Mamoun Hassan (12 December 1937 – 29 July 2022) was a Saudi-born British screenwriter, director, editor, producer and teacher of film who held prominent positions in

British cinema British cinema has significantly influenced the global film industry since the 19th century. The oldest known surviving film in the world, ''Roundhay Garden Scene'' (1888), was shot in England by French inventor Louis Le Prince. Early colour ...

during the 1970s and 80s, frequently backing

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

work. He was the first head of production of the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

(BFI) and later managing director of the

National Film Finance Corporation The National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC) was a film funding agency in the United Kingdom in operation from 1949 until 1985. The NFFC was established by the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act 1949 ( 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6. c. 20), a ...

(NFFC).

Life and career

Mamoun Hassan was born in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

, in Saudi Arabia on 12 December 1937. He began his career in film working as an editing assistant with

Kevin Brownlow Kevin Brownlow (born Robert Kevin Brownlow; 2 June 1938) is a British film historian, television documentary-maker, filmmaker, author, and film editor. He is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era, having become inter ...

. He made his first distributed short film 'The Meeting', in 1965, for which he was awarded a best prize award at the Oberhausen Film Festival. He was the first head of production of the

from 1971, in which post he instigated the BFI's policy of backing low-budget feature films that charted in new directions; he assisted the director Bill Douglas by securing crew and funding to make '' The Bill Douglas Trilogy'' (1972–78), and financially supported the production of '' Winstanley'' (1975). Hassan was the first to support film that was made by

Black British filmmakers Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psyc ...

about their experiences in Britain:

Horace Ove Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC),Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The r ...

's ''

Pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...

''. After leaving the BFI he taught at the

National Film and Television School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2024 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repo ...

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

. In 1979 he wrote a policy paper for AIP (of which he was a founder member) on the future of the

, which led to him being appointed to the board by the Minister of Trade and Industry. Subsequent to this, he was appointed Managing Director. In this position he backed the film ''

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

'' (1980), ''

Gregory's Girl ''Gregory's Girl'' is a 1980 Scottish coming-of-age romantic comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth and starring John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn and Clare Grogan. The film is set in and around a state secondary school in the Abronh ...

'', ''

Britannia Hospital ''Britannia Hospital'' is a 1982 British black comedy film, directed by Lindsay Anderson, which targets the National Health Service and contemporary British society. It was entered into the 1982 Cannes Film Festival and Fantasporto. ''Britannia ...

'', Raymond Briggs' '' When the Wind Blows'' and again helped Douglas in the production of ''

Comrades In political contexts, comrade means a fellow party member. The political use was inspired by the French Revolution, after which it grew into a form of address between socialists and workers. Since the Russian Revolution, popular culture in the ...

'' (1986). When he wasn't able to support film directly, he would use his influence to ensure they were made. These include Merchant Ivory's '' Heat and Dust'' and '' Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence''. Despite the "brave funding choices" and renewed creativity of the NFFC under Hassan, it was abolished in 1985. Afterwards he worked as a film producer, screenwriter, consultant, lecturer and teacher in the field of cinema. Hassan died on 29 July 2022, at the age of 84.

Filmography

Television Credits

References

External links

*
Official website
1937 births 2022 deaths British film directors British male screenwriters People from Jeddah Saudi Arabian emigrants to the United Kingdom British film studio executives {{UK-film-director-stub