Press Release

UK’S LEADING DIRECTORS HEADLINE DIRECTORS UK FESTIVAL

12 July 2016

Directors UK welcomes Gurinder Chadha, Stephen Frears and Mandie Fletcher to the third annual Directors’ Festival.

Directors UK are pleased to announce British directors Gurinder Chadha, Mandie Fletcher and Stephen Frears will be headlining this year’s Directors’ Festival, on Saturday 16 July at Altitude London.

All three renowned and award-winning directors will be joining Directors UK members, in central London, for the UK’s biggest celebration of screen directing talent. Each director will be centre stage during exclusive Q&A sessions, answering questions from the audience, for a rare and candid insight into their past projects, experiences on set, methods for directing for the big screen and more. Members will also end the day with a screening of Mandie Fletcher’s Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie.

The Directors’ Festival is a celebration of the craft of directing in all its forms; now in its third year, the festival will be highlighting the process from pitching to post-production. Over the course of a day, members will be able to attend panels, talks, and hands-on sessions including: directing presenters with Steve Smith (The Graham Norton Show), Liz Clare (Sunday Brunch) and BBC One Film... presenter Danny Leigh; how to pitch correctly with Caz Stuart (The Secret Millionaire), Derren Lawford (Mandela, My Dad and Me), Lucy Leveugle (Commissioning Editor at Channel 4) and Diene Petterle (Commissioner at BBC); working with virtual cameras with The Third Floor; directing animated features with Rebecca Manley (FIFA 20 Centres) and Mark Waring (Corpse Bride, Fantastic Mr. Fox); directing commercials with Charlie Targett Adams (Vivienne Westwood and Mercedes Benz), Kim Gehrig (Ikea and Sport England), Andrew Lang (Coca-Cola and FIFA) and Isabella Parish (Evian and Samsung); and powertalks on post-production with Marian Briozzo (Che: Part 1 and 2), Cath Le Couteur (shootingpeople.org), Peter Lawton (Thirty Six Minutes Ltd), and Dado Valentic (Game of Thrones).

Directors UK Chair Beryl Richards commented: “We’re extremely pleased to be able to host another Directors’ Festival, and with such an array of established and influential directors, who have made an impact in the television and film industry, not just in the UK, but across the world. Being able to champion the role and work of directors is very important as they can often be overlooked for their contributions. The festival was created to highlight and celebrate the work they do, and provide new skills, insights and opportunities to develop their craft. At Directors UK we will continue to create opportunities to inspire each other regardless of genre, age, gender or race”.

Directors UK is pleased to welcome back ARRI as sponsors of the Festival Dinner and introduce Kodak as a session sponsor at this year’s event. Directors UK members can log on to the website to see the full line up and book tickets: www.directors.uk.com.

The Festival is for Directors UK members only. Professional directors who are not already members of Directors UK are encouraged to get in touch at [email protected] to find out how to join.

    Notes to Editors:
    • DIRECTORS UK is the single voice of British screen directors representing the creative, economic and contractual interests of over 6,000 members – the overwhelming majority of working film and television directors in the UK. DIRECTORS UK campaigns for the rights, working conditions and status of directors in the industry and works closely with fellow organisations in the UK, Europe and around the world to represent directors’ rights and concerns. It also promotes excellence in the craft of direction both nationally and internationally. In recent years we have worked to provide exclusive events for our members, with leading screen directors such as Amma Asante, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Asif Kapadia, Susanna White, Sarah Gavron, Alejandro González Iñárritu and many others.
Download the press release (PDF)
Author

Tolu Akisanya

Communications and Campaigns Officer

[email protected]

Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more