Directing
The story of the big names that have shaped the musical genres, plus an occasional stopgap for the new rock 'n' roll - comedy.
Channel 4 documentary series covering all branches of the arts.
For the first time one of Hollywood's greatest stars tells his own story, in his own words. From a childhood of poverty to global fame, Cary Grant, the ultimate self-made star, explores his own screen image and what it took to create it.
From 1978 to 1985 Alan Lomax traveled the American South and Southwest with a television crew to document regional folklore with deep historical roots. From the resulting 400 hours of footage came the five-program series American Patchwork, which aired on PBS in 1991.
A BBC Arena profile of the Director from the time of the release of his film, The Garden, featuring interviews with Jarman, his collaborators and friends.
Elvis Costello: Mystery Dance, the first-ever documentary portrait of one of the greatest musicians and songwriters of our time. Assured of Costello’s full collaboration, exclusive access to his extensive archive and with the full participation of his record company, the film is a definitive portrait of a major music icon.
Internationally renowned pianist Alfred Brendel delivers three different lectures: 'Does Classical Music Have to Be Entirely Serious?', 'Musical Characters', and 'Light and Shade of Interpretation'. Using his piano throughout to illustrate various ideas and concepts. The subject matter for the different sessions include the use of humour in classical music, Beethoven's sonatas, and interpretation. Recorded at the Schuttkasten, Salzburg, 25, 26, 27 September 2010.
Filmed over two years in India and the USA, Mark Kidel's award-winning documentary brings together archive footage spanning seven decades of Ravi Shankar's performing life, and provides a definitive account of the late sitar maestro's unique musical career.
A documentary on Tricky, a musician from Bristol south-west England.
A revealing and often ribald look at the seaside resort where people can let their hair down, whether in the sedate atmosphere of the Tower Ballroom or on the world's biggest and fastest rollercoaster. Actor David Thewlis returns to his home town, a place where beer is drunk and dreams are played out against the backdrop of a thoroughly British fantasy.
Mark Kidel's portrait of Boy George is a hypnotic story of narcissism and neediness, drugs and drag. It covers nine years, from Culture Club's sudden success through George's rebirth as a solo celeb. Along the way there's tons of amazing archive footage, some very queer fashions, a gripping interview with his ex, Jon Moss and a sign of salvation.
From the early 19th century 1946 Paris had many brothels that were tolerated and controlled by the state. These were sometimes rough places but more often were housed in richly designed buildings and serviced a clientèle from all walks of life. This documentary looks back at the Paris brothels through photographs, historians as well as memories from some who would frequent them as clients or work there as prostitutes.
A bio-documentary of the Italian American tenor, star of The Great Caruso and inspiration to the Three Tenors.
BBC TV documentary
Hailed as the "Rembrandt of the Video Age," renowned American artist Bill Viola became the first contemporary artist ever to be featured in a one-man show at London's prestigious National Gallery. This documentary directed by Mark Kidel features rarely seen footage from Viola's own archive and in-depth interviews with the video maverick. Viola talks passionately about his life and the influences that have driven his artwork from the beginning.
Brian Clarke is one of Britain's hidden treasures. A painter of striking large canvases and the designer of some of the most exciting stained glass in the world today, he is better known abroad - especially in Germany and Switzerland - than in his own country and more widely recognised among critics, collectors and gallery owners than he is by the general public. In this visually striking documentary portrait made by award-winning film-maker Mark Kidel, Clarke returns to Lancashire where he grew up as a prodigy in a working class family and charts his meteoric rise during the punk years and eventual success as a stained glass artist working with some of the world's great architects, including Norman Foster and Arata Isozaki - and producing spectacular work in Japan, Brazil, the USA and Europe. Contributors include his close friend and architect Zaha Hadid, architect Peter Cook and art historian Martin Harrison.
This film by director Mark Kidel about one of the world's leading makers of music programs features an illuminating documentary profile on one of the world's foremost jazz keyboard players and composers, along with an electric performance by the Zawinul Syndicate at the Point in Cardiff, Wales, 2004. Shot in an unusually intimate manner, the film communicates powerfully the immediate excitement of jazz as a no-holds-barred, risk-embracing adventure: the shooting and editing highlight the exceptional collective improvisation and musical dialog which characterize Zawinul's work. From a childhood in Vienna, to a move to the United States in 1958, Zawinul found success with the band Weather Report.
An intimate account of the relationship between young composer and pianist Kit Armstrong and the world renowned Alfred Brendel, Set the Piano Stool on Fire captures both the creative process and champions the value of teaching and collaboration. Featuring the only filmed footage of Brendel during his farewell tour, this is highly revealing and essential viewing for anyone interested in classical music.
After seeking access for nearly 10 years, Mark and his producer Emma gained access to a painter who had always been reluctant to expose his mystery. The film explores the eroticism and latent violence of his paintings, as well as his masterly treatment of landscape and flowers. The myth of paedophilia that has hung like a shadow over his life and work is blown apart by testimony from artists and art historians, as well as by one of his former child models. Balthus is revealed to be an original, whose life and work have been driven by matters much deeper than shock value or sex.
Follows Peter Sellars around the globe to reveal his inner life as an artistic visionary. Filming over two years, Mark Kidel travels a rocky artistic road with one of the world's most controversial theatre directors, Peter Sellars. Focusing on his curatorial duties for the New Crowned Hope Festival in 2006, Kidel reveals the method behind Sellars's 'madness' through in-depth interviews and glimpses into the rehearsal room.
