John Goldschmidt''a British-Austrian film director and producer. Goldschmidt was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, but grew up in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

leaving at the age of 16 to return to London. Goldschmidt has both Austrian and British nationality. He went to the Gymnasium Wasagasse in Vienna and studied at the Czech National Film School and at The Royal College of Art's Department of Film and Television, where he graduated in 1968 with a Master of Arts degree.

Life and career

Goldschmidt was born on 1 August 1943. He made documentary and fiction films for

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

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, ...

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

, Granada Films,

Associated Television ATV Network Limited, originally Associated TeleVision (ATV), was a British broadcaster, part of the ITV (TV network), ITV (Independent Television) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on week ...

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

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 ...

, Film4 in the UK, and

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (; "West German Broadcasting Cologne"), shortened to WDR (), is a German public broadcasting, public-broadcasting institution based in the States of Germany, Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a const ...

Norddeutscher Rundfunk (; "North German Broadcasting"), commonly shortened to NDR (), is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, ...

Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF ; , ) is the national public broadcaster of Austria. Funded from a combination of television licence fee revenue and limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media. Austria was the last country in ...

SRG SSR idée suisse The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (; ; ; ; SRG SSR) is the Swiss public broadcasting association, founded in 1931, the holding company of 24 radio and television channels. Headquartered in Bern, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation is a non-pro ...

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming. France 3 is structured as a Region ...

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship television channel and is known for broadcasting ...

, Bavaria Film, on the European continent, and

HBO Films HBO Films (formerly called HBO Premiere Films and HBO Pictures) is an American production and distribution company, a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. The division produces fiction and non-f ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. His award winning films as producer/director have included ''Just one Kid'' and ''It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow'' (writer Bernard Kops, true stories set in London's East End, Associated Television), as director '' Spend, Spend, Spend'' (starring Susan Littler, writer

Jack Rosenthal Jack Morris Rosenthal (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and over 150 screenplays, including original television plays, featur ...

, about

football pools In the United Kingdom, the football pools, often referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of association football matches taking place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, and may enc ...

winner Viv Nicholson, BBC Television) and ''The Devil's Lieutenant'' (starring

Ian Charleson Ian Charleson (11 August 1949 – 6 January 1990) was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Academy Award, Oscar-winning 1981 film ''Chariots ...

and

Helmut Griem Helmut Griem (6 April 1932 – 19 November 2004) was a German film, television and stage actor, and director. Biography Born in Hamburg, Griem was primarily a stage actor, appearing at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, the Deutsches Schauspielha ...

, writer

, mini series set in Vienna during the last years of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

and based on the novel by Maria Fagyas, Channel 4, ZDF,

), '' A Crime of Honour'' (aka ''

A Song for Europe A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''English alphabet#Letter names, a'' (pronounced ), plural ...

'', starring

David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor. He is known for his work on stage and in television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppenheimer'' (1980) and received the RTS and BPG awards for his pe ...

and Maria Schneider, writer Peter Prince, a true story inspired by the whistle blower Stanley Adams, Channel 4, ZDF, SRG, France 2 & RAI), '' Maschenka'' (writer John Mortimer, based on Nabokov's first novel C4 &

). Goldschmidt's award winning films as producer include ''Utz'' (

Armin Mueller-Stahl Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 17 December 1930) is a retired German actor who also appeared in numerous English-language films since the 1980s. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''Shine (1996 film), Sh ...

, Brenda Fricker and

Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was an English actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award for his work. Scofield ...

, script by Hugh Whitemore based on novel by

Bruce Chatwin Charles Bruce Chatwin (13 May 194018 January 1989) was an English travel writer, novelist and journalist. His first book, ''In Patagonia'' (1977), established Chatwin as a travel writer, although he considered himself instead a storytelling, s ...

) for BBC Films & NDR), '' Deadly Voyage'' starring

Omar Epps Omar Hashim Epps (born July 20, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, and producer. Epps's film roles include ''Juice (1992 film), Juice'', ''Higher Learning'', ''The Wood'', ''In Too Deep (1999 film), In Too Deep'', and ''Love & Basketball''. His ...

, written by

Stuart Urban Stuart Urban (born 1958) is a British film and television director. Early life and education Urban was educated at Rokeby Preparatory School, Kingston upon Thames and King's College School, Wimbledon. At the age of 13, he became the youngest ...

(for

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

Pictures & BBC Films). His television films included directing ''Speech Day'' (BBC Television), directing ''Vampires'' (writer Dixie Williams, BBC Television), executive producing ''Shooting Stars'' starring Helmut Griem (Channel 4 & ZDF), (both written by Barry Hines) and producing the mini-series ''Murder East, Murder West'' (written by Ted Whitehead, thriller set either side of the Berlin Wall, Granada Television & NDR). Goldschmidt directed '' She'll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas'' starring

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a Go ...

( Film Four) and produced ''Captain Jack'' starring

Bob Hoskins Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor and film director. Known for his intense but sensitive portrayals of "tough guy" characters, he began his career on stage before making his screen breakthrough pl ...

(writer

, Granada Films), both films had theatrical distribution. He co-produced and directed the television mini-series ''Nobody's Hero'' (Thames Television). His German language drama-documentary films as director include ''Egon Schiele'' starring Felix Mitterer (also co-writer, ORF &

) and ''Der Narr von Wien'' (aka ''The Fool from Vienna'' writer Felix Mitterer, about

Peter Altenberg Peter Altenberg (9 March 1859 – 8 January 1919) was a writer and poet from Vienna, Austria. He played a key role in the genesis of early modernism in the city. Biography He was born Richard Engländer on 9 March 1859 in Vienna into a Jews, J ...

, ORF & ZDF). His award winning music films as director include ''The Emperor of Atlantis'' (aka Der Kaiser von Atlantis, opera written in Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1943, WDR & BBC Television). His UK drama-documentaries as producer/director include ''Life for Christine'' (writer Fay Weldon, Granada Television &

) and ''The Other Spike'' (dramatisation of comedian

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...

's nervous breakdown, Granada). Goldschmidt's early television documentaries include films for ''

World in Action ''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...

'' (Granada Television), "

Bernadette Devlin Josephine Bernadette McAliskey (née Devlin; born 23 April 1947), usually known as Bernadette Devlin or Bernadette McAliskey, is an Irish civil rights leader and former politician. She served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster in North ...

" (the youngest member of the British Parliament, Associated Television), ''Doing her own Thing'' (

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

, the youngest actress at the RSC, Associated Television),''The Games that Children play'' (LWT), ''The Mirror of Maigret'' (

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 12/13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer who created the fictional detective Jules Maigret. One of the most prolific and successful authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 ...

, Associated Television), ''Our Live Experiment is worth more than 3,000 Textbooks'' (Hornsey art students rebellion, Granada Television), ''The Unlucky Australians'' (the story of the Wave Hill walk-off in Australia, featuring Frank Hardy, Associated Television), ''The Dead End Lads'' (unemployed teenagers dramatised their situation, Associated Television), ''Telling it like it is'' ( Hugh Cudlipp on the state of the nation, Associated Television) and ''A Kind of Exile'' (folk singer

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American Folk music, folk singer and songwriter. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years and was married to the singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. She is a member ...

, Associated Television). At this time, Goldschmidt was blacklisted from the BBC and his file was marked by a member of the BBC staff working for

MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...

. He advised the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

on their audiovisual policy and proposed the setting up of a European Script Fund as part of the EU's MEDIA programme. Goldschmidt's production company Viva Films was set up through an output deal for fiction films with Granada Television in London and NDR in Hamburg. Goldschmidt has been a member of both

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 ...

and European Film Prize (of the

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is a group of European film director, filmmakers who come together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. Every year, the European Film Academy honors films an ...

) juries. He co-wrote (with Michael Radford) the report which proposed Channel 4's involvement in theatrical films, recently co-wrote (with

Don Boyd Donald William Robertson Boyd (born 11 August 1948) is a Scottish film director, producer, screenwriter and novelist. He was a Governor of the London Film School until 2016 and in 2017 was made an Honorary Professor in the College of Humaniti ...

) The Director's Guild of Great Britain's reportDGGB Report to UK Government on Film Tax Credit (by Goldschmidt and

Screen Daily, 25 October 2005 to the British government on the UK tax credit for feature film production and has been a member of the board of Directors UK and of the Directors UK film committee. Goldschmidt directed '' Dough (film), Dough'' in London and

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

in 2015, starring

Jonathan Pryce Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor. He is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards as well as nom ...

. The film was released in the US in 2016, and won several awards.

Awards for film productions

*The British Academy of Film and Television Award (BAFTA) - Director, *The Prix Italia RAI Prize - Music - Director/Writer, *The Golden Nymph - Monte Carlo - Director, *The Cine de Luca Award - Monte Carlo - Director, *Fehrnsehpeis der Oestereichischen Volksbildung - Director/Writer, *Silver Hugo - Chicago Film Festival - Director/Producer, *Royal Television Society Award - Director, *German Cinema Owner's Prize - Berlin Film Festival - Producer, *The Silver Bear—Berlin Film Festival - Producer, *Silver Nymph - Monte Carlo (twice) - Producer, *International Emmy Award Nomination—Drama Series - Director/Producer, *Prix Italia Prize—Nomination for Drama - Director/Producer, *CableAce Award (US) - Nomination – Producer.

References

External links

*
Viva Films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldschmidt, John 1943 births 2025 deaths British film directors