Mark Herman (born 1954) is an English film director and screenwriter, best known for writing and directing the 2008 film ''

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas ''The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'' is a 2006 Holocaust novel by Irish novelist John Boyne. Much like the process he undertakes when writing most of his novels, Boyne has said that he wrote the entire first draft in two and a half days, without ...

''.

Life and career

Herman was born in

Bridlington Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 Cen ...

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was educated at

Woodleigh School, North Yorkshire Woodleigh School was a Preparatory school (UK), preparatory school for boys and girls aged 3 to 13, located in the village of Langton, North Yorkshire, Langton, North Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1929 and closed in August 2012. In i ...

and thereafter at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...

and

Bridlington Grammar School Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 Cen ...

, Bridlington. Aged 27, he was late entering the film industry, studying Art at Hull Art College before taking up animation at Leeds Polytechnic, now

Leeds Beckett University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The univ ...

, from where he progressed to the

National Film and Television School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2021 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repor ...

. There, he moved away from animation and towards writing and directing. He also wrote lyrics for the successful 1980s band The Christians on their first album, '' The Christians'', alongside fellow East Riding of Yorkshire songwriter

Henry Priestman Henry Christian Priestman (born 21 June 1955 in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England) is an English rock singer, keyboardist, record producer and songwriter. Biography Priestman was educated at Woodleigh School, North Yorkshir ...

. Herman’s first feature-length project was ''

Blame It on the Bellboy ''Blame It on the Bellboy'' is a 1992 comedy film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Dudley Moore, Bryan Brown, Patsy Kensit, Richard Griffiths, Andreas Katsulas, and Bronson Pinchot. The plot is about a case of mistaken identit ...

'' (1992), a comedy of mistaken identity starring

Dudley Moore Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...

and

Bryan Brown Bryan Neathway Brown AM (born 23 June 1947) is an Australian actor. He has performed in over eighty film and television projects since the late 1970s, both in his native Australia and abroad. Notable films include ''Breaker Morant'' (1980), ' ...

. Next, Herman wrote and directed the critically acclaimed ''

Brassed Off ''Brassed Off'' is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor. The film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of ...

'' (1996), following the members of a colliery brass band, still struggling to survive a decade after the miners' strike. In '' Little Voice'' (1998), adapted by Herman from

Jim Cartwright Jim Cartwright (born 27 June 1958) is an English dramatist, born in Farnworth, Lancashire. Cartwright's first play, ''Road'', won a number of awards before being adapted for TV and broadcast by the BBC. His work has been translated into more t ...

's play ''The Rise and Fall of Little Voice'',

Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...

reprises the title role of a harried young woman whose only escape lies in the memory of her father and in imitating the singers he admired. ''Purely Belter'' (2000), adapted by Herman from

Jonathan Tulloch Jonathan Tulloch is a British author, naturalist, and former teacher who writes regular nature features for The Times and The Tablet. His 2000 novel ''The Season Ticket'' was adapted into the film ''Purely Belter'' and serialised on BBC Radio 4. Tu ...

's novel ''The Season Ticket'', is the story of two teenage boys trying to get together enough money for a couple of

Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

season tickets. '' Hope Springs'' (2003), is an adaptation of ''New Cardiff''. His most recent work is the adaptation of ''

''. It was produced by

David Heyman David Jonathan Heyman (born 26 July 1961) is a British film producer and the founder of Heyday Films. Heyman secured the rights to the ''Harry Potter'' film series in 1999 and went on to produce all eight installments of the franchise. He als ...

and stars

David Thewlis David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is a British actor, author, director and screenwriter. Thewlis rose to prominence when he starred in the film ''Naked'' (1993), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Aw ...

Vera Farmiga Vera Ann Farmiga ( ; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress who is best known for portraying paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring Universe films '' The Conjuring'' (2013), '' The Conjuring 2'' (2016), '' Annabelle Co ...

Sheila Hancock Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. Hancock trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before starting her career in repertory theatre. Hancock went on to perform in plays and musica ...

and

Rupert Friend Rupert William Anthony Friend (born 9 October 1981) is an English actor. He first gained recognition for his roles in '' The Libertine'' (2004) and '' Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont'' (2005), both of which won him awards for best newcomer. He port ...

. Herman directed and adapted the work. Herman is a fellow of Film and Television Production,

York St John University , mottoeng = They may have life and have it more abundantly , established = , type = Public , administrative_staff = 618 , chancellor = Reeta Chakrabarti , vice_chancellor = Professor Karen Bryan , student ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, England, and has received Honorary Doctorates from Hull University and Leeds Beckett University. Jessica Winter in ''The Rough Guide to Film'' criticises Herman's fondness for "cloying" close-ups and "contrived melodramatic showdown , saying of the film ''Purely Belter'', that it "probably didn't create many new converts to Herman's partly gritty, party feel-good socialist realist strain of filmmaking."

Filmography

*''See You at Wembley, Frankie Walsh'' (1987) – a comedy based around the wedding of a Hull City fan; won a

Student Academy Award The Student Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in an annual competition for college and university filmmakers. Description The awards were originally named the Student Film Awards and were first ...

in 1987. *''Unusual Ground Floor Conversion'' (1987) *''

'' (1992) *''

'' (1996) *'' Little Voice'' (1998) *''

Purely Belter ''Purely Belter'' is a 2000 British comedy drama film directed by Mark Herman about two teenagers (Chris Beattie and Greg McLane) trying to get money, by any means necessary, in order to get season tickets for home games of Premier League football ...

'' (2000) *'' Hope Springs'' (2003) *''

'' (2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herman, Mark 1954 births Living people English film directors English dramatists and playwrights People from Bridlington Alumni of the Northern Film School Alumni of the National Film and Television School English male dramatists and playwrights