"Sean McAllister makes filming look easy" - Nick Fraser, BBC Commissioning Editor
"one of the hottest UK documentary makers around" - Brent Woods, Director, Sheffield Sheffield International Documentary Festival
"My duty as a filmmaker is to get beyond the performance" - Sean McAllister
sean@seanmcallister.com
* Shadowing Sean Sean McAllister discusses his philosophy as a filmmaker. Shadow Festival, Amsterdam, 2002.
* External link
"I get as close as I can... I pull the trigger"
Over the past 12 years Sean McAllister has made films for both the BBC and Channel 4; working in the UK, Israel, Iraq, and most recently Japan.
His films are intimate portraits of people from different parts of the world who are survivors; caught up in political and personal conflict struggling to make sense of the world we live in.
Japan: A Story of Love and Hate
>>> Naoki 56, had it all in Japan's bubble economy days: he ran a business with 70 staff, drove a brand new BMW, and lived in a 6 bedroom house. But when Japan's economy crashed in the early 1990's he lost everything, ending up divorced (for the third time) and penniless.
He was saved from being homeless by his new girlfriend, Yoshie 29, who took him in, despite living in a tiny one-room apartment with no windows.
Their life is a love story of survival in the world's second richest economy. Read more <<<
'Japan: A Story of Love and Hate' received its UK première on BBC Four, Monday 30th March, 9pm, and is now available to view on YouTube
"The limitation of most films about Japan is their tendency to exoticise, as they paint beautiful portraits of individuals and isolation. In contrast, Sean does not merely show social anomie, but manages to slip inside, sit on the marital bed and split open the shadow hiding the man. This is quite a feat, and part of a poetic quote from near the end of the film that demonstrates Sean's special skill at building a rapport, and pulling out the essence in people who willingly hold up their arms in delight to be got, at last." Rebecca Frankel - Editor FourDocs Go to the original FourDocs review
"McAllister unhinges the nail that sticks out sorely"
You can now contact Sean directly by visiting his contact/feedback page
