Beeban Kidron is an English Film Director known for her much-lauded adaptation of
Jeanette WintersonJeanette Winterson OBE is a British novelist.-Early years:Winterson was born in Manchester and adopted on 21 January 1960. She was raised in Accrington, Lancashire, by Constance and John William Winterson...
's
autobiographical novelAn autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fiction elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction...
Oranges Are Not the Only FruitOranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a novel by Jeanette Winterson published in 1985, which she subsequently adapted into a BBC television drama...
and for directing
Bridget Jones: The Edge of ReasonBridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is a 1999 novel by Helen Fielding, a sequel to her popular Bridget Jones's Diary. It chronicles Bridget Jones's adventures after she begins to suspect that her boyfriend, Mark Darcy, is falling for a rich young solicitor who works in the same firm as him, a woman...
. In 2008 with Lindsey Mackie she founded the charity Filmclub, which has since grown to be one of the largest and most influential after-school clubs in the UK, attracting over 160,000 children and young people each week.
Early Life and Career
Kidron was born in North London in 1961 to parents Nina and
Michael KidronMichael Kidron was a revolutionary thinker and cartographer. He was part of the leadership of the International Socialists through the 1960s and 1970s. He is perhaps best remembered for his visually arresting The State Of The World Atlas.-Early life and career:Kidron was born on 20 September...
. Her father Michael was a Marxist economist and Beeban spent several years living in Yorkshire whilst he taught at the
University of HullThe University of Hull, known informally as Hull University, is an English university, founded in 1927, located in Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire...
. She first took up photography when she was given a camera by landscape photographer
Fay GodwinFay Godwin was a noted British photographer, most widely known for her black-and-white landscapes of the British countryside and coast.-Career:Through her husband, Godwin was introduced to the London literary scene...
during a period when she was unable to speak following a throat operation. Her photographs were spotted by photographer
Eve ArnoldEve Arnold, FRPS is an American photojournalist. She joined Magnum Photos agency in 1951, and became a full member in 1957....
who she worked for at the age of 16 for two years. Aged 20 Kidron enrolled the prestigious National Film School as a camera woman. At the end of her three years of film school, Kidron switched to directing and stayed on for another year.
In 1983 she made her first documentary Carry Greenham Home with co-director Amanda Richardson. It was filmed during the year that they spent at the
Greenham Common Women's Peace CampGreenham Common Women's Peace Camp was a peace camp established to protest at nuclear weapons being sited at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, England. The camp began in September 1981 after a Welsh group, Women for Life on Earth, arrived at Greenham to protest against the decision of the British...
during the anti nuclear protests. Carry Greenham Home took Beeban and Amanda all the way to the Berlin Film Festival and to celebrate Greenham's 25th year anniversary it was revived through the
GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
backed website www.yourgreenham.com.
In 1988 she made her first feature film Vroom which starred
Clive OwenClive Owen is an English actor, who has worked on television, stage and film. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for portraying the lead in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991...
in his debut movie. However she really gained notoriety with her 1989 BBC adaptation of
Jeanette WintersonJeanette Winterson OBE is a British novelist.-Early years:Winterson was born in Manchester and adopted on 21 January 1960. She was raised in Accrington, Lancashire, by Constance and John William Winterson...
s autobiographical novel
Oranges Are Not the Only FruitOranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a novel by Jeanette Winterson published in 1985, which she subsequently adapted into a BBC television drama...
. Oranges was a big hit winning three Baftas including best drama series/serial. Kidron also won an audience award at the San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. In 2010 the Guardian named Oranges the eighth best TV series of all time, losing out to HBO's
The SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
but beating competition including
The Wirethe WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
and The West Wing.
Following the success of Oranges Kidron continued to work for the BBC making TV feature film Antonia and Jane distributed by Miramax in the USA and TV film Itch. In 1992 Kidron moved to Hollywood to make
Used PeopleUsed People is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron. The screenplay by Todd Graff, adapted from his 1988 off-Broadway play The Grandma Plays , takes a humorous look at a highly dysfunctional family living in the New York City borough of Queens circa 1969...
with
Shirley MacLaineShirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
and
Marcello MastroianniMarcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni, Knight Grand Cross was an Italian film actor. His honours included British Film Academy Awards, Best Actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival and two Golden Globe Awards.- Personal life :...
. A year later she returned to the UK to pair up with Winterson for the second time for the BBC film Great Moments in Aviation. Later that year she returned to the States to make Hookers Hustlers Pimps and Their Johns, a hard hitting documentary about the
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
sex industry.
In 1994 she made To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar a drag queen road movie starring
Wesley SnipesWesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
and
Patrick SwayzePatrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
. It was whilst filming that she and then partner Spencer Style gave birth to their first child Noah Kidron-Style. In 1997 she made Amy Foster, (Swept from the Sea) starring
Rachel WeiszRachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
and
Ian McKellenSir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
. Her second child Blaze Kidron-Style was born in February 1997.
Over the next few years Kidron made a number of TV films both at home and abroad, including Cinderella, Texarkana and Murder, for which she was nominated for a second Bafta. In 2004 she directed the in the Bridget Jones series, 2004 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, starring
Renée ZellwegerRenée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
,
Colin FirthSirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
and
Hugh GrantHugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
. It was a box office success and was one of Britain's top ten grossing movies ever .
In 2007 she made a documentary about neighbor and friend, the sculptor Anthony Gormley. Beeban and her husband, playwright and author of
Billy ElliotBilly Elliot is a 2000 British drama film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Set in the fictional town of "Everington" in the real County Durham, UK, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer, Gary Lewis as his coal miner father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older...
Lee HallLee Hall may refer to:People:* Lee Hall , US lawyer and animal rights activist* Lee Hall , English playwright and screenwriter* Lee Hall , news anchor for WEEK-TV in Peoria, Illinois...
, then began work on Hippie Hippie Shake a film about the OZ magazine trials. The film was shot in 2009 with
Sienna MillerSienna Rose Diana Miller is a British-American actress, model, and fashion designer, best known for her roles in Layer Cake, Alfie, Factory Girl, The Edge of Love and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2007, the London Film Criticsnamed her British Actress of the Year for Interview...
and
Cillian MurphyCillian Murphy is an Irish film and theatre actor. He is often noted by critics for his chameleonic performances in diverse roles and distinctive blue eyes and general sex appeal....
however Kidron and Hall left during post production citing artistic differences with the producers.
Kidron spent much of 2010 in Southern India researching and shooting a documentary on the
DevadasiIn Hinduism, the devadasi tradition is a religious tradition in which girls are "married" and dedicated to a deity or to a temple and includes performance aspects such as those that take place in the temple as well as in the courtly and mujuvani [telegu] or home context. Dance and music were...
. Sex Death and the Gods premiered on BBC 4 as part of the Storyville series. The documentary, which was supported by the charity
EveryChildEveryChild is an international development charity based in the United Kingdom, which deals with children's rights, in particular the protection and aid for children growing up without parental care or family.- External links :* *...
achieved critical success and high ratings while the plight of the
DevadasiIn Hinduism, the devadasi tradition is a religious tradition in which girls are "married" and dedicated to a deity or to a temple and includes performance aspects such as those that take place in the temple as well as in the courtly and mujuvani [telegu] or home context. Dance and music were...
was widely publicized by the film. Beeban appeared on many shows including BBC World, Women's Hour and Radio 5 Live. She also wrote articles and was interviewed by the
GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, the Spectator and theartsdesk.com.
FILMCLUB
Beeban Kidron started
FILMCLUBFILMCLUB is an education charity which sets up film clubs in schools and other education and care establishments in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. The scheme is free to all state primary and secondary schools in Wales and England...
in September 2006 with Lindsey Makie. FILMCLUB is an educational charity which sets up after-school film clubs in schools in England and Wales. The scheme is free to all state primary and secondary schools. The organisation was founded in September 2006, and after a successful pilot in 2007 launched by then Chancellor
Gordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, FILMCLUB officially launched across the country in June 2009.
FILMCLUB gives children from participating schools access to thousands of films and organises school visits by professionals from within the film industry. Pupils are encouraged to watch a diverse range of films including blockbusters, classics, black and white movies and foreign language titles, and to review the films they watch on the organisation's website (www.filmclub.org). The clubs are generally run by teachers or a similar education professional, but may also be led by older pupils, often from a school's 6th Form. The organisation is a charity, and is funded by the Department for Education, with the DVD rental service subsidized by
LOVEFiLMLoveFilm is a UK-based provider of home video and video game rental through DVD-by-mail and streaming video on demand in the UK, Germany and Scandinavia...
.
As of 18 October 2010, there were 5,440 clubs running in England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, meaning around 160,000 young people take part in the after school activity.
Kidron was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from
Kingston UniversityKingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....
in 2010 for her contribution to education. She became a board member of the
UK Film CouncilThe UK Film Council was set up in 2000 by the Labour Government as a non-departmental public body to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee governed by a board of 15 directors and was funded through sources including the...
in 2008 with a mandate to provide film education.
Filmography
| Directed | Year | Production Company |
| Sex Death and the Gods |
2011 |
BBC, Cross Street Films |
| Hippie Hippie Shake Hippie Hippie Shake is an upcoming British drama film produced by Working Title Films. The film is based on a memoir by Richard Neville, editor of the Australian satirical magazine Oz, and chronicles his relationship with girlfriend Louise Ferrier, the launch of the London edition of Oz amidst the...
|
2010 |
Universal, Working Title |
| Anthony Gormley: Making Space |
2007 |
C4, Cross Street Films |
| Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason # Will Young - "Your Love Is King"# Jamelia - "Stop"# Kylie Minogue - "Can't Get You Out of My Head"# Joss Stone - "Super Duper Love Pt. 1"# Mary J...
|
2004 |
Universal, Working Title |
| Murder Murder is a 2004 Bollywood erotic thriller film directed by Anurag Basu and written by Mahesh Bhatt. The film stars Mallika Sherawat, Emraan Hashmi and Ashmit Patel and is set in Bangkok, Thailand. The film's soundtrack was composed by Anu Malik. The film draws inspiration from the 2002 Hollywood...
|
2002 |
BBC |
| Cinderella Cinderella is a TV film released on January 1, 2000 in the UKand directed by Beeban Kidron. The cast is led by movie legend Kathleen Turner who plays the Wicked Stepmother Claudette...
|
2000 |
C4 |
| Texarkana |
1998 |
Sacret, NBC |
| Amy Foster, Swept from the Sea |
1997 |
Sony, Tapson Steel |
| Eve Arnold in Retrospect |
1996 |
BBC, Omnibus |
| To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar |
1995 |
Universal, Amblin |
| Great Moments in Aviation Great Moments in Aviation is a 1994 romantic drama film, set on a 1950s passenger liner. The film follows Gabriel Angel , a young Caribbean aviator who falls in love with the forger Duncan Stewart on her journey to England...
|
1993 |
BBC, Mirimax |
| Hookers Hustlers Pimps and Their Johns |
1993 |
C4, Wonderland |
| Used People Used People is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron. The screenplay by Todd Graff, adapted from his 1988 off-Broadway play The Grandma Plays , takes a humorous look at a highly dysfunctional family living in the New York City borough of Queens circa 1969...
|
1992 |
20th Century Fox, Largo |
| Itch |
1991 |
C4, Chrysalis |
| Antonia and Jane Antonia and Jane is a 1991 comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron and starring Imelda Staunton, Saskia Reeves, Brenda Bruce and Bill Nighy. It is about two mismatched woman friends who have had a love–hate relationship with each other since childhood....
|
1990 |
BBC, Mirimax |
Oranges Are Not the Only FruitOranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a novel by Jeanette Winterson published in 1985, which she subsequently adapted into a BBC television drama...
|
1989 |
BBC, A&E |
| Vroom |
1988 |
Film 4 |
| Global Gamble |
1985 |
Diverse, C4 |
| Alex |
1985 |
NFTS |
| Carry Greenham Home |
1983 |
Contemporary Films, C4 |
| Produced | Date |
| Sex Death and the Gods |
2011 |
| Antony Gormley: Making Space |
2007 |
| Amy Foster, Swept from the Sea |
1997 |
| Eve Arnold in Retrospect |
1996 |
| Cinematographer | Date |
| Carry Greenham Home |
1983 |
| Sex Death and the Gods |
2011 |
| Editor | Date |
| Carry Greenham Home |
1983 |
| Thanks | Date |
| An Education An Education is a 2009 British coming-of-age drama film, based on an autobiographical article in Granta by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby, and stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright schoolgirl, and Peter Sarsgaard as David,...
|
2009 |
Awards and Nominations
| Film | Result | Award | Category |
| Alex |
Won |
Lillian Gish Award 1983 |
Best Writer/Director |
| Carry Greenham Home |
Won |
Chicago International Film Awards |
Golden Hugo |
| Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit |
Won |
BAFTA |
Best Drama |
| Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit |
Won |
San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival |
Best Feature |
| Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit |
Won |
GLAAD |
Outstanding TV movie |
| Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit |
Won |
Cannes Film Festival |
FIPA D'argent |
| Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit |
Won |
Prix Italia |
Special Prize for fiction |
| Too Wong Foo Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar |
Nominated |
GLAAD |
Outstanding Film |
| Murder |
Nominated |
BAFTA |
Best Drama |
| Used People |
Nomination |
Golden Globes |
Marcello Mastroianni and Shirly Mclain Best Actor/Actress |
| Murder |
Nominated |
BAFTA |
Best Drama |
| Murder |
Nominated |
Emmy |
Best TV Movie |
| Bridget Jones, on the Edge of Reason |
Won |
Evening Standard Readers |
Film of 2004 |
| Bridget Jones, on the Edge of Reason |
Nominated |
Peoples Choice Award |
Best Comedy |
| Bridget Jones, on the Edge of Reason |
Nominated |
Peoples Choice Award |
Best Sequel |
| Bridget Jones, on the Edge of Reason |
Nominated |
Empire Award |
Best British Film |
| Hookers Hustlers Pimps and their Johns |
Won |
Erotic Awards |
Most Erotic British TV Show |
| NA |
Won |
Wifta |
Creative Originality Award 2010 |
| NA |
Won |
Glamour |
Woman of the Year 2005 |
| Thanks | Date |
| An Education An Education is a 2009 British coming-of-age drama film, based on an autobiographical article in Granta by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby, and stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright schoolgirl, and Peter Sarsgaard as David,...
|
2009 |
External links
- FILMCLUB
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00xyzjy
- http://www.theartsdesk.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2927:interview-film-director-beeban-kidron&Itemid=7
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jan/21/beeban-kidron-devadasi
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/aug/01/beeban-kidron-miracle-in-milan
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/jan/12/guardian-50-television-dramas
- http://www.yourgreenham.co.uk/
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098032/
- http://www.nftsfilm-tv.ac.uk/index.php?module=People&type=Alumni&people_id=36&back=course&course_id=149
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jun/14/filmclub-international-news-schools
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB57bQ8R37s
- http://wn.com/Beeban_Kidron
- http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/12d46962-1f56-11e0-8c1c-00144feab49a.html
- http://www.wmm.com/filmcatalog/makers/fm213.shtml
- http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-we-met-eve-arnold-and-beeban-kidron-1346997.html
Lee HallLee Hall may refer to:People:* Lee Hall , US lawyer and animal rights activist* Lee Hall , English playwright and screenwriter* Lee Hall , news anchor for WEEK-TV in Peoria, Illinois...