Phil Grabsky is a BAFTA-winning British documentary filmmaker who has received multiple awards for his directing, writing, producing and cinematography. He and his company Seventh Art Productions are behind cinema films such as ''Muhammad Ali – Through the Eyes of the World'', ''In Search of Beethoven'', ''In Search of Mozart'' and the landmark ''My Childhood, My Country – 20 Years in Afghanistan'', which won Best Single Documentary at the 2022 Television BAFTAs and was also nominated for its cinematography. He has made over 250 films which have played in cinemas and on TV and digital platforms worldwide. Among the many films Grabsky has directed for television are multiple singles for Channel 4, ITV, the BBC, Discovery, A&E, PBS, Sky Arts and others, as well as major series such as ''I Caesar – the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire'', ''The Great Commanders'', ''Tim Marlow on…'' and ''Spain – In the Shadow of the Sun''. Seventh Art has also made six history films with Monty Python’s Terry Jones, alongside being the world’s biggest producer of arts film for cinema and TV over the last 20 years. Phil Grabsky also made the first surround-sound documentary ''The Lost Temple of Java'' for the BBC and the world’s first 3D visual arts film, ''Tim Marlow on British Sculpture at the Royal Academy of Arts'' for Sky Arts 3D. Grabsky's ''Great Composers'' series includes the four ''In Search Of'' films, each exploring the life and music of a different classical composer (

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

and Chopin), as well as the ground-breaking feature ''Concerto – A Beethoven Journey'' following world-famous pianist

Leif Ove Andsnes Leif Ove Andsnes (; born 7 April 1970) is a Norwegian pianist and chamber musician. Andsnes has made several recordings for Virgin and EMI. In 2012, Leif Ove Andsnes has signed to Sony Classical, and recorded for the label the "Beethoven Journe ...

on his extensive journey through the five Beethoven piano concertos. ''In Search of Mozart'' premiered at London's Barbican concert hall in 2006, in front of 1000 people. In 2007 Grabsky completed ''Escape from Luanda'' which tells the tale of three students at

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's only music school. Other films cover a broad range of topics, from Brazilian footballer Pele and Muhammad Ali to ''Heavy Water: A Film for Chernobyl'' (2006), which explores the Chernobyl nuclear disaster through Mario Petrucci’s poetry. He worked in conjunction with director David Bickerstaff for this project which won Best Short Documentary at the Cinequest Film Festival. Grabsky has also written four history books, including ''The Great Artists'' – co-authored with

Tim Marlow Timothy John Marlow (born 1962) is a British writer, broadcaster and art historian who is the Director and Chief Executive of the Design Museum,Hannah McGivern (October 7, 2019)Tim Marlow leaves Royal Academy of Arts to head London’s Design Mu ...

– and the best-seller ''The Great Commanders''. He is regularly involved as a judge for the Emmys, BAFTAs, Grierson and One World awards, and has won numerous personal awards himself including Royal Television Society awards for both ‘Best Director’ and ‘Services to Television’, and a Voice of the Listener and Viewer Award for ‘Services to Education.’ Grabsky also lectures and gives masterclasses and has been invited to talk on Radio 3 (In Tune), Radio 4 (the Today Show, Start the Week, The History Quiz), Radio 5, BBC Southern Counties (Breakfast show, Film Review, Music of my Life), Classic FM,

LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadca ...

, TalkSport, Times Radio, and the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

. He also frequently attends question & answer sessions with his films in the UK and around the world. He also has an art blog and hosts the popular podcast ‘Painting of the Week.’ In 2009, Grabsky and his colleagues began work on a new arts genre for the cinema: Exhibition on Screen, which began with 'Leonardo Live'. This brings major art exhibitions – and the intimate biographies of the artists – to cinema, mainstream television and home entertainment platforms worldwide. The aim of the project is to increase access to these exhibitions and their curatorial context. Grabsky has said of them that they are 'partly for people to learn about the works and partly the pure aesthetic pleasure of seeing the artworks on a massive screen'. Exhibition on Screen now plays in 1500 cinemas and 60+ countries worldwide. Its website lists 34 films on artists including

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...

, and

Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

Feature documentaries

** ''Pissarro: Father of Impressionism'' (2022) ** ''My Childhood, My Country - 20 Years in Afghanistan'' (2021) ** ''The Danish Collector: Delacroix to Gaugin'' (2021) ** ''Sunflowers'' (2021) ** ''Easter in Art'' (2020) ** ''Frida Kahlo'' (2020) ** ''Raphael Revealed'' (2020) ** ''Lucian Freud: A Self Portrait'' (2020) ** ''Leonardo: The Works'' (2019) ** ''Van Gogh and Japan'' (2019) ** ''Young Picasso'' (2019) ** ''Degas: Passion For Perfection'' (2018) ** ''David Hockney at the Royal Academy of Arts'' (2017) ** ''Michelangelo: Love and Death'' (2017) ** ''The Artist's Garden: American Impressionism'' (2017) ** ''I, Claude Monet'' (2017) ** ''Canaletto and the Art of Venice'' (2017) ** ''The Curious World of Hieronymus Bosch'' (2016) ** ''Painting the Modern Garden: from Monet to Matisse'' (2016) ** ''Concerto - A Beethoven Journey'' (2015) ** ''Renoir: Revered and Reviled'' (2015) ** ''Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood'' (2015) ** ''The impressionists and the Man Who Made Them'' (2015) ** ''Vincent van Gogh: a New Way of Seeing'' (2015) ** ''Girl with a Pearl Earring'' (2015) ** ''Matisse Live'' (2014) ** ''In Search of Chopin'' (2014) ** ''Rembrandt from the National Gallery'' (2014) ** ''Leonardo from the National Gallery'' (2014) ** ''Vermeer'' (2013) ** ''Munch'' (2013) ** ''Manet'' (2012) ** ''Leonardo Live'' (2012) ** ''In Search of Haydn'' (2012) ** ''The Boy Mir - Ten Years in Afghanistan'' (2011) ** ''In Search of Beethoven'' (2009) ** ''Escape from Luanda'' (2007) ** ''Heavy Water: A Film for Chernoby'' (2006) ** ''In Search of Mozart'' (2006) ** ''The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan'' (2003) ** ''Muhammad Ali – Through the Eyes of the World'' (2001)

Selected TV programmes

Series

*''Great Art'' (2018–present) *''

Judgement Day The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

: Images of Heaven and Hell'' (2004) *''Great Artists with Tim Marlow'' (2003) *''The Impressionists'' (1998) *''I,

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

– The Rise and Fall of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

'' (1997) *''Ancient Warriors'' (1994-1995) *''The Great Commanders'' (1993) *''Spain – In the Shadow of the Sun'' (1990)

One-offs

*''Witness - A Child of Afghanistan: 20 Years of War'' (2021) 45 minute version of ''My Childhood, My Country: 20 Years in Afghanistan'' co-directed with Shoaib Sharifi *''Tim Marlow On..Highlights of the New

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

'' (2006) *''The Hidden History of Rome – with

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...

'' (2001) *''The Hidden History of Egypt – with Terry Jones'' (2001) *''Brazil – An Inconvenient History'' (2000) *''The Lost Temple of Java'' (1999)

Publications

*''The Great Artists: From Giotto to Turner'' by Grabsky and

(2002) *''The Lost Temple of Java'' by Grabsky (1999) *''I, Caesar: Ruling the Roman Empire'' by Grabsky (1997) *''The Great Commanders: Alexander, Caesar, Nelson, Napoleon, Grant and Zhukov'' by Grabsky (1995)

Awards

*''My Childhood, My Country - 20 Years in Afghanistan (2021)'' **Best Single Documentary - BAFTA Television Awards (2022) **Best Documentary - Royal Television Society (2022) **Phoenix Award for Best Documentary - Film Festival Cologne (2021) **Best Documentary - Seminici Valladolid International Film Festival (2021) **Golden Reel for Best Documentary - Tiburon Film Festival (2021) **Best International Documentary - DC International Film Festival (2022) **Student Jury Award - One World International Human Rights Film Festival (2022) **Best Documentary Feature - San Luis Obispo International Film Festival (2022) **Best Feature Documentary - Titan International Film Festival (2022) **Best Feature Documentary - Bali International Film Festival (2022) **Author's Documentary - URTI Grand Prix European Film Festival(2022) *''Exhibition on Screen: Matisse (2015)'' **Royal Television Society Southern Awards - Best Non-broadcast (2015) *''The Boy Mir - 10 Years in Afghanistan (2011)'' **Best Documentary - Santa Barbara International Film Festival **Best Foreign Film - HumanDOC Documentary Film Festival, Poland **Runner up: long documentary - Al Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival *''In Search of Beethoven (2009)'' – Shortlisted: Creative communication - Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards *''Escape from Luanda (2007)'' – Silver Award for Excellence - Park City Film Music Festival *''In Search of Mozart (2006)'' – Best Documentary - Dubrovnik Film Festival *''Heavy Water: A Film for Chernobyl (2006)'' – Winner – Special Mention - Ourense International Independent Film Festival *''The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan (2003)'' **Best Film, Cinematography and Editing - Gold Hugo in Chicago **First prize - Valladolid International Film Festival **Best Original Score (Dimitri Tchamouroff) – RTS Awards

References

External links

*
Escape from Luandaescapefromluanda.com downloads
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grabsky, Phil Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British documentary filmmakers