Sebastian Thiel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Sebastian Henry Thiel 31 August 1990 |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, writer, producer |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Agent | Cathy King |
| Notable work | Just a Couple , Dreaming Whilst Black, Riches , Supacell |
| Website | www.sebastian-thiel.com |
Sebastian Henry Thiel (born 31 August 1990) is a film director, writer and producer.
Sebastian Thiel's career in filmmaking commenced in 2008, following his pivot from aspirations in basketball. He established Upshot Entertainment, focusing on the production of short films and comedy sketches, and started distributing his self-produced videos on YouTube. His early projects garnered attention, notably receiving recognition from Richard Branson, who highlighted Thiel as a Virgin Media Pioneer. [1]
By 2012, Thiel earned a spot on the Evening Standard's list of the Top 25 under 25 most influential Londoners [2] and his short film Illegal Activity secured the Screen Nation Digital award. [3] His documentary "Trap Town," which delves into the 2011 England riots, aired on London Live in 2014. [1]
In 2017, Thiel took on multiple roles as the director, writer, and editor for Just a Couple starring his sister, Frieda Thiel, Michael Salami, Weruche Opia and Sean Sagar. This series, produced by Big Talk Productions. [4] and aired on BBC Three, was recognised with several awards, including the "favourite comedy production" at Screen Nation and the "Debut Writer" award at The Debbies. [5] It contributed to his inclusion on BBC's "new talent hotlist," curated by Idris Elba and Tony hall. [6]
Within the UK's black film community, Thiel is frequently mentioned as a notable young black director who has made significant strides in television in recent years. [7]
Thiel's engagement extends beyond filmmaking to public speaking, where he shares insights on creativity and social entrepreneurship [8] As a teenager, he was a student at The School for Social Entrepreneurs. Collaborating with Entrepreneur Paul Lindley OBE and Musician Emmanuel Jal , Thiel worked on a documentary focusing on social entrepreneurship in Kenya, which was featured at One Young World. [9] His company received the iDEA award, presented at Buckingham palace, in recognition of business innovation. [10] In his TedxTalks , [11] Thiel discusses the role of entertainment in societal change, emphasizing the importance of conscientious content creation, particularly in filmmaking, with a focus on supporting disenfranchised youth. [12]
In 2019, John Boyega and Sebastian Thiel announced a collaborative project on Vice and Timeout, [13] inspired by their childhoods. Thiel is represented by WME in Los Angeles [14] and 42 in the UK. [15]
Kwame Kwei-Armah is a British actor, playwright, director and broadcaster. He is best known for playing paramedic Finlay Newton in the BBC medical drama Casualty from 1999 until 2004. In 2005, Kwei-Armah became the second black Briton to have a play staged in the West End of London. Kwei-Armah's award-winning piece Elmina's Kitchen transferred to the Garrick Theatre in 2005. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to drama. He was artistic director of the Young Vic theatre in London, succeeding David Lan, announcing his departure in February 2024.
Idrissa Akuna Elba is an English actor, rapper, singer, and DJ. An alumnus of the National Youth Music Theatre in London, he is known for roles including Stringer Bell in the HBO series The Wire (2002–2004), DCI John Luther in the BBC One series Luther (2010–2019), and Nelson Mandela in the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013). For Luther, he received four nominations each for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, winning one of the former.
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Douglas James Anderson is a Scottish radio and television presenter writer and voice-over artist who trained at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh.
James Olatokunbo Akingbola is a Nigerian-British television, theatre and film actor. He rose to fame playing PC Neil Parker in Holby Blue, and subsequently Antoine Malick in its parent series Holby City. He has subsequently appeared as Koji in the first series of the sitcom Kate & Koji, Valentine Easmon in In the Long Run, and Geoffrey Thompson in Bel-Air.
"Respect My Conglomerate" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Busta Rhymes, released on April 4, 2009, as the third single from Back on My B.S. (2009). It is also featured as a bonus track from Jadakiss's third album The Last Kiss (2009). The track features verses from fellow American rappers Jadakiss and Lil Wayne, and features backing vocals by guest vocalist Debby Coda. The song was released digitally on April 4, 2009.
Layla Machado Garry, better known as Layla Anna-Lee, is an English television presenter, specialising in sports.
John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega, known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He first rose to prominence in Britain for his role as a teenage gang leader in the comedy horror film Attack the Block (2011), and had his international breakthrough playing Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy films The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He received the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2016, and the Trophée Chopard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
Newzoids is a British topical satirical sketch show, which was co-produced by Citrus Television and Factory for ITV and broadcast for two series between 15 April 2015 and 8 October 2016.
Nana Means King is a 2015 Ghanaian film directed and produced by Nana Obiri Yeboah.
Watership Down is a CGI-animated adventure fantasy drama television miniseries directed by Noam Murro. It is based on the 1972 novel of the same name by Richard Adams and adapted by Tom Bidwell. It was released on 22 December 2018 in the United Kingdom and internationally on Netflix the next day. The BBC broadcast comprised two back-to-back episodes per day.
Guerrilla is a British drama television series set in early 1970s London, against the backdrop of the Immigration Act 1971 and British black power movements such as the British Black Panthers and Race Today Collective. It was written and directed by John Ridley and stars Idris Elba, Freida Pinto and Babou Ceesay in leading roles. Guerrilla debuted on Sky Atlantic on 13 April 2017 and on Showtime on 16 April 2017.
Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay is a British actor. He is known for his role in Guerrilla. He also starred as the main antagonist Pilgrim in season 3 of AMC TV series Into the Badlands.
Identity School of Acting is a part-time drama school that was founded in London, England by Femi Oguns in 2003. A second branch and campus opened in Los Angeles, California in 2018.
The 2019 Powerlist rankings were released in October 2018 and saw Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. included in the list for the first time, and named Ric Lewis as the most influential individual
Just a couple is a British comedy-drama television miniseries created by Sebastian Thiel. Originally pitched by Upshot Entertainment in 2013, it was then further developed by Big Talk Productions in 2016.
In the Long Run is a British comedy-drama television series created by Idris Elba which premiered on Sky One on 29 March 2018. Loosely based on Elba’s childhood, the show is set in the 1980s on the gritty, fictitious Eastbridge Estate in East London. The series follows the Easmon family; Walter (Elba), his wife Agnes and their 13-year-old British-born son Kobna who have settled in England after having arrived from Sierra Leone.
The 14th annual Powerlist, which names the 100 most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage in the United Kingdom, was judged by an independent panel and published in November 2020, sponsored by JP Morgan & Co, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Linklaters, Refinitiv, Herman Miller, Facebook and The Executive Leadership Council. The 2021 Powerlist came in a year in which public debate on racial injustice had increased, with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and global protests against police brutality. Therefore, chief executive Michael Eboda decided that the 14th Powerlist would honour those who have used their voice to advocate against racial injustice. Furthermore, the rankings highlighted the work of healthcare professionals during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which also resulted in the awards being held virtually on 17 November 2020, hosted by Kwame Kwei-Armah.
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Supacell is an upcoming drama television series. Rapman serves as showrunner, creator, writer and lead director on the project for Netflix. Sebastian Thiel also directs three episodes.
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