Graham Fitzpatrick

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Graham Fitzpatrick
Born
Edinburgh, Scotland
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active1999–present
Notable work
  • Colours
  • Mum's Birthday

Graham Fitzpatrick is a Scottish film director and screenwriter.

Contents

Biography

Graham Fitzpatrick was raised in the Edinburgh's Royston housing scheme, attending Ainslie Park High School and Broughton High School His YTS traineeship at film workshop Pilton Video offered a basic grounding in film, documentary and drama, working across over sixty productions, including arts and charity films, short films, TV documentaries, mainly as an editor.

After directing several short films with Scottish Screen and BBC Scotland funding, Fitzpatrick studied screenwriting at Screen Academy Scotland developing the script for his first short film as writer and director. Entitled Mum's Birthday, the film tells the tale of Alex, a man who must overcome heartbreak to save his relationship with son Stephen on his wife's birthday.

As with previous work, non-professional actors were used in roles close to their everyday lives alongside professional actors. Young people from Edinburgh's care homes and housing schemes shared the screen with professionals such as Tam Dean Burn. Shot in December 2009 with financial backing from Creative Scotland, [1] the film premiered at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh the following year. [2] The film won Best Actor and Ensemble cast awards at Hollywood Reel Film Festival and Fitzpatrick was nominated in the 2011 British Academy Scotland New Talent Awards writer category. [3]

In 2014, Fitzpatrick made another short film Colours, about an incarcerated gay teenager trying to survive behind bars, working in Scotland's HM Prison Polmont, with inmates given acting roles.

The film was shown at film festivals including Interfilm Berlin, Uppsala International Film Festival and Glasgow Film Festival. [4] The British Film Institute included it in its top 11 films to see at the 11th London Short Film Festival. [5] It also won Best UK Short award at East End Film Festival, and was nominated in the Best Short Film category at the 2014 British Academy Scotland Awards. [6] [7] Fitzpatrick of the nomination that "It is an incredible achievement for everyone involved in the film. I am personally delighted that Colours has been recognised in this way, it is a testament to the hard work put in by the entire team." [8]

He is currently the creative manager of Screen Education Edinburgh. [9] and working on his first feature film 'Make Her Proud'.

Filmography

YearFilmCredited asNotes
directorscreenWriter Producer Film Editor
1999Happy Ever AfterYes
2003Then and NowYesTV movie documentary
2006Yesterday's NewsYesYesYesShort Film
2007Stolen ChristmasYesYesYesShort Film
2009My ShadowlandsYesShort Film
2010Mum's BirthdayYesYesYesShort Film
Girl TMYesShort
2012Pen 2 PaperYesTV movie documentary
Executive Producer
Our WorldYesTV movie documentary
Executive Producer
FriendshipsYesTV movie documentary
Executive Producer
2013Your PaintingsYesTV movie documentary
Executive Producer
Maths in ActionYesYesYesTV movie documentary
Executive Producer
ColoursYesYesYesShort Film
2015The Still Heart BeatingYesShort Film
Associate Producer
Concrete & FlowersYesYesYesShort Film
Executive Producer

Awards

YearNominated WorkAwardCategoryResult
2010Mum's BirthdayLos Angeles Movie AwardsHonorable Mention
2011 British Academy Scotland New Talent Awards Best WriterNominated
2014Colours British Academy Scotland Awards Best Short FilmNominated
Berlin Interfilm FestivalInternational Competition AwardNominated
East End Film FestivalBest UK Short FilmWon
Glasgow Film Festival Bill Douglas Award for International Short FilmNominated
Glasgow Film Festival Scottish Short Film AwardNominated
Hollywood Reel Independent Film FestivalAward of ExcellenceWon
London Short Film FestivalBest Short FilmNominated
Tabor Film FestivalBest Fiction FilmNominated

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References

  1. "Edinburgh filmmakers celebrate Mum's Birthday in Hollywood – ReelScotland". reelscotland.com.
  2. Scotsman Newspaper Article: 'Into the heart of darkness'
  3. "BAFTA Scotland New Talent Awards: Winners in 2011". bafta.org.
  4. "Glasgow Film Festival Lineup Announcement". glasgowfilm.org. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  5. "11 to see at the 11th London Short Film Festival". bfi.org.uk.
  6. "British Academy Scotland Awards: Winners in 2014". bafta.org.
  7. "BAFTA Scotland nominations announced – Film News – The Skinny". theskinny.co.uk.
  8. "Scottish BAFTA nomination for Screen Education Edinburgh". theedinburghreporter.co.uk. 29 October 2014.
  9. "Write Shoot Cut Interview with Fitzpatrick". writeshootcut.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015.