George Amponsah | |
---|---|
Born | George Bernard Amponsah 1968 (age 55–56) London, England |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Film director |
Notable work | The Hard Stop (2015); Gassed Up |
Website | www |
George Bernard Amponsah (born 1968 in Roehampton) is a British film director, who is most notable for his documentaries. His 2015 feature-length documentary film, The Hard Stop , about the death of Mark Duggan, won a 2017 BAFTA nomination for the Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. [1] In 2023, Amponsah completed direction of his first drama feature, Gassed Up – described by The Guardian as "A Scorsese-like thrill ride" – which had a UK nationwide cinema release in February 2024, and subsequently played on the Amazon Prime streaming platform. [2] [3]
Born and raised in London, England, Amponsah is of Ghanaian parentage. [4] He started taking photographs and working with Super 8mm film in the 1980s. In 1989, he attended the University of East London, and a post-graduate film won him a scholarship to take the directing course at the National Film and Television School (NFTS). [4] [5] Since graduating in 2000 from the NFTS, he has taught documentary filmmaking there and at the Met Film School. [4] He continued to work as a tutor with young people, while making short films for the web and developing new feature films. [5]
His 2004 BBC documentary The Importance of Being Elegant was about Congolese singer Papa Wemba. The Fighting Spirit (2007) followed three young boxers in Ghana. [6]
His 2015 feature-length documentary The Hard Stop , about the death of Mark Duggan, was nominated in 2017 for a BAFTA in the category "Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer", [7] [8] and for two British Independent Film Awards: Best Documentary and Breakthrough Producer. [9] [10]
Amponsah's debut drama feature film, Gassed Up , was announced for launch on Amazon Prime Video in 2023. [11] Gassed Up – which tells the story of a London youth who gets mixed up with a rampaging gang of moped thieves – was described in The Guardian as "A Scorsese-like thrill ride", having a UK nationwide cinema release in February 2024 and subsequently playing on Amazon Prime. [2] [3]
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American filmmaker. He emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He has received many accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. He has been honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1997, the Film Society of Lincoln Center tribute in 1998, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2007, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2010, and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2012. Four of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".
Michael Latham Powell was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a series of classic British films, notably The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), A Canterbury Tale (1944), I Know Where I'm Going! (1945), A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus (1947), The Red Shoes (1948), and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951).
The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by The Hollywood Reporter of the top 15 international film schools.
Sandy Powell is a British costume designer. In a career spanning over three decades, she is recognized for her prolific work across independent films and blockbusters. She has received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and two Costume Designers Guild Awards. Powell was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to the film industry.
Lynne Ramsay is a Scottish film director, writer, producer, and cinematographer, best known for the feature films Ratcatcher (1999), Morvern Callar (2002), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), and You Were Never Really Here (2017). She has worked together with actors and actresses such as Tilda Swinton, Samantha Morton, Ezra Miller, Tommy Flanagan and Joaquin Phoenix. The latter of which she is working with on a second feature film. Ramsay was also slated to direct The Lovely Bones until she was replaced by the film's production company with director Peter Jackson. As of 2024, Ramsay is working on numerous feature films that have yet to be released.
Frank Wilton Marshall is an American film producer and director. He often collaborates with his wife, film producer Kathleen Kennedy, with whom he founded the production company Amblin Entertainment, along with Steven Spielberg. In 1991, he founded, with Kennedy, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, a film production company. Since May 2012, with Kennedy taking on the role of President of Lucasfilm, Marshall has been Kennedy/Marshall's sole principal.
Robert Bridge Richardson, ASC is an American cinematographer. Known for his trademark aggressively bright highlight as well as shapeshifting style, he is one of three living persons who has won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography three times, the others being Vittorio Storaro and Emmanuel Lubezki. He has frequently collaborated with Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin Scorsese.
Ainslie Thomas Henderson is a Scottish animator and singer-songwriter. He gained fame via his participation in the BBC's television programme, Fame Academy, in 2002. He signed a recording contract with Mercury Records after leaving the show, having been placed fourth. His subsequent single, "Keep Me a Secret", written alongside fellow contestants in Fame Academy, reached the fifth position on the UK Singles Chart.
Thelma Schoonmaker is an American film editor, best known for her collaboration over five decades with director Martin Scorsese. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and four ACE Eddie Awards. She has been honored with the British Film Institute Fellowship in 1997, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2014, and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2019.
The 44th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, took place on 17 March 1991 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 1990. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, accolades were handed out for the best feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality that were screened at British cinemas in 1990.
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. The festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 feature films and 150 short films from more than 70 countries are screened at the festival each year.
The BAFTA Award for Best Direction, formerly known as David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction, is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to a film director for a specific film.
Mark Jenkin is a Cornish director, editor, screenwriter, cinematographer and producer. He wrote and directed the film Bait (2019), which earned him a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.
The 65th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 12 February 2012 at the Royal Opera House in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2011. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, accolades are handed out for the best feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality that were screened at British cinemas in 2011.
Central Film School (CFS) is a training provider located in South West London. It was founded in 2008 and is on the Office for Students register of approved Higher Education Providers.
The Hard Stop is a 2015 British documentary film, written and produced by George Amponsah and Dionne Walker, about the aftermath of the death of Mark Duggan, a young black man who lost his life at the hands of the Metropolitan Police in Tottenham, north London, in 2011 during a "hard stop" when officers "pulled out in front of Duggan's speeding cab, ready for confrontation" with the armed Duggan. A peaceful protest about the event escalated into several days of rioting that spread across London and beyond, and for a time made news headlines around the world.
Gabriela Cowperthwaite is an American filmmaker. She has directed documentaries and feature films, and she also produces, edits, writes, and directs for television and documentary films. Her films often deal with social, cultural, and environmental issues relating to real life events. Her most notable film is Blackfish (2013), which received a BAFTA nomination for Best Documentary.
Rose Glass is an English film director and screenwriter. She made her feature film debut with the 2019 psychological horror film Saint Maud, which was nominated for two awards at the 74th British Academy Film Awards. In 2020, Glass was named Best Debut Director at the British Independent Film Awards.
Gassed Up is a 2023 British film directed by George Amponsah in his feature film debut, and starring Stephen Odubola. It is co-written by Archie Maddocks with Taz Skylar, who also appears in the film. The film premiered at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival.