Chris Jones (filmmaker)
British film director and author
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chris Jones is a British filmmaker, author, film director, screenwriter and educator,[1] who has written books on becoming a film-maker.[2] Jones was educated at Bournemouth Film School,[3] and made his feature film director debut at the age of 21 with The Runner (1992). He owns the film company called Living Spirit.[4]
Chris Jones | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Occupations | Filmmaker, author, film director, screenwriter, educator |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Website | http://jonesfilm.co.uk/ |
His films include the 1994 British thriller film White Angel starring Peter Firth and Don Henderson,[5][6][7] and Urban Ghost Story (1998), a horror film set in Glasgow starring Jason Connery.[8][9][10][11]
Works
Jones wrote and directed the short film Gone Fishing starring Bill Paterson,[12][13] that premiered at BAFTA on 12 January 2008.[14] Gone Fishing won 55 prizes at the film festival circuit including the Grand Prize at the 2008 Bahamas International Film Festival,[15][16] and the 2008 Rhode Island International Film Festival,[17] and it won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2009 Edmonton International Film Festival.[18][19] At the 2009 Beverly Hills Film Festival and the 2009 Method Fest Independent Film Festival it took home the Audience Award,[20] and it received the Golden Honu Award at the 2009 Big Island Film Festival.[21][22] Gone Fishing further won both the Director's Choice Award and the Audience Award at the 2009 Sedona Film Festival,[23][24] the Achievement Award for screenwriting at the 2009 Newport Beach Film Festival,[25] and the prizes for Best Short at both the 2009 Indianapolis International Film Festival[26] and the 2009 Palm Beach International Film Festival,[27] as well as receiving the prize for Best Narrative Short by the Producers Guild of America.[28][29] The film was among the final 10 long-listed shorts for the 2009 Academy Awards.[30][31][32]
In 2009 Jones was attached to British thriller Exam as associate producer.
In 2014, he released a film, 50 Kisses, in collaboration with a large number of people organized through the London Screenwriters' Festival,[33][34][35][36] and began work on Rocketboy.[37][38][39][40]
In 2015 Jones co-produced the feature documentary The First Film[41] about Louis Le Prince who is credited as a Leeds-based inventor of film.[42]
In 2023 Jones executive produced the four part docuseries The Enfield Poltergeist[43] for Apple TV+.
In 2023 Jones joined the Paramount Pictures M:I 7 and 8 team to direct splinter unit on Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning[44] and also Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.[45]
Jones is the author of several books on film-making, including The Guerilla Filmmakers Handbook.[37] Having made several feature films on shoestring budgets, Jones has warned in 2010 that the British film industry needed to cut back on its spending if it was to survive.[46][47] Jones teaches a variety of filmmaker courses from his Ealing Studio location,[48]
Filmography
Feature films
- The Runner – 1992, 90 min Super16 – Director
- White Angel – 1994, 90 min Super16 – Director
- Urban Ghost Story – 1998, 90 min Super16 – Co-writer with Genevieve Jolliffe, Producer & Second Unit Director
- 50 Kisses - 2014 - Co-writer
- Impact50 - 2022 - Producer
- Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning - 2023, 164 min - Splinter Unit Director
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning - 2025 - Splinter Unit Director
- Rocketboy (forthcoming) – Director
Short films
- Gone Fishing – 2008, 13 min 35mm – Writer and director
Docuseries
- The Enfield Poltergeist - 2023 - Executive Producer
Bibliography
- Chris Jones; Genevieve Jolliffe (1996). The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook and the Film Producers Toolkit. Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-33854-2.
- Chris Jones (20 June 2003). Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint. A&C Black. ISBN 978-0-8264-1453-3.
- Chris Jones; Genevieve Jolliffe (2006). The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook. A&C Black. ISBN 978-0-8264-7988-4.Macgregor, James. "The Guerilla Filmmakers Handbook – by Chris Jones & Genevieve Jolliffe". Retrieved 17 April 2008.
- Chris Jones; Genevieve Jolliffe; Andrew Zinnes (18 March 2010). The Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook: The Ultimate Guide to Digital Film Making. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4411-4705-9.