Mat Whitecross (born 21 September 1977) is an English film director, editor and screenwriter. He began his career working for filmmaker

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', ''Wonderland (1999 film), Wonderland'' and ''24 ...

and producer Andrew Eaton at Revolution Films, being also known for directing '' The Road to Guantánamo'',

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was an English singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame in the late 1970s, during the punk rock, punk and new wave music, new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Kilburn ...

biopic '' Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll'', as well as music documentaries '' Oasis: Supersonic'' and '' Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams''. Whitecross has also directed music videos for

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 ...

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

and

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, being a long-time collaborator of the former band.

Life and career

Whitecross was born and raised on Oxford. His parents were political refugees who were imprisoned in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

during the country's Dirty War. He takes inspiration from the place where he was raised and from his parents' friends, many of whom are South American immigrants who fled tortures and prison. He began his career working for filmmaker

and producer Andrew Eaton at Revolution Films as a runner on the film 24 Hour Party People. Within a few months of starting at Revolution Films, they gave him the chance of shooting and editing for them. His directorial debut ''The Road to Guantanamo'' started as a conversation with Winterbottom about the Tipton Three whilst on the shoot for the film 9 Songs. They both agreed that the story was fascinating and worth of a film but due to other commitments, Winterbottom was unable to begin research and preparation, suggesting that Mat should start the process. Whitecross and Winterbottom would go on to co-direct and co-write the film that featured Riz Ahmed in his debut acting role. ''The Road to Guantánamo'' won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 56th

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

and

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

for Best Documentary Feature.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music video

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitecross, Mat 1977 births Living people English film directors English music video directors English screenwriters English male screenwriters Silver Bear for Best Director recipients