Mat Whitecross

Years active1999–present

Mat Whitecross (born 21 September 1977)^[1] is an English film director, editor and screenwriter. He began his career working for filmmaker Michael Winterbottom and producer Andrew Eaton at Revolution Films, being also known for directing The Road to Guantánamo,^[2] Ian Dury biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll,^[3] as well as music documentaries Oasis: Supersonic and Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams.^[4] Whitecross has also directed music videos for Coldplay,^[5] Take That^[6] and The Rolling Stones,^[7] being a long-time collaborator of the former band.

Life and career

Whitecross was born and raised on Oxford. His parents were political refugees who were imprisoned in Argentina during the country's Dirty War. He takes inspiration from the place where he was raised and from his parents' friends, many of whom are South American immigrants who fled tortures and prison.^[8] He began his career working for filmmaker Michael Winterbottom and producer Andrew Eaton at Revolution Films as a runner on the film 24 Hour Party People. Within a few months of starting at Revolution Films, they gave him the chance of shooting and editing for them. His directorial debut The Road to Guantanamo started as a conversation with Winterbottom about the Tipton Three whilst on the shoot for the film 9 Songs. They both agreed that the story was fascinating and worth of a film but due to other commitments, Winterbottom was unable to begin research and preparation, suggesting that Mat should start the process. Whitecross and Winterbottom would go on to co-direct and co-write the film that featured Riz Ahmed in his debut acting role.^[9] The Road to Guantánamo won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival and Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature.^[10][11][12]

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Director	Writer	Editor	Ref.
2004	9 Songs (co-edited with Michael Winterbottom)	No	No	Yes	[13]
2006	The Road to Guantánamo (co-directed and co-written with Michael Winterbottom)	Yes	Yes	Yes	[2]
	Scott Walker: 30 Century Man (co-edited with Grant Gee)	No	No	Yes	[14]
2009	Moving to Mars	Yes	Yes	No	[15]
	The Shock Doctrine (co-directed with Michael Winterbottom)	Yes	No	Yes	[16]
2010	Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll	Yes	No	No	[3]
2012	Ashes	Yes	No	No	[17]
	Spike Island	Yes	No	No	[18]
2016	Oasis: Supersonic	Yes	No	No	[4]
2018	Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams	Yes	No	No
	Live in São Paulo	Yes	No	No

Television

Year	Film	Director	Writer	EP	Notes	Ref.
2007	Nearly Famous	Yes	No	No	Episode 1.3 – Episode 1.4	[19]
2008	Spooks: Code 9	Yes	No	No	Episode 1.3 – Episode 1.4	[20]
2014	Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond	Yes	No	No	Episode 1.1 – Episode 1.4	[21]
2017	Red Nose Day Actually	Yes	No	No	Co-directed with Richard Curtis	[22]
2018	Vic and Bob's Big Night Out	Yes	No	No	Written by Bob Mortimer and Vic Reeves	[23]

Music videos

Year	Artist	Title	Ref.
1999	Coldplay	"Bigger Stronger"	[5]
2008		"Violet Hill" (Dancing Politicians version)	[24]
		"Lovers in Japan"	[25]
		"Lost!"	[26]
2010	Take That	"The Flood"	[6]
	Coldplay	"Christmas Lights"	[27]
2011	Take That	"Kidz" (co-directed with Eran Creevy)	[28]
	Coldplay	"Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall"	[29]
		"Paradise"	[30]
	The Rolling Stones	"No Spare Parts"	[7]
2012	Coldplay	"Charlie Brown"	[31]
2014		"A Sky Full of Stars"	[32]
2015		"Adventure of a Lifetime"	[33]
2017	Take That	"Giants"	[34]
	Coldplay	"Something Just Like This" (with The Chainsmokers / Tokyo Remix)	[35]
2019		"Orphans"	[36]
2022	Pink Floyd	"Hey, Hey, Rise Up!"	[37]
	Coldplay	"Biutyful"	[38]

Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations, showing ceremony, year, recipient, category and result

Award	Year[a]	Nominee / Work	Category	Result	Ref.
British Academy Television Awards	2007	The Road to Guantánamo	Best Single Drama	Nominated	[39]
Berlin International Film Festival	2006		Golden Bear for Best Motion Picture	Nominated	[40]
			Silver Bear for Best Director	Won	[41]
British Independent Film Awards			Best Documentary	Won	[42]
			Best Achievement in Production	Nominated
	2016	Oasis: Supersonic	Best Achievement in Craft	Nominated	[43]
Chicago International Film Festival	2010	Moving to Mars	Docufest Competition (Gold Award)	Won	[44]
Empire Awards	2017	Oasis: Supersonic	Best Documentary	Won	[45]
European Film Awards	2006	The Road to Guantánamo	Best Film	Nominated	[46]
			Best Director	Nominated	[47]
Independent Spirit Awards	2007		Best Documentary Feature Film	Won	[48]
Grierson Awards	2010	Moving to Mars	Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue	Won	[49]
MTV Europe Music Awards	2020	"Orphans"	Best Rock	Won	[50]
MTV Video Music Awards	2012	"Paradise"	Best Rock Video	Won	[51]
	2016	"Adventure of a Lifetime"		Nominated	[52]
	2020	"Orphans"		Won	[53]
MTV Video Play Awards	2011	"Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall"	Platinum Award	Won	[54]
	2012	"Paradise"		Won	[55]
		"Charlie Brown"		Won
MTV Video Music Awards Japan		"Paradise"	Best Group Video	Nominated	[56]
MuchMusic Video Awards			Best International Video – Group	Nominated	[57]
	2016	"Adventure of a Lifetime"		Nominated	[58]
NME Awards	2017	Oasis: Supersonic	Best Music Film	Won	[59]
Satellite Awards	2015	Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond	Best Miniseries	Nominated	[60]
UK Music Video Awards	2019	Live in São Paulo	Best Live Concert	Nominated	[61]

Notes

References

External links

• Mat Whitecross at IMDb