Jonathan Brough is a New Zealand-born film director based in Australia. He is best known for the comedy TV series ''
Rosehaven
''Rosehaven'' is an Australian television comedy series created and written by Celia Pacquola and Luke McGregor, who also star in the lead roles. Its name derives from the fictional small town in rural Tasmania in which it is set. Premierin ...
'', ''
Aftertaste
Aftertaste is the taste intensity of a food or beverage that is perceived immediately after that food or beverage is removed from the mouth. The aftertastes of different foods and beverages can vary by intensity and over time, but the unifying fe ...
'' and ''
The Family Law
''The Family Law'' is an Australian comedy television program created by Benjamin Law. The six-part series, loosely adapted from Law's 2010 book of the same name, was written by Law and Marieke Hardy. The series was produced by Matchbox Pictu ...
''.
Early life and education
Brough grew up in
Hawera, New Zealand, the son of John Brough,
a theatre and television actor.
[
]
Career
Brough's graduation project was ''The Model'', a short film (11 minutes) based on a short story by Bernard Malamud
Bernard Malamud (April 26, 1914 – March 18, 1986) was an American novelist and short story writer. Along with Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, and Philip Roth, he was one of the best known American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseba ...
, inspired by the work of painter Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realist painter and printmaker. While he is widely known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching.
Hopper created subdued drama ...
,[ and starring Brough's father and Susannah Devereux (later a horror actress in the US][). The film was an official selection in the ]1994 Cannes Film Festival
The 47th Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 1994. The Palme d'Or went to the American film ''Pulp Fiction'' directed by Quentin Tarantino.
The festival opened with ''The Hudsucker Proxy'', directed by Joel Coen and closed with ''Seri ...
for a special one-off programme of short films, and was screened at the Silver Images Film Festival in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, subdivision_name ...
, U.S.[ The film was later included in a video anthology called ''Dark Stories 2: Tales from Beneath'' (2002).
In following years he directed two short films, ''The Conversation'' (1995) and ''Permanent Wave'' (1996).][
In 2004 he directed four episodes of the television drama series '']The Insider's Guide to Happiness
''The Insiders Guide To Happiness'' is a New Zealand drama series that explores the lives of a group of six previously unconnected people. Each life is connected by a bizarre car accident, the outcome of which forces them to examine and explore t ...
'', and was responsible for directing several documentaries about the making of the film ''Whale Rider
''Whale Rider'' is a 2002 New Zealand Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Niki Caro. Based on the 1987 novel ''The Whale Rider'' by Witi Ihimaera, the film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve- ...
'', for the DVD extras, and a separate release, ''Riding the Wave: The Whale Rider Story''.[
Also in 2004 he made ''No Ordinary Sun'', a short ]sci fi
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...
film set in Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
, which he described as "the closest yet as a statement of what I want to achieve as a filmmaker". It screened at the Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and Slamdance Film Festival
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...
s.[
Brough co-created the ]mockumentary
A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary.
These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
series '' The Pretender'' in 2005,[ and directed six episodes in all,] including the opening episodes of both seasons.[
He directed many episodes of the American TV series of ''Power Rangers'' 2006 to 2007 and from 2008 to 2015.][
In 2008 he travelled to Russia make a film about a New Zealand charity worker, entitled ''Russia's Forgotten Children''.][
For a couple of years from 2011 he worked in both Australia, where he directed two episodes of the supernatural comedy-drama '']Spirited
''Spirited'' is an Australian television Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy-drama series made for subscription television channel W that aired for two seasons, 2010 and 2011.
The series stars Claudia Karvan as dentist Suzy Darling, wh ...
'', and New Zealand, where he directed another short film,[ ''Snowmen'' (2014), which screened at the interfilm Berlin in 2015, as well as episodes the comedy series ''Coverband''.][
Brough directed the comedy series '']It's a Date
''It's a Date'' is a 1940 American musical film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Deanna Durbin, Kay Francis, and Walter Pidgeon. Based on a story by Jane Hall, Frederick Kohner, and Ralph Block, the film is about an aspiring actres ...
'' which went to air for two seasons in 2013 and 2014, and several episodes of '' The Time of Our Lives'' over the same period. He started being nominated for and winning awards with his work in Australian comedy, including '' Sammy J & Randy in Ricketts Lane'' (2015).[
His work on the popular comedy series '']Rosehaven
''Rosehaven'' is an Australian television comedy series created and written by Celia Pacquola and Luke McGregor, who also star in the lead roles. Its name derives from the fictional small town in rural Tasmania in which it is set. Premierin ...
'' and ''Family Law
Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.
Overview
Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include:
* Marriage, ...
'' was acclaimed, with the former winning many accolades.[
Brough directed the ]Fox Showcase
Fox Showcase (formerly known as Showcase) is an Australian premium drama cable and satellite television channel. It was initially part of the Showtime Australia channels and was managed by PMP chief executive officer Peter Rose. In 2007 Rose ...
/ Sky Atlantic
Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HBO ...
drama series ''The End
The End may refer to:
Films
* ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine
* ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds
* ''The End'' (1997 film), a Canadian film of 1997
* ''The End'' (1998 film), a skateboarding document ...
'' (2020) tackled the subject of euthanasia
Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different eut ...
.[
He directed the first season of the Australian TV series '']Aftertaste
Aftertaste is the taste intensity of a food or beverage that is perceived immediately after that food or beverage is removed from the mouth. The aftertastes of different foods and beverages can vary by intensity and over time, but the unifying fe ...
'' in 2021.
Awards
*2005: Nomination, New Zealand Screen Awards, for ''No Ordinary Sun''[
*2005: Winner, inaugural Friends of the Civic Award for Best NZ Short at the Auckland Film Festival, for ''No Ordinary Sun''][
*2016: Winner, ADG Award for Best Direction in a TV Comedy (]Australian Directors Guild
The Australian Directors' Guild (ADG) is an industry guild representing the interests of film, television, commercials and digital media directors, including documentary makers and animators, throughout Australia. With its headquarters in Sydney ...
), for episode 1 of '' Sammy J & Randy in Ricketts Lane''
* 2017: Nomination, ADG Award for Best Direction in a TV Comedy, for ''Rosehaven
''Rosehaven'' is an Australian television comedy series created and written by Celia Pacquola and Luke McGregor, who also star in the lead roles. Its name derives from the fictional small town in rural Tasmania in which it is set. Premierin ...
''[
* 2017: Nomination, ADG Award for Best Direction in a TV Comedy, for '']The Family Law
''The Family Law'' is an Australian comedy television program created by Benjamin Law. The six-part series, loosely adapted from Law's 2010 book of the same name, was written by Law and Marieke Hardy. The series was produced by Matchbox Pictu ...
''[
* 2021: Nomination, AACTA Award for Best Miniseries or Telefeature]
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brough, Jonathan
New Zealand film directors
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)