David Mackenzie (director)
David Mackenzie | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Organization | Sigma Films |
David Mackenzie is a British film director and co-founder of the Glasgow based production company Sigma Films.[1] He has made nine feature films including Young Adam (2003), Hallam Foe (2007), Perfect Sense (2011) and Starred Up (2013).[2] Mackenzie's most recent film, Hell or High Water (2016), premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2016 and will be released in the second half of 2016.
As a film director, David Mackenzie resists genre and typecasting, and so can't be neatly pigeonholed.[3] His signature has been not to have one, except for the immense passion he’s channeled through each of his projects.[4]
Career
After studying at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, David Mackenzie began his directorial career with a series of well-regarded shorts, the first being Dirty Diamonds (1994). After that came California Sunshine (1997), which starred his brother Alastair Mackenzie, and won a number of awards including a BAFTA for Best Short Film. Somersault and Marcie's Dowry (both 2000) also won international awards.[5]
Mackenzie then made his feature film debut with The Last Great Wilderness (2002), which again starred Alastair Mackenzie, this time as a man looking to exact revenge by burning down his wife's lover's house in the Highlands. The film begins as a comedy gangster thriller, then wanders into horror film territory before subverting all expectations and delivering something altogether different instead.[6] It premiered at TIFF in 2002.
He followed this with his acclaimed adaptation of Scots beat writer Alexander Trocchi’s cult novel,[7] Young Adam (2003). It features Ewan McGregor as a young drifter working on a river barge as he disrupts his employers' lives while hiding the fact that he knows more about a dead woman found in the river than he admits. Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan and Emily Mortimer also star.[8] The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2003, and played TIFF and Telluride, winning Best Film and Best Director at the 2004 BAFTA Scotland awards. Tilda Swinton and Ewan McGregor both won Scottish BAFTAs for their performances.[9] The film also won the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature at EIFF,[10] and British Newcomer of the Year at the London Critics Circle Awards[11] and was nominated for four BIFA nominations [12] and several European Film Academy Awards.[13]
Mackenzie then made Asylum (2005), adapted from Patrick McGrath's book and starring Natasha Richardson, Sir Ian McKellen, Hugh Bonneville and Marton Coskas. It follows Richardson's character as she becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.[14] It was nominated for Berlin's Golden Bear [15] and won the Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival.[16]
Next, Mackenzie made the highly regarded Hallam Foe, starring Jamie Bell and Sophia Myles. The film is adapted from the book by Peter Jinks and follows the voyeuristic title character as he runs away to Edinburgh and becomes transfixed by a beautiful woman who looks uncannily like his late mother. Again, this film won many awards including a Silver Bear in Berlin 2007,[17] the Golden Hitchcock and Kodak Award for Cinematography at the Dinard Festival of British Cinema 2007,[18] and the 2008 National Board of Review Award for Top Independent Film,[19] as well as numerous other nominations including for Bell and Myles' performances.
After that came the sex satire Spread (2009), which marked Mackenzie's first feature in the USA. The film follows Ashton Kutcher's LA gigolo as he begins living with a rich older client played by Anne Heche. Spread had its premiere at Sundance in 2009.
Mackenzie followed this by returning to Glasgow - where Sigma Films is based - to make sci-fi romance Perfect Sense (2011). The film follows a burgeoning romance between Ewan McGregor and Eva Green against the backdrop of a global epidemic of people losing their senses one by one.[20] The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011 and went on to pick up awards at film festivals around the world including Edinburgh, Bratislava and Philadelphia International Film Festivals.
Almost straight after Perfect Sense, Mackenzie directed the comedy musical You Instead (2011) [released as Tonight You’re Mine in the United States]. The film stars Luke Treadaway and Natalie Tena as two rival rock stars who get handcuffed together. It was filmed over five days at the Scottish music festival T in the Park in 2010 and the cast and crew had to adopt a kind of guerrilla filmmaking approach to shoot amidst the chaos of a music festival.[21] It premiered at both T in the Park in 2011 as well as at Austin based music and film festival SXSW.[22]
Mackenzie then turned his hand to prison drama with Starred Up (2013). It features Jack O'Connell as a young offender who is moved into an adult prison where his estranged and incarcerated father resides. O'Connell stars alongside Ben Mendelsohn and Rupert Friend. The film is based on the writer Jonathan Asser's experiences as a voluntary therapist in HM Prison Wandsworth.[23][24] It premiered at Telluride 2013 and went on to win numerous awards including the BAFTA Scotland 2014 Best Film and Best Director Awards,[25] get nominated for seven BIFAs [26] and holds a remarkable 99% Rotten Tomatoes score.[27]
Most recently, Mackenzie returned to the States to make Hell or High Water starring Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges and Ben Foster. The film follows two brothers (Pine and Foster) as they go on a bank robbing spree across Texas whilst being pursued by a Texas Ranger (Bridges) and his partner (Gil Birmingham). It premiered in the Cannes 2016 Un Certain Regard competition [28] and was met with critical acclaim.[29]
Filmography
Film
- The Last Great Wilderness (2002)
- Young Adam (2003)
- Asylum (2005)
- Hallam Foe (2007)
- Spread (2009)
- Perfect Sense (2011)
- You Instead (2011)
- Starred Up (2013)
- Hell or High Water (2016)
Short Film
- Dirty Diamonds (1994)
- California Sunshine (1997)
- Somersault (2000)
- Marcie's Dowry (2000)
Awards
| Year | Nominated Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Young Adam | Best Film | Win |
| Best Director | Win | ||
| 2007 | Hallam Foe | Best Film | Nominated |
| Best Screenplay (with Ed Whitmore) | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | Perfect Sense | Best Feature Film | Nominated |
| Best Director | Nominated | ||
| Audience Award - Favourite Scottish Film | Nominated | ||
| You Instead | Audience Award - Favourite Scottish Film | Nominated | |
| 2013 | Starred Up | Best Feature Film | Win |
| Best Directing in Film or TV | Win |
Berlin International Film Festival
| Year | Nominated Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Asylum | Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas | Win |
| Golden Berlin Bear | Nominated | ||
| 2007 | Hallam Foe | Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas | Win |
| Silver Berlin Bear - Best Film Music | Win | ||
| Golden Berlin Bear | Nominated |
British Independent Film Awards
| Year | Nominated Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Young Adam | Best British Independent Film | Nominated |
| Best Director | Nominated | ||
| 2007 | Hallam Foe | Best British Independent Film | Nominated |
| Best Director | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay (with Ed Whitmore) | Nominated | ||
| Best Technical Achievement (with Colin Monie for Music) | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | You Instead | Best Achievement in Production | Nominated |
| 2013 | Starred Up | Best British Independent Film | Nominated |
| Best Director | Nominated | ||
| Best Achievement in Production | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Young Adam | Un Certain Regard | Nominated |
| 2016 | Hell or High Water | Un Certain Regard | Nominated |
Edinburgh International Film Festival
| Year | Nominated Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Young Adam | Best British New Feature | Win |
| 2011 | Perfect Sense | Best British New Feature | Win |
Directed Recognised Performances
| Year | Nominated Work | Performer | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAFTA Scotland Awards | ||||
| 2003 | Young Adam | Ewan McGregor | Best Actor in a Scottish Film | Win |
| Tilda Sinton | Best Actress in a Scottish Film | Win | ||
| 2007 | Hallam Foe | Jamie Bell | Best Actor | Nominated |
| Sophia Myles | Best Actress | Win | ||
| 2013 | Starred Up | Jack O'Connell | Best Actor - Film | Nominated |
| British Independent Film Awards | ||||
| 2003 | Young Adam | Ewan McGregor | Best Actor | Nominated |
| Tilda Sinton | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
| 2005 | Asylum | Natasha Richardson | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2007 | Hallam Foe | Jamie Bell | Best Actor | Nominated |
| Sophia Myles | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | Starred Up | Jack O'Connell | Best Actor | Nominated |
| Ben Mendelson | Best Supporting Actor | Win | ||
| Rupert Friend | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | ||
Sigma Films
Along with producer Gillian Berrie, David Mackenzie is a partner in Sigma Films. As well as producing Mackenzie's own films, the company has produced other directors' pictures including Andrea Arnold's Red Road (2006), Jonathan Glazer's Under The Skin (2013), Lars von Trier's Dogville (2003) and Robert Carlyle's The Legend of Barney Thomson (2015).[30]
Sigma Films founded the production and post-production facility Film City Glasgow and runs Jumpcut, a new-entrants scheme dedicated to providing a fast-track into the screen industries for young and disadvantaged people.[31]
References
- ^ "David Mackenzie". 25 August 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ "David Mackenzie". IMDb. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Mackenzie, David (1966-) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ "Interview: David Mackenzie on Evolving
as a Director With "Starred Up"
". The Moveable Fest. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2016. - ^ "BFI Screenonline: Mackenzie, David (1966-) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ "BBC - Films - review - The Last Great Wilderness". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "Young Adam Movie Review & Film Summary (2004) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ Mackenzie, David (26 September 2003), Young Adam, retrieved 13 July 2016
- ^ "Young Adam scores Bafta success". BBC. 15 November 2004. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ http://www.line.uk.com/. "Past Award Winners". Edinburgh International Film Festival. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
{{cite web}}: External link in|last= - ^ "Young Adam receives seven nominations in London Film Critics awards". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ BIFA. "Nominations - Awards 2003 - BIFA - The British Independent Film Awards". www.bifa.film. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ "Europejska Akademia Filmowa 2003 - Filmweb". www.filmweb.pl. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ Mackenzie, David (9 September 2005), Asylum, retrieved 13 July 2016
- ^ "| Berlinale | Archive | Annual Archives | 2005 | Programme". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ "Asylum gets German art-house prize". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ Scott, A. O. (4 September 2008). "Stalking in Scotland, the Aerial Perspective". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ "'Hallam Foe' takes top prize at Dinard fest". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ^ "2008 Archives - National Board of Review". National Board of Review. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ^ "Interview: David Mackenzie on Perfect Sense and You Instead". The List. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ "Interview: David Mackenzie on Perfect Sense and You Instead". 24 August 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ "T in the Park film returns to festival for premiere". BBC News. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ SouthwarkTV (23 October 2013), SVI - Shame/Violence Intervention (Jonathan Asser), retrieved 2 May 2016
- ^ Asser, Jonathan (8 March 2014). "'If I move he'll attack': mastering rage in prisoners". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ "British Academy Scotland Awards 2014 Winners Annouced". www.bafta.org. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ BIFA. "Nominations - Awards 2013 - BIFA - The British Independent Film Awards". www.bifa.film. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ "Starred Up". www.rottentomatoes.com. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ Hopewell, Elsa Keslassy,John (22 April 2016). "Asghar Farhadi's 'The Salesman' Joins Cannes Film Festival Competition". Variety. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Hell or High Water, retrieved 13 July 2016
- ^ "Sigma Films". Sigma Films. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ Fielder, Miles. "Interview: David Mackenzie on Perfect Sense and You Instead". The List (Edinburgh/Glasgow). Retrieved 4 November 2013.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
 | This article about a British film director is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |