Sold Out!
The Norwich Film Festival is delighted to kick off our day of industry talks starting with Academy and BAFTA winning Producer Gareth Ellis-Unwin. This session will explore how Gareth broke into the industry, what he looks for in a project and how he’s supporting the future of training for Filmmakers as Head of Film for Screen Skills.
So a little bit more about our guest….
Gareth was the CEO of Bedlam Pictures which he co-founded in 2000 and continues to remain involved as a non-executive director.
In 2009, he produced the British thriller Exam, which was nominated for a BAFTA and won Spirit and Dinard awards. International recognition followed soon after with the record-breaking and critically acclaimed 2010 film The King’s Speech. This went on to become the highest grossing British independent film of all time. It debuted at Toronto International Film Festival where it took home the celebrated Audience Award before winning seven BAFTAs (including Best Film and Outstanding British Film) and four Academy awards, including Best Film, presented to Gareth by Steven Spielberg. The film would eventually win in excess of 80 internationally recognized film awards and gross over $450m worldwide in theatrical receipts alone.
In 2012 Gareth produced his next feature, the moving drama Zaytoun, the first film to be made under the UK-Israeli co-production treaty. The film was selected to screen at the BFI London Film Festival, AFI Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Runner Up Audience Award.
In 2014, Gareth worked as an Executive Producer on the BAFTA-nominated British war film Kajaki: The True Story. The critically applauded feature, which supports major military charities, was released nationwide in November 2014 and was released on DVD, Blu-ray and digital platforms in June 2015. Gareth oversaw the direct distribution of the film in the UK, securing over 2500 screenings of this modestly budgeted war movie. Since the film’s release Gareth has begun working closely with Help for Heroes and has been asked to join their Brand Ambassador programme.
Gareth’s latest film is Steel Country. The film stars Andrew Scott (Spectre, Pride), Bronagh Waugh (TV’s The Fall) and recent Olivier winner, Denise Gough (’71, Jimmys Hall).