Edward Watts (director)

Last updated

Edward Watts is an English filmmaker who is known for making documentaries and narrative-focused films. He has created films in conjunction with UK television network Channel 4 and ITN Productions. He is known for films including For Sama (2019), Escape From ISIS (2015) and The Mega Brothel (2015).

Contents

He is the recipient of a number of awards including the Cannes Film Festival L'Œil d'or and the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, both for For Sama. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for the same film.

TV commissions

His 2015 film Escape From ISIS was commissioned by Channel 4 as part of their long-running current affairs documentary programme Dispatches . The film told the story of the treatment of women living under the Islamic State. [1]

His film The Mega Brothel was also shown by Channel 4 in the same year, examining Germany's legalised sex worker industry. [2]

Awards

Escape From ISIS won the 2016 International Emmy Award For Current Affairs [3] and was nominated for the 2016 BAFTA Award for Best Documentary. [4]

For Sama won the L'Œil d'or prize for best documentary at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, [5] the Top Jury Prize at the 2019 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival [6] and the 2019 South by Southwest Audience Award and Documentary Feature Award. [7] It also won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Malle</span> French film director, screenwriter, and producer

Louis Marie Malle was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down", Malle made documentaries, romances, period dramas, and thrillers. He often depicted provocative or controversial subject matter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Lamorisse</span> French filmmaker and writer

Albert Lamorisse was a French filmmaker, film producer, and writer of short films which he began making in the late 1940s. He also invented the strategic board game Risk in 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Audiard</span> French film director and screenwriter

Jacques Audiard is a French film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is the son of Michel Audiard, also a film director and screenwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Kosminsky</span> British writer, director and producer (born 1956)

Peter Kosminsky is a British writer, director and producer. He has directed Hollywood movies such as White Oleander and television films like Warriors, The Government Inspector, The Promise, Wolf Hall and The State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Neely</span> Journalist from Northern Ireland

Bill Neely is a Northern Irish journalist. He was the Chief Global Correspondent for NBC News from 2014 to 2021. He has been a broadcaster since 1981. Neely spent 25 years at ITN's ITV News before retiring from NBC in April 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Britell</span> American film composer

Nicholas Britell is an American film and television composer. He has received numerous accolades including a Emmy Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and a Grammy Award. He has received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score for Barry Jenkins' Moonlight (2016) and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), and Adam McKay's Don't Look Up (2021). He also scored McKay's The Big Short (2015) and Vice (2018). He is also known for scoring Battle of the Sexes (2017), Cruella (2021), and She Said (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Cannes Film Festival</span> Film festival

The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate vote, they were joined by seven other jurors to form the customary nine-juror panel. French actor Lambert Wilson was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies.

L'Œil d'or, le prix du documentaire — Cannes is a documentary film award created in 2015. It is awarded to the best documentary presented in one of the sections of the Cannes Film Festival. Initiated by the Civil Society of Multimedia Authors and its President Julie Bertuccelli, the prize is awarded in partnership with the Institut national de l'audiovisuel and with the support of Cannes Film Festival and its General Delegate Thierry Frémaux. Since 2017, the Audiens Cultural Personal Joint Group has also been a partner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Cannes Film Festival</span>

The 69th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2016. Australian director George Miller was the President of the Jury for the main competition. French actor Laurent Lafitte was the host for the opening and closing ceremonies. On 15 March it was announced that Japanese director Naomi Kawase would serve as the Cinéfondation and Short Film Jury president. American director Woody Allen's film Café Society opened the festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Heineman</span> American documentary filmmaker

Matthew Heineman is an American documentary filmmaker, director, and producer. His inspiration and fascination with American history led him to early success with the documentary film Cartel Land, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, and won three Primetime Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Cannes Film Festival</span> 2017 film festival in Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur, France

The 70th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 2017, in Cannes, France. Spanish film director and screenwriter Pedro Almodóvar was the President of the Jury for the festival and Italian actress Monica Bellucci hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Ismael's Ghosts, directed by French director Arnaud Desplechin, was the opening film for the festival.

Benjamin de Pear was, until 2022, the Editor of Channel 4 News, a post he held since 2012.

<i>Faces Places</i> (film) 2017 film

Faces Places is a 2017 French documentary film directed by Agnès Varda and JR. It was screened out of competition at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival where it won the L'Œil d'or award. The film follows Varda and JR traveling around rural France, creating portraits of the people they come across. It was released on 28 June 2017 in France and 6 October 2017 in the United States. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 90th Academy Awards. The film was Varda's second-to-last work, preceding Varda by Agnès in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Cannes Film Festival</span> Film festival

The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president. The Palme d'Or went to the South Korean film Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho; Bong became the first Korean director to win the award.

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché is a 2018 documentary about the first female filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché, directed by Pamela B. Green. It was screened out of competition at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival in the Cannes Classics category. It was nominated for the festival's L'Œil d'or documentary prize. Be Natural went on to screen at Telluride, Deauville American Film Festival, New York Film Festival, and London BFI Film Festival.

<i>For Sama</i> 2019 film by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts

For Sama is a 2019 documentary film produced and narrated by Waad Al-Kateab, and directed by Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts. The film focuses on Waad Al-Kateab's journey as a journalist and rebel in the Syrian uprising. Her husband is Hamza al-Kateab, one of the few doctors left in Aleppo, and they raise their daughter Sama Al-Kateab during the Syrian Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waad Al-Kateab</span> Syrian filmmaker and journalist

Waad Al-Kateab is the pseudonym of a Syrian journalist, filmmaker, and activist. Her documentary, For Sama (2019), was nominated for four BAFTAs at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards, winning for Best Documentary, and was also nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards. Her coverage of the Battle for Aleppo won an International Emmy Award for Current Affairs & News for Channel 4 News. The pseudonymous surname Al-Kateab is used to protect her family.

<i>The Cordillera of Dreams</i> 2019 documentary film

The Cordillera of Dreams is a 2019 Chilean-French documentary film directed by Patricio Guzmán. It is considered the third installment in a trilogy of films by Guzmán about his native country, Chile, alongside Nostalgia for the Light (2010) and The Pearl Button (2015).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Cannes Film Festival</span> 2022 film festival

The 75th annual Cannes Film Festival is a film festival that took place from 17 to 28 May 2022. The festival featured a tribute to actor Tom Cruise, whose film Top Gun: Maverick premiered at the festival and where the actor was awarded an Honorary Palme d'Or award on short notice. The official poster for the festival was designed as a homage to The Truman Show (1998).

References

  1. ↑ "Dispatches – Escape from Isis review: a story of appalling brutality, and a glimmer of hope". theguardian.com. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "The Mega Brothel, Channel 4, review: 'sharp-eyed'". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "SKY NEWS AND ITN DISPATCHES WIN INTERNATIONAL EMMYS® FOR NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS". iemmys.tv. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "Bafta TV Awards 2016: Winners list". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  5. ↑ "Cannes: 'For Sama' Takes Golden Eye Documentary Prize". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "Hot Docs Awards: PBS Frontline's 'For Sama' Takes Top Jury Prize". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  7. ↑ "SXSW Awards: 'Alice,' 'For Sama' Win Top Prizes". variety.com. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  8. ↑ "2020 EE British Academy Film Awards: The Winners". BAFTA. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  9. ↑ "OSCAR NOMINATIONS 2020 LIST: NOMINEES BY CATEGORY". ABC. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.