Joseph Bullman

Joseph Bullman is an English documentary and drama director, known for his political films, including factual dramas Killed By My Debt (2018), The Left Behind (2019) and Life and Death in the Warehouse (2022), and documentaries The Man Who Bought Mustique (2000), The Seven Sins of England (2007) and The Secret History of Our Streets (2012–14). Bullman's films have received six BAFTA nominations.

Career

The Man Who Bought Mustique (2000), about Lord Glenconner, an English lord, was nominated for BAFTA[1] and Royal Television Society (RTS) awards[2] and was a favourite of David Bowie.[3][4][5]

England is Mine/Dogumentary (2002), made with Lars von Trier's Dogme 95 movement, is a film about an English football hooligan finding love and redemption at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan.

The Seven Sins of England (2007), shot in Bullman's home town, filmed modern day binge drinkers and hooligans delivering the real words of Edwardian yobs, 12th century binge drinkers and Victorian louts. It was BAFTA-nominated[6] and won the Grierson Innovation Award[7] and a RTS Award.[8]

Each episode of The Secret History of Our Streets (2012–14) depicted the history of a single London street.[9][10][11][12] It was BAFTA-nominated and won a RTS award for the Best History Series and the Grierson Audience Award.[13][14]

In 2018 Bullman turned to scripted drama, dramatising real life stories. His first drama, Killed by my Debt (2018), was the true story of Jerome Rogers, a young gig economy worker, who, overwhelmed by the pressure of debt arising from two traffic fines, took his own life. The film led to a national campaign and calls for reform in the UK Parliament.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21] It won the BAFTA and RTS awards for Best Single Drama,[22][23] and Broadcast awards for Best Single Drama, Best Digital Drama and Best Multichannel Drama.[24][25] Bullman dedicated the BAFTA to Rogers' family who campaigned for a change to the law.[26]

The Left Behind (2019) tells the story of Gethin, who, with no secure job, housing or future, gets drawn into a far-right hate crime. The film is based on research in Britain's 'left behind' communities, and the work of professor Hilary Pilkington, who spent three years embedded with an English Defence League group. The film won BAFTA and RTS awards for Best Single Drama,[27][28] and was nominated for five BAFTA Cymru awards – Best Television Drama, Best Director: Fiction, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Make Up.[29]

In 2022, Bullman created and directed Life and Death in the Warehouse. It was written by Helen Black.[30][31]

Filmography

Documentaries

Year Film Role Awards and Nominations
2000 The Man Who Bought Mustique (C4) Director Nominations: BAFTA Best Single Documentary; RTS Best Single Documentary
2002 Dogumentary: England is Mine Director
2007 The Seven Sins of England (C4) Director/Creator Nominations: BAFTA Best Director,

BAFTA Best Editing (Oliver Huddlestone, Mark Harrowes) BAFTA Best Photography (Mark Wolf)

Awards: Grierson, Innovation; RTS, Education

2012–2014 The Secret History of Our Streets (BBC) Director/Creator Nominations: BAFTA Best Factual Series, BAFTA Best Editing; Broadcast, Televisual and British Press Guild: Best Documentary Series

Awards: RTS Best History Series; Grierson, Best History Series and Grierson, Audience Award

Dramas

Year Film Role Awards and Nominations
2018 Killed By My Debt (BBC) Director

Nomination: BAFTA Best Leading Actor (Chance Perdomo)

Awards: BAFTA Best Single Drama; RTS Best Single Drama; Broadcast Awards: Best Single Drama, Best Digital Programme; Broadcast Digital Awards: Best Drama

2019 The Left Behind (BBC) Director Nominations: BAFTA Cymru awards: Best Television Drama, Best Director: Fiction, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Make-up.

Awards: RTS Best Single Drama; BAFTA Best Single Drama

2022 Life and Death in the Warehouse (BBC) Director

References

  1. ^ "BAFTA Crafta Awards 2008". Archived from the original on 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  2. ^ "RTS Awards 2007". Archived from the original on 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  3. ^ Helmore, Ed (17 January 2016). "First Lou Reed, now David Bowie. That's it for New York. It's over". The Observer. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  4. ^ Holden, Steven (2001-05-09). "No Man is an Island or Owns One Forever". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  5. ^ Hury, Hadley. "All is Vanity. A Chasing After Wind". The Flanuer. Archived from the original on 2020-05-16. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  6. ^ "BAFTA Craft 2008". Archived from the original on 2014-07-18. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  7. ^ "Grierson Awards 2008". Archived from the original on 2018-07-26. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  8. ^ "Royal Television Society Awards 2007". Archived from the original on 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  9. ^ Harrison, Phil (June 2012). "Preview: 'The Secret History of our Streets', Phil Harrison visits modern Deptford for an insight into London's disappearing working class". Time Out. Archived from the original on 2016-03-27. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  10. ^ "The Secret History of Our Streets, Deptford". Archived from the original on 2020-02-29. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  11. ^ "The Secret History of Our Streets, Ep4, Portland Road". Archived from the original on 2020-02-27. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  12. ^ "Secret History of Our Streets, Review". The Guardian. 6 June 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Grierson Award Winners, 2013". Archived from the original on 2020-03-30. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  14. ^ "Royal Television Society Award Winners, 2013". Archived from the original on 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  15. ^ Nagesh, Ashitha. "How Debt Kills". BBC. Archived from the original on 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  16. ^ Jones, Rupert (26 May 2018). "Debt collectors held to account after traffic fines claim a life' Rupert Jones, The Guardian". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  17. ^ "New Addington teen's tragedy prompts Parliament visit". Inside Croydon. 2018-07-17. Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  18. ^ "Event with Rogers Family on the urgent need for bailiff reform". All Party Parliamentary Group on Debt. Archived from the original on 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  19. ^ "Foreign Press Association Awards, 2018–19". Archived from the original on 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  20. ^ "Broadcast Digital Awards, Best Drama". Archived from the original on 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  21. ^ "Confessions of A Bailiff". BBC Three. Archived from the original on 2020-10-07. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  22. ^ "Bafta Winners, 2018". Archived from the original on 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  23. ^ "Winner, Royal Television Society, Best Single Drama".
  24. ^ "Winner, Broadcast Digital Awards, Best Drama 2019". Archived from the original on 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  25. ^ "Best single drama: Killed By My Debt". Broadcast.
  26. ^ "Acceptance speech, Bafta, Best Single Drama, 2019". Archived from the original on 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  27. ^ "Bafta winner, Best Single Drama 2020". Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  28. ^ "2020 Winners, Royal Television Society Awards". Archived from the original on 2020-10-08. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  29. ^ "Nominations announced for the British Academy Cymru Awards 2020". Archived from the original on 2020-10-07. Retrieved 2020-10-04.
  30. ^ "Life and Death in the Warehouse: 'People are thought of as bits of an algorithm'". BBC. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  31. ^ Colderick, Stephanie (7 March 2022). "BBC3 Life And Death In The Warehouse: Who's in the cast, what it's about and when you can watch it". Wales Online. Retrieved 23 November 2022.