Gabriel Range is a British filmmaker, who is probably best known for his fictional political-documentary about the assassination of
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
in ''
Death of a President''.
Range worked in journalism before moving into documentaries and docudrama. In 2003, he wrote and directed ''
The Day Britain Stopped'', a feature-length drama told in the style of documentary. The film earned Range a nomination for a British Academy (
BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
) TV Craft Award for Best New Director and won a
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
Craft and Design Award.
In 2005, Range wrote and directed ''
Death of a President'', which had its debut at the 2006
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
. The film won a total of six awards including; the International Critics Prize (FIPRESCI) at Toronto, the International Emmy Award for the TV Movie/Mini-Series category, the RTS Television Award in the Digital Channel Programme category from the
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
, the RTBF TV Prize for Best Picture Award from the
Brussels European Film Festival for director Gabriel Range, the Banff Rockie Award from the
Banff Television Festival
Founded in 1979, the Banff World Media Festival (formerly known as the Banff World Television Festival) is an international media event held in the Canadian Rockies at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The festival is c ...
for the film and one for director Gabriel Range. The film also received a nomination for Best Visual Effects from the
British Academy TV Awards in 2007.
''
Death of a President'' was distributed by Newmarket Films in the US. Rex Reed of ''
The New York Observer
''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...
'' identified the film as "Clever, thoughtful, and totally believable. This is a film without a political agenda that everyone should see."
8In the ''Toronto Star'', Peter Howell said: "The film's deeper intentions ... elevate it into the company of such landmark works of historical argument as
Peter Watkins's ''
The War Game
''The War Game'' is a 1966 British pseudo-documentary film that depicts a nuclear war and its aftermath. Written, directed and produced by Peter Watkins for the BBC, it caused dismay within the BBC and within government, and was withdrawn bef ...
'',
Costa-Gavras
Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras (; born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thril ...
's ''
Z'' and, closer to home,
Michel Brault's ''
Orders
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* H ...
(Les Ordres)''. Every thinking person should see ''Death of a President''." The film has been shown theatrically in more than 40 countries.
Range was identified in ''
Screen International
''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''.
The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...
s 2006 "Stars of Tomorrow" which labelled him a 'creator of innovative and convincing drama documentaries...acclaimed for their plausibility, naturalism and integrity.'
In 2009, Range began production on ''
I Am Slave
''I Am Slave'' is a 2010 television film produced for Channel 4 on the story of one woman's fight for freedom from modern-day slavery. It premiered on Channel 4 on 30 August 2010. The movie is mostly based on the experiences of Mende Nazer, a S ...
''. Written by
Jeremy Brock
Jeremy Brock MBE (born 14 July 1959) is a British writer and director whose works include the screenplays '' Mrs Brown'', '' Driving Lessons'', '' The Last King of Scotland'', '' Charlotte Gray'', and '' The Eagle''. Brock has also written two ...
, the screenwriter of ''
The Last King of Scotland
''The Last King of Scotland'' is a novel by journalist Giles Foden,
published by Faber and Faber in 1998. Focusing on the rise of Ugandan President Idi Amin and his reign as dictator from 1971 to 1979, the novel, which interweaves fiction and ...
'' and ''
Mrs Brown
''Mrs Brown'' (also released in cinemas as ''Her Majesty, Mrs Brown'') is a 1997 British drama film starring Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher, and Gerard Butler in his film debut. It was written by Jeremy Brock and d ...
'', and produced by Andrea Calderwood, the film is based on Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis' book ''Slave''. Starring
Wunmi Mosaku
Oluwunmi Mosaku (; born July 31, 1986) is a Nigerian-born British actress. She is known for her roles as Joy in the BBC Two miniseries '' Moses Jones'' (2009) and Holly Lawson in the ITV series ''Vera'' (2011–2012). She won the BAFTA TV Award ...
, Isaach de Bankole, Hiam Abbass and Lubna Azabal, the film had its international premiere at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival. ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' praised Range's subtle touch, describing the film as "heart-wrenching" and "unexpectedly gripping". Writing in the ''
Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...
'', Josh Prince described it as "a film of jolting accuracy and real emotional clout". The premiere of the film in the United Kingdom was on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
in 2010, making it eligible for the 2011 BAFTA Television Awards; it was nominated in the Best Single Drama category. ''I Am Slave'' also won Best UK Film at the 2010 UK Music Video and Screen Awards and was nominated for a Broadcast Award (Best Single Drama) and a One World Media Award.
Filmography
Film
* ''
The Great Dome Robbery
''The Great Dome Robbery'' is a 2002 crime drama film directed by Gabriel Range, based on the actual Millennium Dome raid of 2000.
Plot
A group of international jewel thieves is planning to steal the world's largest diamond from its show dis ...
'' (2002)
* ''
Death of a President'' (2006)
* ''
I Am Slave
''I Am Slave'' is a 2010 television film produced for Channel 4 on the story of one woman's fight for freedom from modern-day slavery. It premiered on Channel 4 on 30 August 2010. The movie is mostly based on the experiences of Mende Nazer, a S ...
'' (2010)
* ''
Stardust'' (2020)
TV movie
* ''
The Day Britain Stopped'' (2003)
* ''Supersleuths: The Menendez Murders'' (2003)
* ''
The Man Who Broke Britain
''The Man Who Broke Britain'' is a 2004 BBC Television drama about a financial collapse triggered by a devastating terrorist strike.
Plot
A devastating terrorist strike wipes out much of Saudi Arabia's oil production; the same day a trader of S ...
'' (2004)
References
External links
*
IGN Movies Interview 10/25/06IFilm Interview 10/20/06
{{DEFAULTSORT:Range
British film producers
British film directors
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people