Hugh Hudson

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Hugh Hudson bigraphy, stories - Film

Hugh Hudson : biography

25 August 1936 –

Hugh Hudson (born 25 August 1936) is an English film director. His best-known international success is the 1981 multiple Academy Award-winning film, Chariots of Fire.

Honours

In August 2007, in Nîmes, France, “Un Realisateur dans la Ville”, a festival created by Gerard Depardieu and Jean Claude Carriere to showcase each year the work of one director, featured the work of Hugh Hudson, showing eight films over 5 days. The festival premiered an Al Pacino-narrated version of Revolution called Revolution Revisited.

In October 2008 at the Dinard Festival of British Film, Hudson’s work was honoured. As a tribute five of his films were shown, with My Life So Far opening the festival. Revolution Revisited was the subject of a Q&A by the director.

Early life

Hudson was born in London, the second son of Jacynth (Ellerton), the second wife of Michael Donaldson-Hudson from Cheswardine in rural north Shropshire. His great-grandfather was Charles Donaldson-Hudson, a one-time member of Parliament for Newcastle under Lyme, Staffordshire. His paternal ancestors came from Scotland and Cumberland. He was sent to boarding school at the age of 6, and thereafter was educated at Eton College. He completed his National Service in the Royal Armoured Corps as a second lieutenant from the 28 January 1956, and remained as a lieutenant in the Army Reserve of Officers until he was discharged on January 16, 1960.

International awards

  • 1981: Cannes Golden Palm – nomination – Chariots of Fire
  • 1981: Toronto Audience Award – Chariots of Fire
  • 1982: Academy Awards – Chariots of Fire – Best Picture; nomination as Best Director
  • 1982: Golden Globe – Best Foreign Film
  • 1982: BAFTA – Best Picture
  • 1985: BFI – Technical achievement award – Greystoke
  • 1985: Cesar Awards – nomination, Best Foreign Film – Greystoke
  • 1985: Venice Film Festival Lion d’Or – nomination – Greystoke
  • 1986: Golden Raspberry Award – Revolution – nomination as Worst Director
  • 1989: Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival – nomination, Lost Angels
  • 2000: Cannes Festival 2000 – nominated closing film – I Dreamed of Africa
  • 2005: Taormina Festival – award for Cinematic Art
  • 2007: Cairo Film Festival – Silver Pyramid Award

Member of jury

  • Tokyo Film Festival (president) 1995
  • Istanbul Film Festival (president) 2001
  • Athens Film Festival (president) 2002
  • San Sebastian Film Festival 2003
  • Taormina (president and recipient of Arte award) film Festival 2005
  • Mar del Plata festival 2005
  • Tbilisi Film Festival (president) 2005
  • Sarajevo Film Festival 2006 and 2008
  • São Paulo Film Festival October 2008
  • Marrakesh Film Festival November 2008
  • Siberian Film Festival of Light (president) 2009
  • Vologda Independent Cinema from European Screens Festival (VOICES Festival)(President) July 2011
  • Bombay International Film Festival (president) 2011

1990s–present

In 1999 Hudson directed My Life So Far. Jean Claude Carriere wrote of it, "Hugh Hudson’s film My Life so Far is a delightful bittersweet film, which covers the start of a boy’s life during the first part of the 20th century — from his last baby’s bottle to his first cigar. A film which sadly is not known as well as it should be. It is a variation on a universal theme which will never end. There will always be men and women, old people and youngsters, horses and dogs." Hudson next directed I Dreamed of Africa (2000), which was the closing film of the Cannes Film Festival of that year.

In 2006 Hudson was reported to be working, together with producer John Heyman, on an historical epic based on the life of the monotheistic Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti. The film centres around their tempestuous relationship.