Peter Kosminsky
Encyclopedia
Peter Kosminsky is a British writer, director and producer. He has directed Hollywood movies such as White Oleander and television films like Warriors
, The Government Inspector
and The Promise
.
in 1956, he attended Haberdashers' Aske's School
and Oxford University where he studied chemistry under Dr John Danby of Worcester College, Oxford
and was elected JCR President. He spent much of his time at the university involved in student theatre, where he was treasurer of the Oxford University Dramatic Society
. He produced Twelfth Night for the OUDS which toured to northern France
and starred a young Hugh Grant
.
On graduation in 1980, he joined the staff of the BBC
in London
as a general trainee, alongside Kevin Lygo
(now head of studios at ITV), Dominic Cameron (former Managing Director of ITV.com) and Peter Salmon (former Controller of BBC1).
On finishing his training in 1982, Kosminsky became a script editor in the BBC Plays Department but was fired within three months of starting work. With the help of BBC2 Controller Brian Wenham
with whom he had worked as a trainee, he moved sideways on short-term contract to the BBC Current Affairs Department in Lime Grove to work on programmes such as Nationwide
and Newsnight
, before beginning his documentary directing career in earnest in 1985 under John Fairley and John Willis at Yorkshire Television
. Programmes at YTV included The Falklands War: the untold story, a two-hour documentary made with Michael Bilton to mark the 5th anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the islands. In 1990, Kosminsky began work as a drama director, directing the four-hour ITV drama Shoot To Kill
, written by Mick Eaton and starring Jack Shepherd
, for Yorkshire Television
. It was transmitted in the UK as two two-hour films on 3 and 4 June 1990, (RTS Best Single Drama - 1990). The programme was banned in Northern Ireland
.
In 1995, Kosminsky was fired from YTV by incoming managing director Bruce Gyngell
and set up his own company, Stonehenge Films Ltd, to act as a vehicle for his television dramas. His first independent drama as producer and director was No Child of Mine, written by Guy Hibbert
and starring Brooke Kinsella
for Meridian Broadcasting
/ITV
. The programme, transmitted in the UK on 25 February 1997, was a factually-based depiction of sexual abuse at home and in care and provoked considerable controversy . Its string of awards included the BAFTA Award for Best Single Drama - 1997 and the FIPA D'Or in Biarritz .
In 1999, Kosminsky teamed up with writer Leigh Jackson and producer Nigel Stafford-Clark
to make Warriors
(1999), a two part drama for BBC Television
which told the harrowing story of the first British peacekeeping deployment to central Bosnia in 1992-3 . Starring the at the time unknown actors Ioan Gruffud, Matthew Macfadyen
and Damian Lewis
, the films were shown on BBC1 to considerable acclaim. BAFTA Best Drama Serial - 1999, Royal Television Society
Best Single Drama - 1999 and the Prix Italia
for Best Fiction Serial - 1999. It transmitted in the UK across two nights on BBC1 in November 1999.
Kosminsky's collaboration with Leigh Jackson continued with The Project
(2002), a two part drama for BBC1, about New Labour . The first film - "Opposition" - deals with the Labour Party
's attempt to reform itself into New Labour, as seen through the eyes of a group of student supporters. The second film - "Government" - shows what happens to the same characters when Labour comes to power in 1997. Revealing for the first time some of the tactics used by Labour to bring to an end 18 years of Tory rule, the films were immensely controversial . Very sadly, Leigh Jackson fell ill with cancer during the making of the programmes. However, he did survive to see them transmitted in November 2002 .
In July 2003, Kosminsky began his collaboration with Channel 4
and David Aukin
's Daybreak Pictures, a collaboration which continues today . Aukin encouraged Kosminsky to write the films he directed and three programmes have so far resulted. The Government Inspector
(2005), starred Mark Rylance
and told the story of the death of biological weapons inspector Dr David Kelly and the search for weapons of mass destruction
in Iraq
. It was transmitted in the UK on Channel 4 on 17 March 2005 and won a series of awards including BAFTAs for Best Single Drama, Best Actor (Mark Rylance) and Best Writer (Kosminsky) . Next came Britz
(2007), starring Riz Ahmed
and Manjinder Virk. In the wake of the 7/7 bombings
in London, the two 100 minute films examined what it meant to be second-generation Muslim
living in Britain
today. Transmitted on Channel 4 as part of their 25th anniversary celebrations on 30 and 31 October 2007, the films won Best Drama Serial of 2007 at BAFTA and at the Royal Television Society
.
The latest collaboration between Kosminsky and David Aukin for Channel 4
is The Promise
(2011), a 4 x 100 minute serial written and directed by Kosminsky which was transmitted across four Sundays in February 2011. It stars Claire Foy
and Christian Cooke
and is shot entirely on location in the Middle East
. Eight years in the making, it tells the story of British soldiers stationed in Palestine
during the Mandate period 1945-1948 and the impact of those events on the current situation in Israel
/Palestine. The programme was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Drama Serial of 2010/11 in April 2011 and dubbed and transmitted by Canal+
in France in four parts as Le Serment, commencing 21 March 2011.
Kosminsky has directed two feature films, Wuthering Heights
(1992), (with (Ralph Fiennes
and Juliette Binoche
), for Paramount Pictures
and White Oleander (2002), (with Michelle Pfeiffer
, Renee Zellweger
, Robin Wright Penn and Alison Lohman
), for Warner Bros. He is an elected member of the Policy Council of Liberty
, the campaigner for human rights , a past Council member of BAFTA, a Fellow of the Royal Television Society
, a founding board member of Directors-UK , (the body representing working film and TV directors in the United Kingdom) and a winner of the BAFTA Alan Clarke Award for Outstanding Creative Contribution to TV .
Kosminsky is currently working on a feature film about the early life of Nelson Mandela for Film4. In 2009 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Arts from Bournemouth University
and profiled on the South Bank Show by Melvyn Bragg
. In September, 2011 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by University College, Falmouth
and joined the board of First Light, the UK wide body that uses film and media production to develop skills in young people aged up to 25 .
In December 2011, the British Film Institute
mounts a season celebrating Kosminsky's 30 years in film and television . The programme includes several examples of Kosminsky's early documentary work as well as more recent dramas. 13th December sees Francine Stock
interview Kosminsky about his career so far in front of a National Film Theatre audience. Writing about the season in the Daily Telegraph, Jasper Rees wrote "Peter Kosminsky has earned that rare accolade for a director of television drama: a retrospective at the BFI" . Describing him as "Britain’s most controversial television director" and "a pretty much unique figure in contemporary television who has devoted his career to giving the powerful sleepless nights", Rees quotes Kosminsky as saying "I’d be nervous if I were clubbable. It would be deeply dodgy if I was in there hugging and kissing all the great and the good. It would mean that what I was doing was a game. It’s not a game. I’ve devoted my life to it. I’ve spent month after month after month sitting in a small room trying to achieve this. I don’t expect to be loved or admired or patted on the back or become a cuddly figure of dissent who’s been in some way neutered by being absorbed into the body politic. I want to be on the outside shouting, sometimes rather shrilly, about things that upset me and annoy. That was my upbringing, that was my training, and that’s what I’ll do till I drop.”
Warriors (TV series)
Warriors is a British television drama serial, written by Leigh Jackson, produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark and directed by Peter Kosminsky. It starred Matthew Macfadyen, Damian Lewis and Ioan Gruffudd. The music was written by Debbie Wiseman...
, The Government Inspector
The Government Inspector (television drama)
The Government Inspector is a 2005 television drama based on the life of Dr. David Kelly and the lead-up to the Iraq War in the United Kingdom...
and The Promise
The Promise (2011 TV serial)
The Promise is a British television serial in four episodes written and directed by Peter Kosminsky, with music by Debbie Wiseman, which premiered on 6 February 2011 on Channel 4...
.
Biography
Born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1956, he attended Haberdashers' Aske's School
Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School is a British independent school for boys aged 4–19. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Haileybury Group....
and Oxford University where he studied chemistry under Dr John Danby of Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in the eighteenth century, but its predecessor on the same site had been an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century...
and was elected JCR President. He spent much of his time at the university involved in student theatre, where he was treasurer of the Oxford University Dramatic Society
Oxford University Dramatic Society
The Oxford University Dramatic Society is the principal funding body and provider of theatrical services to the many independent student productions put on by students in Oxford, England...
. He produced Twelfth Night for the OUDS which toured to northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and starred a young Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
.
On graduation in 1980, he joined the staff of the BBC
BBC
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...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as a general trainee, alongside Kevin Lygo
Kevin Lygo
Kevin Lygo is a British television executive, presently head of studios at ITV.Educated at Cranbrook School, Kent, Lygo studied music at Durham University. On graduation he was one of three trainees to join the BBC, alongside Peter Salmon and multi-award-winning film-maker Peter Kosminsky...
(now head of studios at ITV), Dominic Cameron (former Managing Director of ITV.com) and Peter Salmon (former Controller of BBC1).
On finishing his training in 1982, Kosminsky became a script editor in the BBC Plays Department but was fired within three months of starting work. With the help of BBC2 Controller Brian Wenham
Brian Wenham
Brian Wenham was the controller of BBC Two from 1978 until 1982. He was known for having nurtured Not The Nine O'Clock News, and coverage of snooker and opera.-Notes:...
with whom he had worked as a trainee, he moved sideways on short-term contract to the BBC Current Affairs Department in Lime Grove to work on programmes such as Nationwide
Nationwide (TV series)
Nationwide was a BBC News and Current affairs television programme broadcast on BBC One each weekday following the early evening news. It followed a magazine format, combining political analysis and discussion with consumer affairs, light entertainment and sports reporting...
and Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
, before beginning his documentary directing career in earnest in 1985 under John Fairley and John Willis at Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
. Programmes at YTV included The Falklands War: the untold story, a two-hour documentary made with Michael Bilton to mark the 5th anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the islands. In 1990, Kosminsky began work as a drama director, directing the four-hour ITV drama Shoot To Kill
Shoot to Kill (1990 TV drama)
Shoot to Kill is a four-hour drama documentary reconstruction of the events that led to the 1984–86 Stalker Inquiry into the shooting of six terrorist suspects in Northern Ireland in 1982 by a specialist unit of the Royal Ulster Constabulary , allegedly without warning ; the organised fabrication...
, written by Mick Eaton and starring Jack Shepherd
Jack Shepherd
Jack Shepherd is an English actor, playwright, theatre director, saxophone player and jazz pianist, who made his film debut in 1969 with All Neat in Black Stockings and The Virgin Soldiers. He is perhaps best known for his television roles, most notably the title role in detective drama Wycliffe...
, for Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
. It was transmitted in the UK as two two-hour films on 3 and 4 June 1990, (RTS Best Single Drama - 1990). The programme was banned in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
In 1995, Kosminsky was fired from YTV by incoming managing director Bruce Gyngell
Bruce Gyngell
Bruce Gyngell was a hugely influential Australian television executive, prominent for 50 years in both Australian and U.K. television. Although Gyngell began his career in radio, in the 1950s he stepped into the arena of early television broadcasting, helping to set up Channel 9, the first...
and set up his own company, Stonehenge Films Ltd, to act as a vehicle for his television dramas. His first independent drama as producer and director was No Child of Mine, written by Guy Hibbert
Guy Hibbert
Guy Hibbert is an award-winning screenwriter. He wrote the 2009 film Five Minutes of Heaven. This film was premiered at the 25th Sundance Film Festival, where Hibbert won the World Cinema Screenwriting Award.-External links:...
and starring Brooke Kinsella
Brooke Kinsella
Brooke Kinsella, MBE is an English actress and author. A graduate of the Anna Scher Theatre School, Kinsella has been acting since childhood. She has had various roles on television and in film...
for Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
/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...
. The programme, transmitted in the UK on 25 February 1997, was a factually-based depiction of sexual abuse at home and in care and provoked considerable controversy . Its string of awards included the BAFTA Award for Best Single Drama - 1997 and the FIPA D'Or in Biarritz .
In 1999, Kosminsky teamed up with writer Leigh Jackson and producer Nigel Stafford-Clark
Nigel Stafford-Clark
Nigel Stafford-Clark is a British film and television producer, and the brother of the theatre director Max Stafford-Clark. He was educated at Felsted and Trinity College, Cambridge, and worked in advertising and in sponsored documentaries before becoming a commercials producer at Moving Picture...
to make Warriors
Warriors (TV series)
Warriors is a British television drama serial, written by Leigh Jackson, produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark and directed by Peter Kosminsky. It starred Matthew Macfadyen, Damian Lewis and Ioan Gruffudd. The music was written by Debbie Wiseman...
(1999), a two part drama for BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
which told the harrowing story of the first British peacekeeping deployment to central Bosnia in 1992-3 . Starring the at the time unknown actors Ioan Gruffud, Matthew Macfadyen
Matthew Macfadyen
David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor, known for his role as MI5 intelligence officer Tom Quinn in the BBC television drama series Spooks and for starring as Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.In June, 2010 Macfadyen won a British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting...
and Damian Lewis
Damian Lewis
Lewis was born in St John's Wood, London, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His paternal grandparents were Welsh. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of...
, the films were shown on BBC1 to considerable acclaim. BAFTA Best Drama Serial - 1999, Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Best Single Drama - 1999 and the Prix Italia
Prix Italia
The Prix Italia is an international Italian television, radio-broadcasting and Website award. It was established in 1948 by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in Capri...
for Best Fiction Serial - 1999. It transmitted in the UK across two nights on BBC1 in November 1999.
Kosminsky's collaboration with Leigh Jackson continued with The Project
The Project (2002 television programme)
The Project was a BBC two-part 2002 television drama, directed by Peter Kosminsky from a script by Leigh Jackson.The series presented a fictionalised account , seen through the experiences of three young activists, of developments in the Labour Party and its progress into Blairism, from the party's...
(2002), a two part drama for BBC1, about New Labour . The first film - "Opposition" - deals with the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
's attempt to reform itself into New Labour, as seen through the eyes of a group of student supporters. The second film - "Government" - shows what happens to the same characters when Labour comes to power in 1997. Revealing for the first time some of the tactics used by Labour to bring to an end 18 years of Tory rule, the films were immensely controversial . Very sadly, Leigh Jackson fell ill with cancer during the making of the programmes. However, he did survive to see them transmitted in November 2002 .
In July 2003, Kosminsky began his collaboration with 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...
and David Aukin
David Aukin
David Aukin is a theatrical and executive producer as well as a qualified solicitor. He has been nominated twice for British Academy Television Awards for producing films about Tony Blair: The Government Inspector in 2005 and The Trial of Tony Blair in 2007.- Biography :David Aukin was born in...
's Daybreak Pictures, a collaboration which continues today . Aukin encouraged Kosminsky to write the films he directed and three programmes have so far resulted. The Government Inspector
The Government Inspector (television drama)
The Government Inspector is a 2005 television drama based on the life of Dr. David Kelly and the lead-up to the Iraq War in the United Kingdom...
(2005), starred Mark Rylance
Mark Rylance
Mark Rylance is an English actor, theatre director and playwright.As an actor, Rylance found success on stage and screen. For his work in theatre he has won Olivier and Tony Awards among others, and a BAFTA TV Award...
and told the story of the death of biological weapons inspector Dr David Kelly and the search for weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. It was transmitted in the UK on Channel 4 on 17 March 2005 and won a series of awards including BAFTAs for Best Single Drama, Best Actor (Mark Rylance) and Best Writer (Kosminsky) . Next came Britz
Britz (TV serial)
Britz is a two-part drama serial written and directed by BAFTA-winning director Peter Kosminsky and first screened by Channel 4 in the UK in October and November 2007....
(2007), starring Riz Ahmed
Riz Ahmed
Rizwan Ahmed , also known as Riz Ahmed, the Rizmeister General, or Riz MC, is a British MC, musician and actor. He is noted for his lead performances in The Road to Guantanamo, Shifty, Britz, and Four Lions.-Ethnic background:Ahmed is a British Pakistani...
and Manjinder Virk. In the wake of the 7/7 bombings
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
in London, the two 100 minute films examined what it meant to be second-generation Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
living in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
today. Transmitted on Channel 4 as part of their 25th anniversary celebrations on 30 and 31 October 2007, the films won Best Drama Serial of 2007 at BAFTA and at the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
.
The latest collaboration between Kosminsky and David Aukin 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...
is The Promise
The Promise (2011 TV serial)
The Promise is a British television serial in four episodes written and directed by Peter Kosminsky, with music by Debbie Wiseman, which premiered on 6 February 2011 on Channel 4...
(2011), a 4 x 100 minute serial written and directed by Kosminsky which was transmitted across four Sundays in February 2011. It stars Claire Foy
Claire Foy
Claire Foy is an English actress, best known for playing the title role in the BBC One production of Little Dorrit and Anna in the 2011 film, Season of the Witch.-Personal life:...
and Christian Cooke
Christian Cooke
Christian Louis Cooke is an English actor, known for playing Luke Kirkwall in Where the Heart Is, Luke Rutherford in Demons, Dorian Gaudain in Trinity, Freddie in Cemetery Junction and Len Matthews in the Channel 4 mini series The Promise.-Background:Cooke was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, where...
and is shot entirely on location in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. Eight years in the making, it tells the story of British soldiers stationed in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
during the Mandate period 1945-1948 and the impact of those events on the current situation in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
/Palestine. The programme was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Drama Serial of 2010/11 in April 2011 and dubbed and transmitted by Canal+
Canal+
Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. It is 80% owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted...
in France in four parts as Le Serment, commencing 21 March 2011.
Kosminsky has directed two feature films, Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights
Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights was a 1992 feature film adaptation of Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights directed by Peter Kosminsky....
(1992), (with (Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
and Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche is a French actress, artist and dancer. She has appeared in more than 40 feature films, been recipient of numerous international accolades, is a published author and has appeared on stage across the world. Coming from an artistic background, she began taking acting lessons during...
), for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and White Oleander (2002), (with Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress. She made her film debut in 1980 in The Hollywood Knights, but first garnered mainstream attention with her performance in Brian De Palma's Scarface . Pfeiffer has won numerous awards for her work...
, Renee Zellweger
Renée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
, Robin Wright Penn and Alison Lohman
Alison Lohman
Alison Marion Lohman is an American actress. She has had lead roles in the films White Oleander, Where the Truth Lies, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Flicka and Drag Me to Hell as well as smaller parts in Matchstick Men, Big Fish, Gamer, and Beowulf...
), for Warner Bros. He is an elected member of the Policy Council of Liberty
Liberty (pressure group)
Liberty is a pressure group based in the United Kingdom. Its formal name is the National Council for Civil Liberties . Founded in 1934 by Ronald Kidd and Sylvia Crowther-Smith , the group campaigns to protect civil liberties and promote human rights...
, the campaigner for human rights , a past Council member of BAFTA, a Fellow of the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
, a founding board member of Directors-UK , (the body representing working film and TV directors in the United Kingdom) and a winner of the BAFTA Alan Clarke Award for Outstanding Creative Contribution to TV .
Kosminsky is currently working on a feature film about the early life of Nelson Mandela for Film4. In 2009 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in Arts from Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK...
and profiled on the South Bank Show by Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg FRSL FRTS FBA, FRS FRSA is an English broadcaster and author best known for his work with the BBC and for presenting the The South Bank Show...
. In September, 2011 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by University College, Falmouth
University College Falmouth
University College Falmouth is a British university college in Falmouth, Cornwall. Founded in 1902, it had previously been the Falmouth School of Art and then Falmouth College of Arts until it received taught degree-awarding powers in March 2005...
and joined the board of First Light, the UK wide body that uses film and media production to develop skills in young people aged up to 25 .
In December 2011, the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
mounts a season celebrating Kosminsky's 30 years in film and television . The programme includes several examples of Kosminsky's early documentary work as well as more recent dramas. 13th December sees Francine Stock
Francine Stock
Francine Stock is a British radio and TV presenter and novelist, of part-French origin.-Early life:Born in Devon, and with early years in Edinburgh and Australia, Stock later attended St Catherine's School, Guildford, where she was head girl, and is a graduate of Jesus College, Oxford, with a...
interview Kosminsky about his career so far in front of a National Film Theatre audience. Writing about the season in the Daily Telegraph, Jasper Rees wrote "Peter Kosminsky has earned that rare accolade for a director of television drama: a retrospective at the BFI" . Describing him as "Britain’s most controversial television director" and "a pretty much unique figure in contemporary television who has devoted his career to giving the powerful sleepless nights", Rees quotes Kosminsky as saying "I’d be nervous if I were clubbable. It would be deeply dodgy if I was in there hugging and kissing all the great and the good. It would mean that what I was doing was a game. It’s not a game. I’ve devoted my life to it. I’ve spent month after month after month sitting in a small room trying to achieve this. I don’t expect to be loved or admired or patted on the back or become a cuddly figure of dissent who’s been in some way neutered by being absorbed into the body politic. I want to be on the outside shouting, sometimes rather shrilly, about things that upset me and annoy. That was my upbringing, that was my training, and that’s what I’ll do till I drop.”
Director - filmography
- The Falklands War: the Untold Story (TV, 1987)
- AfghantsiAfghantsiAfghantsi is a 1988 documentary film directed by Peter Kosminsky for Yorkshire Television.It is based on numerous interviews with Soviet soldiers and officers filmed in Kabul at the end of the Soviet war in Afghanistan....
(TV, 1988) - One Day in the Life of TelevisionOne Day in the Life of TelevisionOne Day in the Life of Television is a documentary that was broadcast on ITV on 1 November 1989. Filmed by over fifty crews exactly one year earlier, it was a huge behind-the-scenes look at a wide range of activities involved in the production, reception and marketing of British television...
(TV, 1989) - Shoot To KillShoot to Kill (1990 TV drama)Shoot to Kill is a four-hour drama documentary reconstruction of the events that led to the 1984–86 Stalker Inquiry into the shooting of six terrorist suspects in Northern Ireland in 1982 by a specialist unit of the Royal Ulster Constabulary , allegedly without warning ; the organised fabrication...
(TV, 1990) - Emily Brontë's Wuthering HeightsEmily Brontë's Wuthering HeightsEmily Brontë's Wuthering Heights was a 1992 feature film adaptation of Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights directed by Peter Kosminsky....
(1992) - 15: The Life and Death of Philip Knight (TV, 1993)
- The Dying of the Light (TV, 1994)
- No Child of Mine (TV, 1997)
- Walking on the Moon (TV, 1999)
- WarriorsWarriors (TV series)Warriors is a British television drama serial, written by Leigh Jackson, produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark and directed by Peter Kosminsky. It starred Matthew Macfadyen, Damian Lewis and Ioan Gruffudd. The music was written by Debbie Wiseman...
(TV, 1999) - Innocents (TV, 2000)
- The ProjectThe Project (2002 television programme)The Project was a BBC two-part 2002 television drama, directed by Peter Kosminsky from a script by Leigh Jackson.The series presented a fictionalised account , seen through the experiences of three young activists, of developments in the Labour Party and its progress into Blairism, from the party's...
(TV, 2002) - White Oleander (2002)
- The Government InspectorThe Government Inspector (television drama)The Government Inspector is a 2005 television drama based on the life of Dr. David Kelly and the lead-up to the Iraq War in the United Kingdom...
(TV, 2005) - BritzBritz (TV serial)Britz is a two-part drama serial written and directed by BAFTA-winning director Peter Kosminsky and first screened by Channel 4 in the UK in October and November 2007....
(TV, 2007) - The PromiseThe Promise (2011 TV serial)The Promise is a British television serial in four episodes written and directed by Peter Kosminsky, with music by Debbie Wiseman, which premiered on 6 February 2011 on Channel 4...
(2011), TV
Producer - filmography
- The Falklands War: the untold story (1987), TV - Joint credit
- AfghantsiAfghantsiAfghantsi is a 1988 documentary film directed by Peter Kosminsky for Yorkshire Television.It is based on numerous interviews with Soviet soldiers and officers filmed in Kabul at the end of the Soviet war in Afghanistan....
(1988), TV - One Day in the Life of TelevisionOne Day in the Life of TelevisionOne Day in the Life of Television is a documentary that was broadcast on ITV on 1 November 1989. Filmed by over fifty crews exactly one year earlier, it was a huge behind-the-scenes look at a wide range of activities involved in the production, reception and marketing of British television...
(TV, 1989) - 15: The Life and Death of Philip Knight (1993), TV
- The Dying of the Light (1994), TV
- No Child of Mine (1997), TV
- Walking on the Moon (1999), TV
- Innocents (2000), TV
Writer - filmography
- The Government InspectorThe Government Inspector (television drama)The Government Inspector is a 2005 television drama based on the life of Dr. David Kelly and the lead-up to the Iraq War in the United Kingdom...
(2005), TV - BritzBritz (TV serial)Britz is a two-part drama serial written and directed by BAFTA-winning director Peter Kosminsky and first screened by Channel 4 in the UK in October and November 2007....
(2007), TV - The PromiseThe Promise (2011 TV serial)The Promise is a British television serial in four episodes written and directed by Peter Kosminsky, with music by Debbie Wiseman, which premiered on 6 February 2011 on Channel 4...
(2011), TV
Awards
- The Falklands War: The Untold Story (1987), TV
- Prix ItaliaPrix ItaliaThe Prix Italia is an international Italian television, radio-broadcasting and Website award. It was established in 1948 by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in Capri...
- Special Jury Commendation - 1987 - International Emmy - Finalist, Documentary category - 1987
- Banff World Television Festival - Best documentary - 1987
- BFIBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
- Award for Archival Achievement - 1987 - UK Broadcasting Press GuildBroadcasting Press GuildThe Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally....
- Best Single Documentary - 1987 - Rheims Festival, France - Special Jury Prize - 1987
- World TV Festival, Tokyo - Tokyo Prize for Best Documentary - 1988
- Montreal - Selection for inclusion in "Documentaries of The Decade" Festival - 1989
- Prix Italia
- Cambodia: Children of the Killing Fields (1989), TV
- New York Film and TV Festival - Finalist - 1988
- Paters, Australia - Best National or International Current Affairs Programme - 1988
- One World Broadcasting Trust - Best Documentary - 1988
- AfghantsiAfghantsiAfghantsi is a 1988 documentary film directed by Peter Kosminsky for Yorkshire Television.It is based on numerous interviews with Soviet soldiers and officers filmed in Kabul at the end of the Soviet war in Afghanistan....
(1988), TV- Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
- Best International Current Affairs Programme - 1988 - Festival de Télévision de Monte-CarloFestival de Télévision de Monte-CarloThe Monte-Carlo Television Festival was created in 16-20 January 1961 by Prince Rainier III of Monaco, who wished to “encourage a new art form, in the service of peace and understanding between men”....
- Nymphe d'Or for Best Factual Programme and Critics' Prize - 1988 - Prix EuropaPrix EuropaPrix Europa is the Europe's largest annual tri-medial festival and competition. Its open juries sample and select the best television-, radio- and online productions of each year...
, Berlin (formerly Prix Futura) - Best Documentary - 1988 - Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
- Best Documentary - 1988 - Prix ItaliaPrix ItaliaThe Prix Italia is an international Italian television, radio-broadcasting and Website award. It was established in 1948 by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in Capri...
- ITV entry for Best Documentary - 1989 - Festival di Popoli, Florence - Best Ethnographic Documentary - 1988/89
- New York Film and TV Festival - Finalist - 1989
- Royal Television Society
- Shoot To KillShoot to Kill (1990 TV drama)Shoot to Kill is a four-hour drama documentary reconstruction of the events that led to the 1984–86 Stalker Inquiry into the shooting of six terrorist suspects in Northern Ireland in 1982 by a specialist unit of the Royal Ulster Constabulary , allegedly without warning ; the organised fabrication...
(1990), TV- BAFTA - Nomination, Best Single Drama - 1990
- Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
- Best Single Drama - 1990 - UK Broadcasting Press GuildBroadcasting Press GuildThe Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally....
- Best Single Drama - 1990 - Rheims Festival, France - Prix de la Meilleure Fiction - 1990
- 15: The Life and Death of Philip Knight (1993), TV
- Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
- ITV nomination, Best Single Drama - 1993 - San Francisco International Film Festival - Certificate of Merit, Feature - 1994 Golden Gate Awards
- Howard League for Penal ReformHoward League for Penal ReformThe Howard League for Penal Reform is a London-based registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. Founded in 1866 as the Howard Association, a merger with the Penal Reform League in 1921 created the Howard League for...
- Media Prize - 1993 - Prix EuropaPrix EuropaPrix Europa is the Europe's largest annual tri-medial festival and competition. Its open juries sample and select the best television-, radio- and online productions of each year...
, Berlin - The Special Prize - 1994 - Golden Chest Awards, Bulgaria - Best Film - 1994
- New York Film & Television Festival - Silver Medal - 1994
- Royal Television Society
- The Dying of the Light (1994), TV
- BAFTA - Nomination, Best Single Drama - 1994
- Banff World Television Festival - Nomination, Best Film - 1994
- No Child of Mine (1997), TV
- BAFTA - Best Single Drama - 1997
- Munich Film Festival - In Competition - 1997
- Toronto Film Festival - Official Selection - 1997
- AFIAFIAFI, the three letter acronym, may refer to:*AFI , an American alternative rock band**AFI , an album by AFI released in 2004*Air Force Instruction, documented instructions for members of the United States Air Force...
, Los Angeles - Grand Jury, Special Commendation - 1997 - Golden Chest Awards, Bulgaria - Brooke Kinsella, Best Child Actress - 1997
- Mental Health Media Awards - Overall Winner - 1997
- RTSRoyal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
- Best Sound - 1997 - FIPAFestival International de Programmes AudiovisuelsThe International Festival of Audiovisual Programmes , founded in 1987 by Michel Mitrani , was first held in Cannes in October 1987....
, Biarritz - Winner - 1997 - Chicago International Television Festival - Certificate of Merit - 1997
- Tromsco Film Festival, Norway - Official selection - 1998
- Singapore Film Festival - In Competition - 1998
- Cinema Tout EcranCinéma Tout EcranCinéma Tous Ecrans , is an international film festival held annually in the city of Geneva, Switzerland since 1995. The current Artistic and General Director is Claudia Durgnat....
, Geneva - Grand Prix – 1998 - 50th International Human Rights Festival, Belgium - Selected – 1998
- WarriorsWarriors (TV series)Warriors is a British television drama serial, written by Leigh Jackson, produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark and directed by Peter Kosminsky. It starred Matthew Macfadyen, Damian Lewis and Ioan Gruffudd. The music was written by Debbie Wiseman...
(1999), TV- BAFTA - Best Drama Serial – 1999
- Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
- Best Single Film, Best Score, Best Costume, Best Sound, nominations for Best Actor, Best Writer, Best Team – 1999 - Prix ItaliaPrix ItaliaThe Prix Italia is an international Italian television, radio-broadcasting and Website award. It was established in 1948 by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in Capri...
- Best Fiction Serial – 1999 - UK Broadcasting Press GuildBroadcasting Press GuildThe Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally....
- Best Single Film - 1999 - South Bank Show Awards - Best Television Drama - 1999
- FIPAFestival International de Programmes AudiovisuelsThe International Festival of Audiovisual Programmes , founded in 1987 by Michel Mitrani , was first held in Cannes in October 1987....
, Biarritz - FIPA D'OR - 2000 - Festival de Télévision de Monte-CarloFestival de Télévision de Monte-CarloThe Monte-Carlo Television Festival was created in 16-20 January 1961 by Prince Rainier III of Monaco, who wished to “encourage a new art form, in the service of peace and understanding between men”....
- Nymphe d'Or, Best Mini Series - 1999. - Amsterdam - Nombre d'Or, Best Drama - 1999
- International Emmy, New York - Nomination, Best Drama - 1999
- Birmingham Film & TV Festival - Samuelson Television Award, Best TV Drama - 1999
- White Oleander (2002)
- SAGSAGSag or SAG may refer to:* sag * a sag pond* a lens sag, distortion of astronomical lenses and mirrors* Sagittarius , in astronomy*Sagittarius * Sag Harbor, New York* Sâg, a commune in Sălaj County, Romania...
Awards - Nomination, Best Supporting Actress, Michelle Pfeiffer - 2003 - Golden Satellite Awards - Nomination, Best Supporting Actress, Renée Zellweger - 2003
- Kansas City Film Critics Circle - Best Supporting Actress, Michelle Pfeiffer - 2003
- San Diego Film Critics Society - Best Supporting Actress, Michelle Pfeiffer - 2003
- Young Artist Awards - Best Supporting Young Actor, Marc Donato - 2003
- SAG
- The Government InspectorThe Government Inspector (television drama)The Government Inspector is a 2005 television drama based on the life of Dr. David Kelly and the lead-up to the Iraq War in the United Kingdom...
(2005), TV- BAFTA - Best Single Drama, Best Actor (Mark Rylance), Best Writer (PK), Nomination for Best Original Score (Jocelyn Pook) - 2005
- Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
- Best Single Drama - 2005 - UK Broadcasting Press GuildBroadcasting Press GuildThe Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally....
- Nomination, Best Single Drama - 2005
- BritzBritz (TV serial)Britz is a two-part drama serial written and directed by BAFTA-winning director Peter Kosminsky and first screened by Channel 4 in the UK in October and November 2007....
(2007), TV- BAFTA - Best Drama Serial – 2007
- Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
- Best Drama Serial – 2007 - UK Broadcasting Press GuildBroadcasting Press GuildThe Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally....
- Nomination, Best Single Drama -2007 - Banff World Television Festival - Nomination, Best Mini-Series – 2007
- International Emmy - Nomination, Best TV Movie/Mini-Series – 2007
- Broadcast Magazine Awards - Nomination, Best Drama Series or Serial - 2007
- The PromiseThe Promise (2011 TV serial)The Promise is a British television serial in four episodes written and directed by Peter Kosminsky, with music by Debbie Wiseman, which premiered on 6 February 2011 on Channel 4...
(2011), TV- One World Media - Winner, Best Drama - 2010/11
- BAFTA - Nomination, Best Drama Serial – 2010/11
- Banff World Television Festival - Nomination, Best Mini-Series - 2011
Special awards
- Royal Television SocietyRoyal Television SocietyThe Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
- Fellowship - 2006 - BAFTA - Alan Clarke Award for Outstanding Creative Contribution to TV – 1999
- FIPAFestival International de Programmes AudiovisuelsThe International Festival of Audiovisual Programmes , founded in 1987 by Michel Mitrani , was first held in Cannes in October 1987....
, Biarritz - EuroFipa d'Honneur - 2005 - BFIBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
- Special Award for Television Achievement - 1988/89
Articles
- The Promise: The Missing Memorial, The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
- The Promise: Britain's humiliation in Palestine, The ObserverThe ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
- The Promise: A Film-maker's Eye, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Britz: Split Screen, The TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
- The Government Inspector: The Answer Is No, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Making Mischief: Making Mischief, The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
Retrospective interviews
- Peter Kosminsky masterclass, DocHouse, Riverside Studios, 21 September 2007
- Interview with Peter Kosminsky (video), Séries Mania, Forum des Images, 12 April 2011
- Kosminsky on his groundbreaking TV dramas