Kiran Acharya

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Kiran Acharya
Kiran Acharya at a screening of the documentary film Dispossession at the Queen's Film Theatre (QFT) in Belfast.jpg
Kiran Acharya
Born1983 (age 41–42)
Northern Ireland
Education
  • University of Stirling
  • University of Copenhagen
  • UCL
AwardsPuttnam Scholarship

Kiran Acharya (born 1983) is a writer and director from Northern Ireland, known for work in documentary film, photography and augmented reality.

Contents

He is a frequent collaborator with composers and musicians including Clint Mansell, Carly Paradis and the Irish thrash metal band Gama Bomb.

He is the recipient of a Puttnam Scholarship, awarded by Oscar-winning filmmaker David Puttnam. [1]

Early life and education

Acharya was born in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland, and was educated at Rainey Endowed and Down High.

He studied at the University of Stirling and the University of Copenhagen, graduating with first-class honours in 2006.

He later studied Internet Technologies and Documentary Filmmaking at UCL, and completed the first of its kind on-chain academic course with the Institute For The Future [2] at the University of Nicosia. [3]

Writing and journalism

In 2006 he began work as a journalist and editor on the now-dormant Culture Northern Ireland [4] website from the Linen Hall Library in Belfast, writing extensively on the arts in Northern Ireland.

He produced features and interviews with notable artists and writers including Michael Longley, Lucy Caldwell, David Park, Medbh McGuckian, Will Self, Daljit Nagra and Colm Tóibín. [5] [6]

As a music journalist he has contributed to publications including Alternative Ulster, Kerrang! and The Quietus, [7] [8] interviewing political artist Ralph Steadman, [9] Deborah 'Skin' Dyer of Skunk Anansie, [10] composer Jon Hopkins, [11] Scottish novelist Irvine Welsh, [12] Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, [13] and Chino Moreno of Deftones. [14]

Music videos and collaborations

As a filmmaker he began editing live and making-of videos with Crunchy Frog Records in Copenhagen.

He has continued to collaborate with musicians including BAFTA-nominated composer Carly Paradis, shooting work in the Mourne Mountains for the song "Heaven Ain't A Place", and with American avant-garde band Oxbow, shooting the video for "Icy White & Crystalline" in San Francisco. [15]

In 2020 he directed the video for "Honesty", a collaboration between New York duo White Hills and Simone Marie Butler, described in the NME as a "brutal" track with "dark and Lynchian" visuals. [16]

As part of a long-term collaboration with Irish thrash metal band Gama Bomb he has directed videos including "Sea Savage", shooting a parody of The Lighthouse at Fanad in County Donegal, "Thunder Over London" [17] and "Speed Funeral". [18]

In 2023 he shot the video for the band's version of If I Should Fall From Grace With God, featuring Spider Stacy of The Pogues. [19]

During the Covid-19 pandemic he collaborated with composer Clint Mansell on Eternity Interrupted, [20] a two-year exploration of London which in turn became a commemorative augmented reality exhibition.

Documentary film

In documentary he has collaborated with directors on films including Dispossession (2017), [21] [22] Year of the Dog (2022) [23] , and Energy - A Documentary About Damo Suzuki (2022). [24]

In 2024 he directed the feature documentary Gama Bomb - Survival of the Fastest, described as "a joyous addition to the story of Irish punk" [25] and "A thumping yarn […] But it is also a touching study of middle-aged men managing complex lives." [26]

He is a member of the Documentary Film Council in the United Kingdom. [27]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mary (2020-07-21). "Eight emerging filmmakers selected for Puttnam Scholars Scheme". Northern Ireland Screen. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  2. ↑ uniceditorial (2024-02-28). "About IFF - University of Nicosia". www.unic.ac.cy. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  3. ↑ Themistocleous, Marinos; Christodoulou, Klitos; Katelaris, Leonidas (2023). "An Educational Metaverse Experiment: The First On-Chain and In-Metaverse Academic Course". In Papadaki, Maria; Rupino da Cunha, Paulo; Themistocleous, Marinos; Christodoulou, Klitos (eds.). Information Systems. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing. Vol. 464. pp. 678–690. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-30694-5_47. ISBN   978-3-031-30693-8.
  4. ↑ "CultureNorthernIreland". www.culturenorthernireland.org. Archived from the original on 2006-01-01. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  5. ↑ Ireland, Culture Northern. "Colm Tóibín". www.culturenorthernireland.org. Archived from the original on 2014-04-02. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
  6. ↑ Acharya, Kiran (2014-12-15). "Kiran Acharya". Culture Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 2015-04-09. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  7. ↑ "Muck Rack | For journalists and public relations". muckrack.com. 2024-07-24. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  8. ↑ "Kiran Acharya Archives". The Quietus. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  9. ↑ Quietus, The (2013-02-17). "A Conversation With Ceri Levy & Ralph Steadman". The Quietus. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  10. ↑ "Skunk Anansie's Skin: "You don't have to be nice. Be a c**t if that's…". Kerrang!. 2019-01-16. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  11. ↑ Quietus, The (2014-11-10). "Time Dilates Around You: Jon Hopkins Discusses Asleep Versions". The Quietus. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  12. ↑ Quietus, The (2013-06-07). "State Of The Union: An Interview With Irvine Welsh". The Quietus. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  13. ↑ "Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon: "#MeToo Is Symptomatic Of A Culture Of…". Kerrang!. 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  14. ↑ "Deftones' Chino Moreno: "It's kind of a weird thing to say, but a lot…". Kerrang!. 2019-12-03. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  15. ↑ Liz ScarlettContributions from Paul Brannigan (2023-05-19). "Here are the best alt. rock songs you'll hear this week, featuring Lana Del Rey, Foo Fighters, PVRIS and more". Louder. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  16. ↑ Trendell, Andrew (2020-10-29). "Primal Scream's Simone Marie Butler teams up with White Hills for 'Honesty'". NME. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  17. ↑ Weaver, James (2021-08-08). "Gama Bomb release new music video for 'Thunder Over London'". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
  18. ↑ Moore, Theron (2023-09-11). "News: Gama Bomb Release Single And Video For 'Speed Funeral'". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-29.
  19. ↑ "Gama Bomb team up with Spider Stacy for thrash metal The Pogues cover". Kerrang!. 2023-03-13. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  20. ↑ Billington, Alex (2020-05-11). "Watch: London Short 'Eternity Interrupted' with Music by Clint Mansell | FirstShowing.net". www.firstshowing.net. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  21. ↑ McCahill, Mike (2017-06-16). "Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle review – balanced look at a dysfunctional market". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  22. ↑ Quietus, The (2017-08-25). "A Conversation We Should Be Having: Dispossession: The Great Social Housing Swindle Reviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  23. ↑ Year of the Dog (2022) . Retrieved 2025-05-28– via letterboxd.com.
  24. ↑ "Feature length documentary about Can frontman Damo Suzuki - The Wire". The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
  25. ↑ "IRISH FOCUS: GAMA BOMB - SURVIVAL OF THE FASTEST". Irish Film Institute. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  26. ↑ "'Sometimes the reality is more Spinal Tap than Spinal Tap': Philly Byrne of Gama Bomb on band's new film". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  27. ↑ "Kiran Acharya". Documentary Film Council. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
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