Bruce Burgess
Encyclopedia
Bruce Burgess is a documentary
filmmaker.
Burgess has written, directed and hosted a series of documentary specials on potentially conspirational subjects like Bigfoot, the Bermuda Triangle, ancient history, alien abductions, the British Royal family, CIA assassinations and global terrorism.
In 2002 Burgess formed a Los Angeles based production company, Bluebook Films, with René Barnett, and in 2004 wrote and directed his first 35mm short film Rosbeef which premiered "out of competition" at the Cannes Film Festival. Burgess and Barnett have just completed production on Bloodline.
in London, then Harrow School
, before starting his own charity in 1986, EDUCAID, raising money through schools for Bob Geldof
’s Band Aid
Trust.
In 1988 Burgess handled the launch events and promotion of the London Daily News
for Robert Maxwell
.
From 1988-90 he worked for BreakMarketing, a subsidiary of Harvey Goldsmith Entertainments working on promotion, marketing and sponsorship with Luciano Pavarotti
, Madonna
, Elton John
, Eric Clapton
, George Michael
, Level 42
and Michael Jackson
. He was also the youngest ever producer of Peter Boizot’s Soho Jazz Festival.
From 1990-93 he was asked to be managing director of Unique Public Relations in London, representing major clients from both the UK and US, including Snapple
Beverages, Amalfi restaurants, Panini Publishing, Maxwell Communications, Tobacco Dock Development, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
s Scheme, The Trocadero Centre and Heller Macaulay Equities.
From 1993-1999, he was Chairman of Transmedia Productions, which he built into Britain’s fifth largest independent production company.
In 1996 Burgess created the London Restaurant Awards, which later became the ITV
London Restaurant Awards. In 1998 Bruce founded the first ever London Restaurant Week with American Express and The London Tourist Board.
In 1998 Burgess was asked to become a media adviser to the Conservative Party
by the Rt. Hon. William Hague
.
He was interviewed on Nightline about his film Bloodline.
documentary Sabina’s Story (1998), as well as his expose of the terror group ETA in Bombs & Basques (2001) for Channel 4
in the UK. His film on Area 51
, Dreamland was voted best documentary by UFO Magazine
in 1998, and top of the ‘viewers choice poll’ of TLC Channel
in 2003.
facility known as Area 51
, that was described as an example of uncritical reporting:
Rosbeef (2004), writer/director
Desert Blast (2003), director
In Search of the Holy Grail (2003), director
Bigfootville (2002), director
Network of Terror (2001), director
Bombs & Basques - In the Firing Line (2001), director
The Bermuda Triangle Solved (2001), director
The Real Jack the Ripper (2000), director
William: A King in Waiting (2000), director
Broken Dagger (2000), director
Raising the Titanic (1999), director
Rocket Men (1999), director
Crossing the Line-Sabina’s Story (1998), director
Bulletcatchers (1998), director
The Lost Ark (1997), director
The Royal Soap Opera (1997), director
Dreamland (1996), director
William: The Making of a King (1996), director
Impact Earth (1996), director
The Uninvited (1995), director
The Cattle Files (1997), director
Raw 94 (1994), director
The Restaurant Show (1993), director
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
filmmaker.
Burgess has written, directed and hosted a series of documentary specials on potentially conspirational subjects like Bigfoot, the Bermuda Triangle, ancient history, alien abductions, the British Royal family, CIA assassinations and global terrorism.
In 2002 Burgess formed a Los Angeles based production company, Bluebook Films, with René Barnett, and in 2004 wrote and directed his first 35mm short film Rosbeef which premiered "out of competition" at the Cannes Film Festival. Burgess and Barnett have just completed production on Bloodline.
Career
Born in London, England in 1968, Burgess studied at Hill House SchoolHill House School
Of the many schools named Hill House School, there is one which is a preparatory day school based in Knightsbridge, London. It was founded in September 1951 by Lt-Col Stuart Townend and has several branches located in West London and in Switzerland...
in London, then Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
, before starting his own charity in 1986, EDUCAID, raising money through schools for Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
’s Band Aid
Band Aid (band)
Band Aid was a charity supergroup featuring British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. The single...
Trust.
In 1988 Burgess handled the launch events and promotion of the London Daily News
London Daily News
The London Daily News was a short-lived London newspaper owned by Robert Maxwell.-1987:The London Daily News was published from 24 February to 24 July 1987. It was intended to be a "24-hour" paper challenging the local dominance of the Evening Standard."For the city that never sleeps, the paper...
for Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
.
From 1988-90 he worked for BreakMarketing, a subsidiary of Harvey Goldsmith Entertainments working on promotion, marketing and sponsorship with Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, Level 42
Level 42
Level 42 are an English pop rock and jazz-funk band who had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 1980s and 1990s.The band gained fame for their high-calibre musicianship—in particular that of Mark King, whose percussive slap-bass guitar technique provided the driving groove of many of the...
and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. He was also the youngest ever producer of Peter Boizot’s Soho Jazz Festival.
From 1990-93 he was asked to be managing director of Unique Public Relations in London, representing major clients from both the UK and US, including Snapple
Snapple
Snapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group and based in Plano, Texas. The brand was founded in 1972. The brand achieved some notoriety due to various pop-culture references including television shows.-History:...
Beverages, Amalfi restaurants, Panini Publishing, Maxwell Communications, Tobacco Dock Development, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award , is a programme of activities that can be undertaken by anyone aged 14 to 24, regardless of personal ability....
s Scheme, The Trocadero Centre and Heller Macaulay Equities.
From 1993-1999, he was Chairman of Transmedia Productions, which he built into Britain’s fifth largest independent production company.
In 1996 Burgess created the London Restaurant Awards, which later became the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
London Restaurant Awards. In 1998 Bruce founded the first ever London Restaurant Week with American Express and The London Tourist Board.
In 1998 Burgess was asked to become a media adviser to the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
by the Rt. Hon. William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
.
He was interviewed on Nightline about his film Bloodline.
Awards
Burgess has won awards for his BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary Sabina’s Story (1998), as well as his expose of the terror group ETA in Bombs & Basques (2001) for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in the UK. His film on Area 51
Area 51
Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield...
, Dreamland was voted best documentary by UFO Magazine
UFO Magazine
UFO Magazine is an American magazine that is devoted to the subject of unidentified flying objects and the extraterrestrial hypothesis . It was founded in 1986 by Vicki Ecker and Sherie Stark, and is now published by Bill Birnes and edited by his wife Nancy Hayfield Birnes...
in 1998, and top of the ‘viewers choice poll’ of TLC Channel
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
in 2003.
Criticism
Burgess directed the documentary Dreamland, an alleged exposé of the secret PentagonThe Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
facility known as Area 51
Area 51
Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield...
, that was described as an example of uncritical reporting:
"...infuriating nonsense to mark the 50th anniversary of the crash at RoswellRoswell UFO incidentThe Roswell UFO Incident was the recovery of an object that crashed in the general vicinity of Roswell, New Mexico, in June or July 1947, allegedly an extra-terrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants. Since the late 1970s the incident has been the subject of intense controversy and of...
, New Mexico. The usual suspects are rounded up to tow their party lines (Stanton FriedmanStanton T. FriedmanStanton Terry Friedman is a professional Ufologist, currently residing in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. He is the original civilian investigator of the Roswell incident. He studied physics at the University of Chicago and worked as a nuclear physicist on research and development projects for...
, Bob LazarBob LazarRobert Scott Lazar or Bob Lazar , has said to have worked from 1988 until 1989 as a physicist at an area called S-4 , allegedly located near Groom Lake, Nevada, at the location also known as Area 51...
, et al.) and producer/director/would be intrepid presenter Bruce Burgess does absolutely nothing to question what he's being told or even point out the idiocy of some of the arguments."
Filmography
Bloodline (2008), writer/directorRosbeef (2004), writer/director
Television
The Ark of the Covenant Revealed (2004), directorDesert Blast (2003), director
In Search of the Holy Grail (2003), director
Bigfootville (2002), director
Network of Terror (2001), director
Bombs & Basques - In the Firing Line (2001), director
The Bermuda Triangle Solved (2001), director
The Real Jack the Ripper (2000), director
William: A King in Waiting (2000), director
Broken Dagger (2000), director
Raising the Titanic (1999), director
Rocket Men (1999), director
Crossing the Line-Sabina’s Story (1998), director
Bulletcatchers (1998), director
The Lost Ark (1997), director
The Royal Soap Opera (1997), director
Dreamland (1996), director
William: The Making of a King (1996), director
Impact Earth (1996), director
The Uninvited (1995), director
The Cattle Files (1997), director
Raw 94 (1994), director
The Restaurant Show (1993), director
External links
- http://www.bloodlinethemovie.com
- http://bruce-burgess.com