Roger Deakins returns to as a guest judge to choose his favourite film out of our 2016 selection!
Roger Deakins, CBE, ASC, BSC, was born and raised in Torquay, a small coastal town not far from Plymouth in Devon. After attending Torquay Boy’s Grammar school, Deakins moved on to study graphic design at the Bath School or Art and Design where he discovered his passion for photography. After completing a photographic project focused on Torquay, he then began to pursue his love for film by enrolling in the National Film and Television School.
Following his graduation, Deakins focused on documentaries for some seven years, on subjects ranging from the wars in Rhodesia and Eritrea to a trip of nine-months duration in one of the entrants on a round the world yacht race. During this time he was also involved in the directing and shooting of a number of music videos before taking on the role of cinematographer for Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), after completing a number of UK feature films he then traveled to America to continue honing his craft.
Now spending his time between Hollywood film sets and his home near Torbay, Deakins has earned a reputation as one of the premier cinematic visionaries of his generation, having been the cinematographer on some of the greatest movies made in the last 30 years.
The three-time BAFTA award winner, was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2013, the first C.B.E. ever given to a cinematographer, throughout his career he has collected awards from the American Society of Cinematographers in addition to a whole host of Oscar Nominations. When you take a look at his incredible portfolio of work, it doesn’t take long to figure out why, with credits including The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Fargo (1996), A Beautiful Mind (2001) and No Country For Old Men (2007).
Known for creating breath-taking visuals and many successful collaborations with the Coen Brothers spanning just shy of 25 years, the Devon-born cinematographer kindly agreed to take the time to choose a winning film at our 2015 Festival.
It’s a huge honour for the festival to have the support of such an iconic figure within the film industry whose work we have the deepest admiration for and it will no doubt be an amazing accolade for the winner of this award.
The Roger Deakins award winner will be selected from the nominated films at the 2016 Plymouth Film Festival. All submitted films are therefore automatically eligible for this prestigious award.