Rob Heydon

Rob Heydon (born August 19, 1970, Toronto) is a Canadian film director of music videos, feature films and documentaries.

Heydon was born in Toronto, Canada. He honed his producing sensibility at the Norman Jewison Canadian Film Centre for Advanced Film Studies working as a PM and producer. Heydon produced and directed Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy, based on the #1 bestselling novel by Irvine Welsh. He won a 2000 Juno Award for Best Music Video for Edwin's "Alive", which also won People's Choice Award at Much Music Video Awards.

One of Heydon’s first positions in film was assisting Allen Yamashita in a number of ride-film projects and installations. Yamashita was the assistant to Special Effects maestros Douglas Trumbull and Richard Yuricich on Blade Runner.

After directing and producing over 100 music videos and commercials, Heydon went on to shoot the new film Go Further, starring Woody Harrelson (Audience Award runner up prize at Toronto International Film Festival). He produced and direct Rippin, a documentary on professional snowboarders which aired on Movie TV and Citytv, as well as Pleasure Force on the Toronto dance scene.

Heydon directed the Citytv/Space Network television series, Electric Playground. The Magic, his short film premiered at Taos Talking Pictures Film Festival, Taos, New Mexico and showcased on Head F*!K on Sci-Fi Network in UK, Viva in Germany, MTV, M2, Much Music and VOLT on TVO in Ontario. He was invited to attend the first Producer's Network during the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.

Ecstasy Film Inc. is in post production on the feature documentary on Producer’s Rep - Jeff “The Dude” Dowd, the inspiration for the Coen Brothers’ film The Big Lebowski and marketer of some of the biggest independent films, such as The Blair Witch Project, Blood Simple, Gandhi, The Black Stallion, Chariots of Fire.

Heydon directed Hairdo, the opening of the television pilot for F/X Vision Productions. Heydon helped to produce Save My Lost Nigga Soul which won Best Canadian Short Film at the Toronto International Film Festival. Heydon directed and produced Men will be Boys, a 20-minute short film that won 2nd Best Comedy Film and Best Film runner up at the Canadian International Film and Video Festival. Finally, Heydon directed and produced The Silent Pickup Line, a 7-minute short film, Honourable Mention, McGill Film Festival, Montreal and produced The Domestic Jungle, a 5-minute short film directed by Jamie Wilson.

Heydon attended workshops including: Film Marketing and PR at SXSW, Co-Productions at The Toronto International Film Festival, HOT DOCS, HBO Doc PITCH session at Sundance Film Festival. In 2003, he participated in Strategic Partners at the Atlantic Film Festival and Mannheim Meetings in Mannheim, Germany. In 2004, he participated at Producer’s Network at Cannes Film Festival.

Heydon's work as a director and producer was featured on Ninja Tune Recordings Zen TV, a DVD compilation of music videos. Heydon has also been featured on Volt (TV series on TVO) in the episode "Spotlight on Canadian Directors, Movie Television" (TV Series on CityTV and broadcast around the world), The Annual Juno Awards and The Much Music Video Awards.

Ecstasy (a collection of three short stories) was published in 1996. The last short story, The Undefeated, was adapted into the play Ecstasy (by Montreal-based Keith Wyatt) that performed to sold-out audiences and critical acclaim across Canada and at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. After seeing the play, Irvine called it the “best adaptation" of his work. In August 2001 he met with Irvine Welsh to discuss optioning the book in order to create the Ecstasy screenplay and adapt it into a film. Ecstasy was produced and directed by Rob Heydon in 2011.

Ecstasy was awarded Script Development Financing for the third draft from The Movie Network’s Harold Greenburg Fund. Also, Heydon attended the first annual Producer’s Network conference at the Cannes Film Festival 2004 in Cannes, France and was invited to participate in the L’attelier program for International Co-productions. Also, Heydon spends a great deal of time meeting with producers, distributors and sales agents.

Heydon is also developing a slate of films for international co-productions.

Selected filmography

Television Series

• 2015 The Pinkertons, Producer.

Feature films

• 2014 Midnight Sun, Producer.
• 2011 Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy, Director, Producer, Writer. Based on the #1 Bestselling book by Irvine Welsh

Documentaries

• 2003 Go Further, Director, Producer: Ron Mann as Cinematographer
• 1997 Rippin, Director, Producer
• 1996 NYE - Pleasure Force, Director, Producer
• 1995 Jokers High - Pleasure Force, Director, Producer

Video

• 2004 Ninja Tune Recordings Zen TV

Music videos

• 2000 Beautiful Strange, Bedrock
• 2000 I Understand, McMaster and James, BMG Records
• 2000 Never Too Late, Damhnait Doyle, EMI
• 1999 Alive, Edwin, Sony Music
• 1999 Skizofrenik, Plastikman, Plus 8 Records / Sony Music Publishing
• 1999 Packard, Plastikman, Plus 8 Records / Sony Music Publishing
• 1999 It's Obvious, DJ Vadim, Ninja Tune Records
• 1999 Road with Many Signs, The Herbaliser with Dream Warriors, Ninja Tune Records
• 1998 Converge, Plastikman, Plus 8 Records / Sony Music Publishing

Awards

• 2000 Juno Awards, Canada - Best Music Video, for "Alive" (Edwin)
• 2000 MuchMusic Video Awards of 2000, Canada - People's Choice Best Music Video, for "Alive" (Edwin)
• 2000 Much Music Video Awards, Best Cinematography, 2000, McMaster and James's "I Understand" music video
• 2000 East Coast Music Awards, Nomination for Best Video: Never Too Late (Damhnait Doyle)
• 1999 Music Video Production Association MVPA Awards, U.S. - Nomination for Best Electronic Video: Converge (Plastikman)
• 1995 The Canadian International Film and Video Festival., Best Comedy Film and Best Film, "Men will be Boys"
• 1993 McGill Film Festival, Montreal, Nominated Best Film, "The Silent Pickup Line"

External links

• Rob Heydon at IMDb