Michael Winterbottom

Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films — Welcome to Sarajevo, Wonderland and 24 Hour Party People — have been nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Personal life

Winterbottom was born in Blackburn, Lancashire. He went to Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn, taking his O Levels in an accelerated four years, and then studied English at Balliol College, Oxford before going to film school at Bristol University, where his contemporaries included Marc Evans.

Career

Early television career

Winterbottom's television career included such diverse projects as the pilot of Jimmy McGovern's mystery series Cracker, an episode of the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries, two documentaries about Ingmar Bergman, numerous television movies and an episode of the documentary series The Other Hollywood, focusing on Scandinavian silent cinema. He also directed the mini-series Family, written by Roddy Doyle, with each of four episodes focusing on one member of a working-class Dublin family. It was this series that first brought Winterbottom to the attention of filmgoers, when it was edited down into a feature.

Film

Butterfly Kiss

Winterbottom's 1995 cinematic debut firmly established his intense visual sense, naturalistic style and compelling...
Read More