"The great thing about Sean's films is that he champions the characters in his documentaries, he always takes a loser and makes them a winner." - D A Pennebaker
I get as close as I can... I pull the trigger - Sean McAllister
"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 McAllister is interviewed on C4 News
Sean McAllister
After leaving school at 16 Sean worked in and out of factories before finding a camera and filming his way into the National Film School. He graduated in 1996. Since 1996 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.
From Working for the Enemy in 1997 to Japan: A Story of Love and Hate in 2008 his absorbing films have received prestigious nominations and awards - including from the Grierson Trust, the Sundance Film Festival, the Florence Film Festival and the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA). Sean McAllister's filmmaking success is a triumph for anti-apathy - a triumph for himself and for the people he puts on screen.
Nominations for McAllister's films include the Directors Guild of America and Royal Television Society Awards.
External video links:
⇒ Shadowing Sean - Film of Sean McAllister discussing his philosophy as a filmmaker during the Shadow Festival, Amsterdam, 2002.
⇒ Sean McAllister filmed discussing his attitude to film making at *Hull Glimmer in 2009.
*Note This film is also available to watch on Sean's Introduction page.)
"I made the first film to escape from the factory. I had got the story there. I sent it to Bournemouth cinema school. They admitted me on the spot and wanted to make the film. They offered a whole crew with cranks and all. I refused. They insisted. I left and went back to the factory with a camera in my bag. I would film whenever the supervisor was out of sight. I would get my camera out. The supervisor would clock me and shout. I once shot him as he was screaming at me, it was then that I understood what makes drama." - Sean McAllister
You can contact Sean directly by completing the online form on his contact/feedback page or by visiting his Facebook page and leaving a message.
Read Sean's blog at www.tenfootfilms.co.uk
