, told through exclusive interviews with her mother, siblings, and the investigating team, archive, and impressionistic reconstruction. The film also features Suzanna Reid, with the additional challenge of weaving limited time with her into the film to create the sense of an embedded, authored investigation.
Executive Producer: Nick Hornby
Lost Boys
BBC2/Swan Films 1 x 60’
Director
A one off special for the BBC Asian Summer season, exploring the challenges facing the current generation of young British Pakistani men. Presented by Mehreen Baig, it received 4 star reviews in both the Guardian and The Telegraph. This self-shot film involved sensitive access, working with a first time presenter and challenging location filming in remote areas of Pakistan in a small crew.
Executive Producer: Joe Evans
Creative
Netflix/Blink Films 1 x 90’
Director
A feature length film exploring the neuroscience of creativity. Led by best-selling author and neuroscientist David Eagleman it features contributions from Nick Cave, Tim Robbins, Bjarke Ingles and Kelis among many more. This self-shot film saw me working with A-list talent and a presenter, whilst distilling complex neuroscience.
Executive: Producer: Justine Kershaw
Reggie Yates: Life and Death in Chicago
BBC1/Sundog Pictures 1 x 60’
Director
A self-shot single exploring the impact of rising levels of gun time and police brutality in Chicago. It involved sensitive access in dangerous and traumatic circumstances, whilst following unfolding narratives.
Executive Producer: Sam Anthony
Nominated: Best Documentary Digital Broadcast Awards 2017
The Brain with David Eagleman
PBS/Blink Films 6 x 60’
Series Director
Flagship documentary series exploring what neuroscience can reveal about what it is to be human, interweaving a presenter with compelling stories, complex science and mind-bending visuals. Working partially with a DoP, I shot significant parts of the series, and initially took two episodes into the edit before returning to shoot the rest of the series.
Executive Producer: Justine Kershaw
A Year on the Farm
4/Keo, 4 x 60
Series Director
Following four farms over the course of a year, this observational self-shot series reveals the secret lives of both British farmers and their animals, discovering the challenges facing farmers today and how their place on the land, and in modern society, is changing.
Executive Producer: Kari Lia.
Inside the National Crime Agency
4/Blast Films 2 x 60’
Series Director
Each film relives one of the National Crime Agency’s biggest cases. The self-shot films combine observational filming with historical retelling and stylised drama, creating a true crime noir drama documentary.
Executive Producer: Alex Sutherland
Woman Raised by Monkeys
NatGeo/Blink Films 1 x 90’
Director
Self-shot feature length drama doc investigating claims by a Colombian woman that she was raised by monkeys, following her quest to find her real family, marrying unfolding narrative shot on location in Colombia with specialist factual, drama and historical story elements.
Executive Producer: Dan Chambers
999: What’s your emergency? (Series 1)
4/Blast Films 10 x 60’
Series Director
Major prime-time C4 documentary series following the emergency services across multiple observational unfolding narratives. I was tasked with setting the series style and took 2 episodes into the edit, one of which was shown at Sheffield Doc Fest 2012.
Executive Producers: Ed Coulthard & Simon Ford
The Boy with the Incredible Brain
Five/Focus Productions 1 x 60’
Producer/DoP
BAFTA nominated scientific documentary which I developed, produced, and shot. It combined an observational unfolding narrative with complex science and inventive graphics.
“visually inventive” The Independent “A terrific film” The Guardian.
Nominated: BAFTA, Best Specialist Factual, 2006
Winner: RTS South West Award, Best documentary, 2006
Director: Steve Gooder