Barry Ackroyd
Encyclopedia
Barry Ackroyd BSC
(born 12 May 1954) is an English cinematographer
. Ackroyd frequently works with British film director, Ken Loach
. The two filmmakers are known for their anti-Hollywood, naturalistic, neo-realistic
cinematographic style.
, England. He received a BAFTA nomination for Best Cinematography for The Lost Prince
. His latest credits are on Ken Loach's award-winning feature, The Wind That Shakes The Barley
, Paul Greengrass
's take on the 9-11 disaster, United 93
, and the Kathryn Bigelow
-directed Iraq war film, The Hurt Locker
.
Teamwork and group effort is the Loach modus operandi
. Loach has denied his status as an auteur director. Unlike most directors who routinely overstate the importance of their personal achievements, Loach celebrates the contributions of his crew, such as frequent collaborator, cinematographer Barry Ackroyd.
Film reviewer Jack Matthews of the New York Daily News remarked about the filmmaking behind The Wind That Shakes The Barley: "Beautifully shot, both in darkened homes and on the misty green Irish landscape by Loach's frequent cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, "Wind" has a you-are-there intensity and intimacy about it that make it nearly overwhelming."
British Society of Cinematographers
The British Society of Cinematographers was formed in 1949 by Bert Easey, 23 August 1901 - 28 February 1973, the then head of the Denham and Pinewood studio camera departments.The stated objectives at the formation of the BSC were...
(born 12 May 1954) is an English cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
. Ackroyd frequently works with British film director, Ken Loach
Ken Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
. The two filmmakers are known for their anti-Hollywood, naturalistic, neo-realistic
Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors...
cinematographic style.
Life and career
Ackroyd was born in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England. He received a BAFTA nomination for Best Cinematography for The Lost Prince
The Lost Prince
The Lost Prince is an acclaimed British television drama serial, produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC and originally broadcast in two episodes on BBC One in January 2003...
. His latest credits are on Ken Loach's award-winning feature, The Wind That Shakes The Barley
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (film)
The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a 2006 Irish war drama film directed by Ken Loach, set during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War...
, Paul Greengrass
Paul Greengrass
Paul Greengrass is an English film director, screenwriter and former journalist. He specialises in dramatisations of real-life events and is known for his signature use of hand-held cameras.-Life and career:...
's take on the 9-11 disaster, United 93
United 93 (film)
United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
, and the Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Ann Bigelow is an American film director. Her best-known films are the cult horror film Near Dark , the surfer/bank robbery action picture Point Break , the science fiction/film noir Strange Days , the historical/mystery film The Weight of Water and the war drama The Hurt Locker...
-directed Iraq war film, The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker is a 2009 American war film about a three-man United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team during the Iraq War. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the screenplay was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded as a journalist in 2004 with a US bomb...
.
Teamwork and group effort is the Loach modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
. Loach has denied his status as an auteur director. Unlike most directors who routinely overstate the importance of their personal achievements, Loach celebrates the contributions of his crew, such as frequent collaborator, cinematographer Barry Ackroyd.
Film reviewer Jack Matthews of the New York Daily News remarked about the filmmaking behind The Wind That Shakes The Barley: "Beautifully shot, both in darkened homes and on the misty green Irish landscape by Loach's frequent cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, "Wind" has a you-are-there intensity and intimacy about it that make it nearly overwhelming."
Filmography
- Riff-Raff (1991)
- Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial KillerAileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial KillerAileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer is a documentary film about Aileen Wuornos, made by Nick Broomfield. It documents Broomfield's attempts to interview Wuornos, which involves a long process of mediation through her adopted mother Arlene Pralle and lawyer, Steve Glazer.The film...
(1992) - Raining StonesRaining StonesRaining Stones is a 1993 film directed by Ken Loach and starring Bruce Jones, Julie Brown, Ricky Tomlinson, Tom Hickey and Gemma Phoenix. It tells the story of a man who cannot afford to buy his daughter a First Communion dress, and makes disastrous choices in trying to raise the money...
(1993) - Ladybird Ladybird (1994)
- Carla's SongCarla's SongCarla's Song is a British movie directed by Ken Loach with screenplay by Paul Laverty.Set in 1987, it tells the story of the relationship between a Scottish bus driver, George Lennox and Carla , a Nicaraguan woman living in exile in Glasgow...
(1996) - The Butterfly Man (1996) short film
- My Name Is JoeMy Name Is JoeMy Name Is Joe is a 1998 Scottish film directed by Ken Loach. The film stars Peter Mullan as Joe Kavanagh, an unemployed recovering alcoholic in Glasgow who meets and falls in love with a health visitor. David McKay plays his troubled friend Liam...
(1998) - Bread and RosesBread and Roses (film)Bread and Roses is a 2000 drama film directed by Ken Loach, starring Adrien Brody. The plot deals with the struggle of poorly paid janitorial workers in Los Angeles and their fight for better working conditions and the right to unionize...
(2000) - The NavigatorsThe Navigators (film)The Navigators is a 2001 British film directed by Ken Loach with screenplay by Rob Dawber.It tells the story of the reactions of five Sheffield rail workers to the privatisation of the railway maintenance organisation for which they all work, and the consequences for them...
(2001) - Sunday (2002) (TV)
- Sweet SixteenSweet Sixteen (2002 film)Sweet Sixteen is a 2002 film by director Ken Loach. The film tells the story of a working class Scottish teenage boy, Liam , a typical 'ned', who dreams of starting afresh with his mother who is completing a prison term...
(2002 film) - The Lost PrinceThe Lost PrinceThe Lost Prince is an acclaimed British television drama serial, produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC and originally broadcast in two episodes on BBC One in January 2003...
(2003) (TV) - Eroica (2003) (TV)
- Os Imortais (2003)
- Ae Fond Kiss...Ae Fond Kiss...Ae Fond Kiss... is a 2004 romantic drama film directed by Ken Loach, and starring Atta Yaqub and Eva Birthistle. The title is taken from a Scottish song by Robert Burns, the complete line being "Ae fond kiss, and then we sever..."-Plot:Casim Khan is a Glaswegian DJ of Pakistani origin...
(2004) - United 93United 93 (film)United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
(2006) - The Wind That Shakes The BarleyThe Wind That Shakes the Barley (film)The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a 2006 Irish war drama film directed by Ken Loach, set during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War...
(2006) - Battle in SeattleBattle in SeattleBattle in Seattle is a 2007 film and the directorial debut of actor Stuart Townsend. It is based on the protest activity at the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999...
(2007) - To Each His Own CinemaTo Each His Own CinemaTo Each His Own Cinema is a 2007 French anthology film commissioned for the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival. The film is a collection of 34 short films, each 3 minutes in length, by 36 acclaimed directors...
(2007) (segment 'Happy Ending') - The Hurt LockerThe Hurt LockerThe Hurt Locker is a 2009 American war film about a three-man United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team during the Iraq War. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the screenplay was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded as a journalist in 2004 with a US bomb...
(2009) - Green ZoneGreen Zone (film)Green Zone is a 2010 American war thriller film written by Brian Helgeland and directed by Paul Greengrass. The film was inspired by the non-fiction 2006 book Imperial Life in the Emerald City by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran, which documented life in the Green Zone, Baghdad...
(2010) - The Special RelationshipThe Special Relationship (film)The Special Relationship is a 2010 American-British political film directed by Richard Loncraine from a screenplay by Peter Morgan. It is the third film in Morgan's informal "Blair trilogy", which dramatizes the political career of British Prime Minister Tony Blair , following The Deal and The...
(2010) - CoriolanusCoriolanus (2011 film)Coriolanus is a 2011 film adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler. It marks Fiennes's directorial debut...
(2011)
Awards and nominations
- The Butterfly Man (1996) short film - BAFTA nomination Best Short Film (shared with Robin MacPherson)
- Sweet SixteenSweet Sixteen (2002 film)Sweet Sixteen is a 2002 film by director Ken Loach. The film tells the story of a working class Scottish teenage boy, Liam , a typical 'ned', who dreams of starting afresh with his mother who is completing a prison term...
(2002 film) - Won Golden Camera 300 Award - The Lost PrinceThe Lost PrinceThe Lost Prince is an acclaimed British television drama serial, produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC and originally broadcast in two episodes on BBC One in January 2003...
(2003) (TV) - BAFTA nomination Best Photography & Lighting\ - The Wind That Shakes The BarleyThe Wind That Shakes the Barley (film)The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a 2006 Irish war drama film directed by Ken Loach, set during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War...
(2006) - British Independent Film Award nomination - Best Technical Achievement - United 93United 93 (film)United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
(2006) - BAFTA nomination - Best Cinematography - The Hurt LockerThe Hurt LockerThe Hurt Locker is a 2009 American war film about a three-man United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team during the Iraq War. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the screenplay was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded as a journalist in 2004 with a US bomb...
(2009) - Won BAFTA - Best Cinematography - The Hurt LockerThe Hurt LockerThe Hurt Locker is a 2009 American war film about a three-man United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team during the Iraq War. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the screenplay was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded as a journalist in 2004 with a US bomb...
(2009) - Nomination Academy Award - Best Cinematography