Profile: David Thompson, Head, BBC Films
David Thompson began his career at the BBC as a documentary maker. He began producing drama while working for the BBC's Everyman documentary series, where he produced the original Shadowlands, which won the British Academy Award for Best Drama and an International Emmy. Subsequent productions included the British Academy Award winning Safe, directed by Antonia Bird, Alan Clarke's The Firm and Road.
He was appointed Head of BBC Films in May 1997, overseeing a slate of films for cinema and television. Past BBC Films productions include the acclaimed Mrs Brown starring Judi Dench and Billy Connolly; Stephen Daldry's Billy Elliot (BBC Films' most successful film to date, which has taken some $100m worldwide, won three major British Academy Film Awards and was nominated for three Academy Awards); the Academy award-winning Iris, starring Dame Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, Jim Broadbent and directed by Richard Eyre; Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things; I Capture the Castle, from the novel by Dodie Smith; Roger Michell's acclaimed The Mother; Ken Loach's award-winning Sweet Sixteen; Sylvia starring Gwyneth Paltrow; Michael Winterbottom's BAFTA and Berlin Golden Bear winner In this World; Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher and Morvern Callar and Pawel Pawlikowski's Last Resort.
Recent releases include the Golden Globe winning Life and Death of Peter Sellers, featuring a star-studded cast led by Geoffrey Rush; Pawel Pawlikowski's BAFTA winning second feature My Summer of Love; The Mighty Celt starring Gillian Anderson and Robert Carlyle; Saul Dibb's critically-acclaimed debut feature Bullet Boy, Danny Boyle's enchanting family film Millions, Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins in Stephen Frears' Mrs Henderson Presents, Woody Allen's first UK set film Match Point, starring Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and A Cock and Bull Story, Michael Winterbottom's brilliant and hilarious adaptation of Tristram Shandy starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.
Current releases include Michael Caton-Jones' powerful and moving drama Shooting Dogs starring John Hurt and Hugh Dancy; Confetti, featuring a host of Britain's leading comedic talent including Martin Freeman, Jessica Stevenson, stand-up comedian Jimmy Carr and Alison Steadman.
Future releases will include The History Boys, directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted from Alan Bennett's award-winning stage play and Andrea Arnold's Cannes Jury prize winning film Red Road.
As an executive producer, his numerous television credits include A Rather English Marriage, Stephen Poliakoff's Perfect Strangers and The Lost Prince, Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning Conspiracy and The Gathering Storm starring Vanessa Redgrave and Albert Finney, Dominic Savage's highly acclaimed Out of Control, Francesca Joseph's Tomorrow La Scala! and Sarah Gavron's multi award-winning This Little Life.
Other international guests invited to participate in this year's Market include;
Documentary Co-production Forum (DCF) Guests
Anne del Castillo, Associate Director, American Documentary/ P.O.V
Claire Colart, Comm Ed - Documentaries, RTBF Belgium
Esther van Messel, CEO, First Hand Films
Gub Neal, Executive Producer, Box TV
Hans Robert Eisenhauer, Commissioning Editor, ZDF
Ian Bricke, Director Acquisitions & Programming, Sundance Channel
Iikka Vehkalahti, Commissiong Editor, YLE TV 2 Documentaries
Marni Shulman, VP Content, Showcase, Showcase Diva, IFC, Alliance Atlantis
Sarah Whitehouse, Acquisitions Executive, The Documentary Channel
Tara Ellis, VP Content, Showcase, Alliance Atlantis
Christoph Jorg (Arte Paris France)
Feature Film Co-production Forum (FFCF) Guests
Andy Harries, Controller Drama, Comedy, Film, Granada TV
Aurelia (Laura) De Castro, Tartan Films, MD
Carey Fitzgerald, High Point Films, MD
Daniel Iron, Producer, Foundry Films Inc
Elizabeth Kim, Lionsgate, VP International
Ido Abram, Binger Filmlab, Director
Kisha Imani Cameron, Completion Films, Producer
MARIO KASSAR
Michael Cowan, Velvet Octopus/Spice Factory, Joint CEO
Paula Jalfon, Ingenious Media, Business Development Manager
Rosa Attab, Wild Bunch, Acquisitions Executive
Seth Carmichael, Goldcrest Films Entertainment, Director of Acquisitions & Development
Stephen Margolis, Future Films Ltd, MD
Posted on Friday 22 Sep 2006
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