James Thraves is a British film writer and director. He is known for many

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

s and the feature film '' Treacle Jr.'' (2010), starring

Aidan Gillen Aidan Murphy (born 1967 or 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles as Stuart Alan Jones in ''Queer as Folk (British TV series), Queer as Folk'' (1999–2000); Tommy Carcetti in ''The Wire'' (2004–20 ...

Early life and education

James Thraves began making early short experimental films in 1989 at the University of Humberside, having previously studied illustration. His graduation film ''Scratch'' (1991) and ''The Take-Out'' (1993), a short film made under the BFI New Directors scheme, both went on to win awards at film festivals worldwide. He joined the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

in 1993 where he made another award-winning film, ''The Hackney Downs'' (1995).

Career

After leaving the Royal College of Art he joined Oil Factory, a

company, making his breakthrough video in 1995 for

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

for their song " Just" where a man played by

Dorian Lough Dorian Tristan Lough (born 27 April 1966 in Kensington, London) is an English actor who played DS Dave Satchell in ''Trial & Retribution'' (1997-2009). He has also played Ray Taylor in ''EastEnders'' (1996-2005). Other credits include ''Notting ...

is lying on the pavement and is confronted by an angry crowd, this video garnered Thraves a lot of attention for its strong narrative structure and use of subtitles, what the man says to make the crowd lie down at the end of the video still continues to cause discussion amongst fans today. Thraves has made music videos for many artists over the years including Blur,

The Verve The Verve were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones (musician), Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Sim ...

, and

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

and more recently

Jake Bugg Jake Bugg (born Jake Edwin Charles Kennedy on 28 February 1994) is an English singer-songwriter. His self-titled debut album, ''Jake Bugg (album), Jake Bugg'', some of which was co-written with songwriter Iain Archer, was released in October 20 ...

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2012, they rose to prominence when they featured on Disclosure (band), Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch (song), Latch", which peaked at number eleven on ...

and Villagers. His video for Coldplay's " The Scientist" won three Moon Men at the 2003

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

s in the US, including Best Direction and Breakthrough Video. Thraves directed the short film ''I Just Want To Kiss You'' in 1997, starring

Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won two Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most ...

, which won the Fox Searchlight Award for Best Short Film at the

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

in 1998. Thraves made his first feature, '' The Low Down'' (2000), with

Film 4 Film4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, dedicated to broadcasting films. The standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat ...

. It starred

Kate Ashfield Kate Ashfield (born 28 May 1972) is an English actress and screenwriter, who has appeared in stage, TV and film roles, most famously in her role as Liz in the 2004 zombie comedy '' Shaun of the Dead''. She is the co-writer of the 2017 TV series ...

Tobias Menzies Tobias Simpson Menzies (born 7 March 1974) is an English actor. He is known for playing Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in the third and fourth seasons of the series ''The Crown'', for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding S ...

Dean Lennox Kelly Dean Lennox Kelly (born 30 November 1975) is an English actor and voice over artist. He is known for his television roles as Kev Ball in '' Shameless'' and Meredith Rutter in '' Jamestown''. Early life Kelly is from Lytham St Annes, Lancashir ...

, Adam Buxton and

Joe Cornish Joseph Murray Cornish (born 20 December 1968) is an English comedian and filmmaker. With Adam Buxton, he forms the comedy duo Adam and Joe. In 2011, Cornish released his directorial debut ''Attack the Block''. He also co-wrote ''The Adventures ...

. The film was named among the "neglected masterpieces" of film history by ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' in its rundown of 50 Lost Movie Classics. His second feature, ''

The Cry of the Owl ''The Cry of the Owl'' is a psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith, the eighth of her 22 novels. It was first published in the US in 1962 by Harper & Row and in the UK by Heinemann the following year. It explores, in the phrase of ...

'' (2009), an international co-production with

BBC Films BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including ''Truly, Madly, Deeply (film), Truly, ...

, starred

Paddy Considine Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, screenwriter and musician. He is known for playing antiheros in independent films. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard British ...

and

Julia Stiles Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role at age 15 in '' I Love You, I Love You Not'' (1996), ...

. It was based on the novel of the same name by

Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith (born Mary Patricia Plangman; January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character T ...

. His third feature film, '' Treacle Jr.'' (2010), reunited him with Aidan Gillen. At the film's world premiere at the 21st

Dinard British Film Festival Dinard (; , ; Gallo: ''Dinard'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, Brittany, northwestern France. Dinard is on the Côte d'Émeraude of Brittany. Its beaches and mild climate make it a holiday destination, and this has resul ...

it won the Hitchcock D'Or - Grand Jury Prize. ''Treacle Jr.'' had its UK Premiere at the 54th

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 fe ...

. '' Time Out'' said of ''Treacle Jr.'' "Funny, touching and gritty, this coolly rendered observation on need and rejection really is a Brit drama to shout about". Thraves' fourth feature film, ''Pickups'' (2017), is the third to star long-term collaborator Aidan Gillen, who co-wrote the script.

Music videos

;1995 *" Just" -

*" Toes Across the Floor" -

Blind Melon Blind Melon is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn, drummer Glen Graham, vocalist Travis Warren and bassist Nathan Towne. They are best known ...

;1996 *" Charmless Man" - Blur *"

Woman A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or Adolescence, adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functi ...

" -

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (; born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, occasional disc jockey, and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a numb ...

;1997 *" All I Want to Do Is Rock" - Travis *" Lucky Man (US Version)" -

;1998 *" Temper, Temper" -

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is an English music producer, DJ, and actor. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musi ...

*" Being a Girl" -

Mansun Mansun were an English alternative rock band, formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper (musician), Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rath ...

*" Negative" -

;2000 *" Catch the Sun" -

Doves Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

(Version 1 - Unaired). ;2001 *"

So Why So Sad "So Why So Sad" is a song by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers, jointly released in February 2001 as the first single from their sixth studio album, '' Know Your Enemy'' (2001), alongside "Found That Soul". All three members of the band—Ja ...

" -

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Wales, Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, in 1986. The band consists of Nicky Wire (bass guitar, lyrics) and cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, le ...

;2002 *" Sound of Sounds" - Gomez *" The Scientist" -

;2003 *" God Put a Smile upon Your Face" -

;2005 *" Love Steals Us from Loneliness" - Idlewild *" Somewhere Else" -

Razorlight Razorlight are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell. Along with Borrell, the current line-up of the band is composed of founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Dalem ...

*" Half Light" -

Athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

*" I Understand It" - Idlewild ;2006 *"

I Will Follow You into the Dark "I Will Follow You into the Dark" is a song by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie, the third single from their fifth album, '' Plans'', released on July 17, 2006. Written and performed by Ben Gibbard, it is an acoustic solo ballad, and was re ...

" -

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie (commonly abbreviated to DCFC or Death Cab) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The ...

*" Anna Molly" -

Incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...

9 Crimes "9 Crimes" is the first single from the album ''9 (Damien Rice album), 9'' by Irish musician Damien Rice with additional vocals from Lisa Hannigan. It was released on 27 November 2006. The song had a music video directed by Jamie Thraves. Product ...

" -

Damien Rice Damien George Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. He began his career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper (band), Juniper, who were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate succe ...

;2007 *"

Overpowered ''Overpowered'' is the second solo studio album by Irish singer and songwriter Róisín Murphy. It was released on 15 October 2007 by EMI Records. Receiving widespread critical acclaim, the album was more commercially successful than its prede ...

" -

Róisín Murphy Róisín Marie Murphy ( , ; born 5 July 1973) is an Irish singer, songwriter and record producer who first became known in the 1990s as one half of the Pop music, pop duo Moloko alongside the English musician Mark Brydon. After the breakup of M ...

;2008 *"

Daddy's Gone "Daddy's Gone" is a song by Scottish indie rock band Glasvegas. The song was written and composed by the band's singer and guitarist James Allan. "Daddy's Gone" was originally released as a limited edition 7" and a download single through Sa ...

" -

Glasvegas Glasvegas are a Scottish indie rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan (musician), James Allan (vocals), Rab Allan (lead guitar) and Paul Donoghue (bass guitar), with Swedish drummer Jonna Löfgren joining the group in 2010 unt ...

;2009 *"

Fire Escape A fire escape is a special kind of emergency exit, usually stairs or ladders mounted to the outside of a building—occasionally inside, but separate from the main areas of the building. It provides a method of escape in the event of a fire or ...

" -

Fanfarlo Fanfarlo are a London-based indie/ alternative band formed in 2006 by Swedish musician Simon Balthazar. They fuse elements of folk, indie rock and post-punk using eclectic instrumentation including trumpet, violin, mandolin, musical saw, clar ...

;2010 *" I'd Do It All Again" -

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; née Bailey; born 26 February 1979) is a British singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an a ...

Dirtee Disco "Dirtee Disco" is the fifth single from British rapper Dizzee Rascal's fourth studio album ''Tongue n' Cheek,'' although the song only appears in Tongue n' Cheek#Dirtee deluxe edition, the deluxe edition of the album. It features background voc ...

" -

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...

;2012 *" Two Fingers" -

;2013 *" Another Love" -

Tom Odell Thomas Peter Odell (born 24 November 1990) is an English singer-songwriter. He released his debut extended play, ''Songs from Another Love'', in 2012. He won the 2013 BRIT Awards, BRITs Critics' Choice Award in early 2013. Odell's debut studio ...

;2014 *" Money on My Mind" -

*" Stay with Me" -

* "Hold On" -

Twin Atlantic Twin Atlantic are a Scottish alternative rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. The group currently consists of Sam McTrusty (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Ross McNae (bass). Lead guitarist Barry McKenna departed from the band in 2019, but conti ...

;2015 *"Everything I Am Is Yours" - Villagers ;2017 *"

Sweat Perspiration, also known as sweat, is the fluid secreted by sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and Apocrine sweat gland, apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distribu ...

" -

The All-American Rejects The All-American Rejects (often abbreviated as AAR) are an American rock band formed in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 1999.Gabrielle Aplin Gabrielle Ann Aplin (born 10 October 1992) is an English singer-songwriter. After amassing a following for her acoustic music covers on YouTube, Aplin signed a recording deal with Parlophone in February 2012. She rose to prominence the following ...

Filmography

* ''The Low Down'' (2000) * ''

'' (2009) * '' Treacle Jr.'' (2010) * ''Pickups'' (2017)

References

External links

*
Jamie Thraves at Factory Films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thraves, Jamie Year of birth missing (living people) English film directors English music video directors Living people People from Romford