John Goldschmidt (born 1943) is a British-Austrian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

and producer. Goldschmidt was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, but grew up in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

leaving at the age of 16 to return to London. Goldschmidt has both Austrian and British nationality. He studied at the Czech National Film School 'FAMU' and at The Royal College of Art's Department of Film and Television, where he graduated in 1968 with a Master of Arts degree.

Biography and film credits

Goldschmidt has made documentary and fiction films for

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

BBC Films BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including '' Truly, Madly, Deeply'', '' Alan Pa ...

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

, Granada Films,

Associated Television Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and ...

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

Film4 Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms ...

in the UK, and ZDF,

Westdeutscher Rundfunk Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...

Norddeutscher Rundfunk Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR; ''Northern German Broadcasting'') is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommer ...

, Österreichischer Rundfunk, SRG SSR idée suisse,

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services provi ...

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and gene ...

Bavaria Film Bavaria Film is a German film production and distribution company. It is one of Europe's largest film production companies, with some 30 subsidiaries. History The studios were founded in 1919, when Munich-raised film producer Peter Ostermayr ...

, on the European continent, and

HBO Films HBO Films (formerly called HBO Premiere Films and HBO Pictures) is an American production and distribution company, a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. The division produces fiction and non- ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. His award winning films as producer/director have included ''Just one Kid'' and ''It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow'' (writer

Bernard Kops Bernard Kops (born 28 November 1926) is a British dramatist, memoirist, poet and novelist. Early life Born in the East End of London, the son of Dutch-Jewish immigrants, Kops was evacuated from London in 1939, and recounted that experience in e ...

, true stories set in London's

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

, Associated Television), as director '' Spend, Spend, Spend'' (starring Susan Littler, writer

Jack Rosenthal Jack Morris Rosenthal (8 September 1931 – 29 May 2004) was an English playwright. He wrote 129 early episodes of the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and over 150 screenplays, including original TV plays, feature films, and adaptations. ...

, about

football pools In the United Kingdom, the football pools, often referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of association football matches taking place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, and may enco ...

winner Viv Nicholson, BBC Television) and ''The Devil's Lieutenant'' (starring

Ian Charleson Ian Charleson (11 August 1949 – 6 January 1990) was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Oscar-winning 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''. ...

and Helmut Griem, writer

, mini series set in Vienna during the last years of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

and based on the novel by Maria Fagyas, Channel 4, ZDF,

), '' A Crime of Honour'' (aka ''

A Song for Europe A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...

'', starring

David Suchet Sir David Courtney Suchet''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' ( ; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor known for his work on British stage and television. He portrayed Edward Teller in the television serial '' Oppen ...

and

Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) Maria Lynn Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an Americ ...

, writer Peter Prince, a true story inspired by the whistle blower Stanley Adams, Channel 4, ZDF, SRG, France 2 &

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

), '' Maschenka'' (writer

John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for novels about a barrister named Horace Rumpole. Early life Mortimer was born in Hampstead, London ...

, based on

Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born ...

's first novel C4 & ZDF). Goldschmidt's award winning films as producer include ''Utz'' (

Armin Mueller-Stahl Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 17 December 1930) is a retired German film actor, painter and author, who also appeared in numerous English-language films since the 1980s. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role i ...

, Brenda Fricker and

Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, Emmy, and Tony for his work. He won the three awards in a seve ...

, script by Hugh Whitemore based on novel by

Bruce Chatwin Charles Bruce Chatwin (13 May 194018 January 1989) was an English travel writer, novelist and journalist. His first book, ''In Patagonia'' (1977), established Chatwin as a travel writer, although he considered himself instead a storyteller, ...

) for BBC Films & NDR), ''

Deadly Voyage ''Deadly Voyage'' is a 1996 television film directed by John Mackenzie and written by Stuart Urban. Produced by Union Pictures and John Goldschmidt's Viva Films for joint distribution to BBC Films and HBO. Plot Aboard the cargo ship ''MC Ru ...

'' starring

Omar Epps Omar Hashim Epps (born July 20, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. Epps's film r ...

, written by

Stuart Urban Stuart Urban (born 1958) is a British film and television director. Early life and education Urban was educated at Rokeby Preparatory School, Kingston upon Thames and King's College School, Wimbledon. At the age of 13, he became the younge ...

(for HBO Pictures & BBC Films). Goldschmidt's television movies include directing ''Speech Day'' (BBC Television), directing ''Vampires'' (writer Dixie Williams, BBC Television), executive producing ''Shooting Stars'' starring Helmut Griem (Channel 4 & ZDF), (both written by

Barry Hines Melvin Barry Hines, FRSL (30 June 1939 – 18 March 2016) was an English author, playwright and screenwriter. His novels and screenplays explore the political and economic struggles of working-class Northern England, particularly in his native ...

) and producing the mini-series ''Murder East, Murder West'' (written by Ted Whitehead, thriller set either side of the Berlin Wall, Granada Television & NDR). Goldschmidt directed ''

She'll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas ''She'll Be Wearing Pink Pyjamas'' is a 1985 British comedy film directed by John Goldschmidt and starring Julie Walters, Anthony Higgins and former ''Emmerdale'' actress Alyson Spiro. It deals with the experiences of eight women from diverse ba ...

'' starring

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...

( Film Four) and produced ''Captain Jack'' starring

Bob Hoskins Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor. His work included lead roles in films and television series such as '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Long Good Friday'' (1980), ''Mona Lisa'' (1986), ''Who ...

(writer

, Granada Films), both films had theatrical distribution. He co-produced and directed the television mini-series ''Nobody's Hero'' (Thames Television). His German language drama-documentary films as director include ''Egon Schiele'' starring Felix Mitterer (also co-writer, ORF & ZDF) and ''Der Narr von Wien'' (aka ''The Fool from Vienna'' writer Felix Mitterer, about Peter Altenberg, ORF & ZDF). His award winning music films as director include ''The Emperor of Atlantis'' (aka Der Kaiser von Atlantis, opera written in

Theresienstadt Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination ca ...

concentration camp in 1943, WDR & BBC Television). His UK drama-documentaries as producer/director include ''Life for Christine'' (writer Fay Weldon, Granada Television & ZDF) and ''The Other Spike'' (dramatisation of comedian

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Colonial India, where he spent his ...

's nervous breakdown, Granada). Goldschmidt's early television documentaries include films for ''

World in Action ''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...

'' (Granada Television), " Bernadette Devlin" (the youngest member of the British Parliament, Associated Television), ''Doing her own Thing'' (

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom ...

, the youngest actress at the RSC, Associated Television),''The Games that Children play'' (LWT), ''The Mirror of Maigret'' ( Georges Simenon, Associated Television), ''Our Live Experiment is worth more than 3,000 Textbooks'' (Hornsey art students rebellion, Granada Television), ''The Unlucky Australians'' (the story of the Wave Hill walk-off in Australia, featuring

Frank Hardy Francis Joseph Hardy (21 March 1917 – 28 January 1994), published as Frank J. Hardy and also under the pseudonym Ross Franklyn, was an Australian novelist and writer. He is best known for his 1950 novel '' Power Without Glory'', and for his ...

, Associated Television), ''The Dead End Lads'' (unemployed teenagers dramatised their situation, Associated Television), ''Telling it like it is'' (

Hugh Cudlipp Hubert Kinsman Cudlipp, Baron Cudlipp, OBE (28 August 1913 – 17 May 1998), was a Welsh journalist and newspaper editor noted for his work on the ''Daily Mirror'' in the 1950s and 1960s. He served as chairman of the Mirror Group group of ...

on the state of the nation, Associated Television) and ''A Kind of Exile'' (folk singer

Peggy Seeger Margaret "Peggy" Seeger (born June 17, 1935) is an American folk singer. She has lived in Britain for more than 60 years, and was married to the singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl until his death in 1989. First American period Seeger's father ...

, Associated Television). At this time, Goldschmidt was blacklisted from the BBC and his file was marked by a member of the BBC staff working for

MI5 The Security Service, also known as MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), G ...

. Goldschmidt advised the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

on their audiovisual policy and proposed the setting up of a European Script Fund as part of the EU's MEDIA programme. Goldschmidt's production company Viva Films was set up through an output deal for fiction films with Granada Television in London and NDR in Hamburg. Goldschmidt has been a member of both BAFTA and European Film Prize (of the

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. The Academy—under the name of European Cinema Soc ...

) juries. He co-wrote (with

Michael Radford Michael James Radford (born 24 February 1946) is an English film director and screenwriter. He began his career as a documentary director and television comedy writer before transitioning into features in the early 1980s. His best-known credits ...

) the report which proposed Channel 4's involvement in theatrical films, recently co-wrote (with Don Boyd) The Director's Guild of Great Britain's reportDGGB Report to UK Government on Film Tax Credit (by Goldschmidt and Don Boyd

Screen Daily, 25 October 2005 to the British government on the UK tax credit for feature film production and has been a member of the board of Directors UK and of the Directors UK film committee. Goldschmidt directed '' Dough (film), Dough'' in London and

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

in 2015, starring Jonathan Pryce. The film was released in the US in 2016, and won several awards.

Awards for film productions

*The British Academy of Film and Television Award (BAFTA) - Director, *The Prix Italia RAI Prize - Music - Director/Writer, *The Golden Nymph - Monte Carlo - Director, *The Cine de Luca Award - Monte Carlo - Director, *Fehrnsehpeis der Oestereichischen Volksbildung - Director/Writer, *Silver Hugo - Chicago Film Festival - Director/Producer, *Royal Television Society Award - Director, *German Cinema Owner's Prize - Berlin Film Festival - Producer, *The Silver Bear—Berlin Film Festival - Producer, *Silver Nymph - Monte Carlo (twice) - Producer, *International Emmy Award Nomination—Drama Series - Director/Producer, *Prix Italia Prize—Nomination for Drama - Director/Producer, *CableAce Award (US) - Nomination – Producer.

References

External links

*
Viva Films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldschmidt, John British film directors 1943 births Living people