John Battsek is a British

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

s. Battsek co-founded Passion Pictures, a two-time Oscar-winning and four-time Oscar nominated independent production company. In 2020, Battsek departed Passion Pictures to launch creative studi
Ventureland
with producers

Kerstin Emhoff Kerstin Emhoff (née Mackin; born March 18, 1967) is an American film producer and founder and CEO of the production company Prettybird. Under her leadership the company's films have won Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards, and Cannes Lions, while she ...

, Ali Brown and director

Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event in 2001, 2002, and 2004, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on a ...

Career and awards

In 1999, Battsek conceived and produced

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winning ''

One Day in September ''One Day in September'' is a 1999 documentary film directed by Kevin Macdonald examining the 5 September 1972 murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Michael Douglas provides the sparse narration through ...

''. He served as an executive producer on Academy Award-winning

Searching For Sugar Man ''Searching for Sugar Man'' is a 2012 documentary film about a South African cultural phenomenon, written and directed by Malik Bendjelloul, which details the efforts in the late 1990s of two Cape Town fans, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Craig ...

, Academy Award nominated Restrepo & Winter On Fire and BAFTA award-winning documentaries '' Hillsborough'' and The Imposter. In 2013 Battsek produced

Greg Barker Greg Barker is an American filmmaker and producer. In 2011, ''The New York Times'' described Barker as “a filmmaker of artistic and political consequence.” Previous films include '' Sergio'' (short-listed in 2010 for the Academy Award for B ...

's Emmy Award-winning documentary Manhunt: The Search For Bin Laden. In 2016 Battsek produced Peabody Award-winning and BAFTA-nominated '' Listen to Me Marlon''. In 2017 Battsek produced

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

: Life In 12 Bars which was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Music Film. In 2018 Battsek produced Emmy Award-winning documentary Forever Pure. Battsek was nominated for a

PGA Award The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing establishment w ...

in 2010 and in 2011 for '' Sergio'' and ''

The Tillman Story ''The Tillman Story'' is a 2010 American documentary film directed by Amir Bar-Lev and narrated by Josh Brolin. It is about the death of professional- football-player-turned- Army-Ranger Pat Tillman in the War in Afghanistan, the coverup of the ci ...

'', respectively. He was also nominated in 2015 for The Green Prince. In 2013 he received the Grierson Trust Trustees' Award. In 2019, he produced the

AACTA Award The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry, ...

-winning Australian feature-length documentary, '' The Australian Dream''.

Filmography

*''

'' (1999) – producer *'' The Game of Their Lives'' (2002) – executive producer *'' Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop'' (2003) – producer *''

Peace One Day Peace One Day is a non-profit organisation whose objective is to institutionalise the International Day of Peace. It was founded in 1999 by British documentary filmmaker and actor Jeremy Gilley. History In 1999 Jeremy Gilley desired there be ...

'' (2004) – co-producer *''

Lila Says ''Lila Says'' ( French title: ''Lila dit ça'') is a 2004 French film directed by Ziad Doueiri. The plot is based on the novel of the same title written by "Chimo" (a pseudonym). Plot Chimo (played by Mohammed Khouas) is a nineteen-year-old ...

'' (Lila Dit Ca) (2004) – co-producer *''

A State of Mind ''A State of Mind'' is a 2004 documentary film directed by Daniel Gordon and produced by Nicholas Bonner.Justin Corfield, ''Historical Dictionary of Pyongyang 2013'', page 16 "Nick Bonner has also been involved in the production of a number o ...

'' (2004) – producer *'' Black Sun'' (2005) – producer *'' Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos'' (2006) – producer *''

Crossing the Line Crossing the Line may refer to: Films * ''Crossing the Line'', an alternate US title for the film ''The Big Man'', by David Leland * ''Crossing the Line'', an alternate UK title for the film ''Little Woods'', by Nia DaCosta * ''Crossing the Li ...

'' (2006) – executive producer *'' In the Shadow of the Moon'' (2007) – executive producer *''

My Kid Could Paint That ''My Kid Could Paint That'' is a 2007 documentary film by director Amir Bar-Lev. The movie follows the early artistic career of Marla Olmstead, a young girl from Binghamton, New York who gains fame first as a child prodigy painter of abstract ar ...

'' (2007) – executive producer *''

In Prison My Whole Life ''In Prison My Whole Life'' is a 2007 documentary film about American journalist and prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, directed by Marc Evans, and written by Evans and William Francome. Others involved with the project were Robert R. Bryan, Angela Davis, ...

'' (2007) – co-producer *'' Sergio'' (2009) – producer *''

The Age of Stupid ''The Age of Stupid'' is a 2009 British documentary film directed by Franny Armstrong, with first-time producer Lizzie Gillett. The executive producer is John Battsek. The film is a drama- documentary- animation hybrid, which stars Pete Postleth ...

'' (2009) – executive producer *'' Restrepo'' (2010) – executive producer *''The Stones in Exile'' – (2010) – producer *''

'' – (2010) – producer *''

Fire in Babylon ''Fire in Babylon'' is a 2010 British documentary film about the record-breaking West Indies cricket team of the 1970s and 1980s. Featuring stock footage and interviews with several former players and officials, including Colin Croft, Deryck Murra ...

'' – (2010) – producer *''

Project Nim Neam "Nim" Chimpsky (November 19, 1973 – March 10, 2000) was a chimpanzee and the subject of an extended study of animal language acquisition at Columbia University. The project was led by Herbert S. Terrace with the linguistic analysis head ...

'' – (2011) – executive producer *''Bob & the Monster'' – (2011) – executive producer *'' Better This World'' – (2011) – executive producer *''Koran by Heart'' – (2011) – producer *'' The Imposter'' – (2012) – executive producer *''

Searching for Sugar Man ''Searching for Sugar Man'' is a 2012 documentary film about a South African cultural phenomenon, written and directed by Malik Bendjelloul, which details the efforts in the late 1990s of two Cape Town fans, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Craig ...

'' – (2012) – executive producer *''

How I Live Now ''How I Live Now'' is a novel by Meg Rosoff, first published in 2004. It received generally positive reviews and won the British Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the American Printz Award for young-adult literature. Plot Fifteen-year-o ...

'' – (2013) – producer *'' Hillsborough'' – (2014) – executive producer *'' Listen to Me Marlon'' – (2015) – producer *''

We Are X ''We Are X'' is a 2016 documentary film about the Japanese rock band X Japan and its co-founder, drummer, pianist and leader Yoshiki. Directed by Stephen Kijak, it premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 23. The film covers the h ...

'' – (2016) – producer *'' Keep Quiet'' – (2016) – executive producer *''The Fall'' – (2016) – executive producer *''George Best – All by Himself'' – (2016) – producer *'' Forever Pure'' – (2016) – executive producer *''

Five Came Back ''Five Came Back'' is a 1939 American black-and-white melodrama from RKO Radio Pictures produced by Robert Sisk, directed by John Farrow, written by Jerry Cady, Dalton Trumbo, and Nathanael West, and starring Chester Morris and Lucille Ball. ...

'' – 2017 – producer *''Legion of Brothers'' – 2017 – producer *'' The Final Year'' – 2017 – producer *''Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars'' – 2017 – producer *'' Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist'' – 2018 – producer *'' Studio 54'' – 2018 – producer *'' If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd'' – 2018 – producer *''

The Serengeti Rules ''The Serengeti Rules'' is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Nicolas Brown, and based on the book by Sean B. Carroll. The film explores the discoveries of five pioneering scientists— Tony Sinclair, Mary E. Power, Bob Paine, John Ter ...

'' – 2018 – executive producer *'' Mike Wallace Is Here'' – 2019 – producer *'' The Australian Dream'' – 2019 – producer *'' Andy Murray: Resurfacing'' – 2019 – producer *''

Citizen K ''Citizen K'' is a 2019 documentary film about Mikhail Khodorkovsky, written and directed by Alex Gibney. It is a film about post-Soviet Russia featuring Khodorkovsky, Anton Drel, Maria Logan, Alexei Navalny, Tatyana Lysova, Leonid Nevzlin, Igo ...

'' – 2019 – producer *'' Circus of Books'' – 2019 – executive producer *''Sid and Judy'' – 2019 – producer *'' Mystify: Michael Hutchence'' – 2019 – producer *'' Oliver Sacks: His Own Life'' – 2019 – executive producer
''Rising Phoenix''
– 2020 – producer * '''Til Kingdom Come'' – 2020 – producer

References

External links

*
Interview with John Battsek

LIVE FOREVER - Movie Q&A with John Dower and John Battsek

John Battsek talks Oscar-winning documentary career, future projects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battsek, John Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British documentary film producers