Biographies: Michael Powell - Director

Biographies

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A British filmmaker, born in Bexbourne, Kent, England, United Kingdom, as Michael Latham Powell. He has been nominated for many awards and has won many such as the BAFTA and OFTA awards and the Venice and Berlin Film Awards. Michael Powell married three times and had two children. His most important works include The Tales of Hoffmann (1951), The Red Shoes (1948), Peeping Tom (1960), and A Matter of Life and Death (1946). He is best known for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger through their production company The Archers. They wrote, produced, and directed a series of classic British films. He grew up partly in Canterbury and partly in the south of France, where his parents ran a hotel in Nice. He was educated at The King's School and Dulwich College. He worked at the Provincial National Bank in 1922. In 1925, he joined the company of director Rex Ingram as a studio worker. Then, he worked in film photography and wrote titles for silent films. He later played some acting roles, often comedic. The first film he participated in was The Magician (1926). He paved the way to directing and screenwriting by participating in a series of Quota Quickies (contract films). He collaborated with the Jewish immigrant director and writer, Emeric Pressburger, in producing films during the 1940s and 1950s, and contributed to the production of the controversial film Peeping Tom. Michael Powell continued his work in cinema as a director, writer, and producer. He also worked in theater and television until the early 1980s. He died in Avening, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom, on February 19, 1990, from cancer.

• 11 January 2024
• Toqa Hesham