Sir Sydney H. Wylie Samuelson (7 December 1925 – 14 December 2022) was a British film director and cinematographer. He was appointed in 1991 by the government of the UK as the first British Film Commissioner.

Early life

Sydney Wylie Samuelson was born in

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

, London, to George Berthold Samuelson, a cinema pioneer of the

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

era, and Marjorie Emma Elizabeth Vint. He was educated at the Irene Avenue Council School in

Lancing, West Sussex Lancing is a large coastal village and civil parish in the Adur district of West Sussex, England, on the western edge of the Adur Valley. It occupies part of the narrow central section of the Sussex coastal plain between smaller Sompting to th ...

Career

Samuelson started his career as a rewind boy at the Luxor cinema in

. After working in several cinemas in the Midlands as a relief operator for the ABC circuit, he got a job as a trainee film editor with Gaumont British, which was then at Lime Grove in London. After serving in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

from 1943 to 1947, he got a job as a trainee cameraman with the Colonial Film Unit. He then went on to work for Rayant Pictures, for whom he filmed the

Coronation of Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

in 1953. In 1954, he set up Samuelson Film Service, hiring out film equipment. He went on to become the first British Film Commissioner and remained in the post for six years. He was chosen as chairman of the management board of

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

in 1976 and was a permanent trustee. In 1985, he received the Michael Balcon Award, and in 1993, he received a Fellowship of BAFTA, the Academy's highest honour. Samuelson was appointed a

Commander of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 1978 Birthday Honours for service to BAFTA, and

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the 1995 Birthday Honours for services to the film industry.The United Kingdom: Samuelson wrote the foreword featured in the book '' In Conversation with Cinematographers'' by David A. Ellis, published by the American publisher Rowman & Littlefield. He was the first President of the UK Jewish Film Festival. He remained in the role until 2005, and as of 2010 was the UKJFF Honorary Lifetime Patron.

Death

Samuelson died at his home on 14 December 2022, aged 97.

References

External links

* 1925 births 2022 deaths Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire BAFTA fellows BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

British Jews Royal Air Force personnel of World War II People from Paddington Film directors from London Royal Air Force airmen Military personnel from the City of Westminster {{UK-film-bio-stub