Adrian Sibley

Adrian Sibley https://adriansibley.com Adrian Sibley Mon, 10 Nov 2025 11:30:54 +0000 https://adriansibley.com en Richard Burton: Wild Genius https://adriansibley.com/Richard-Burton-Wild-Genius Mon, 10 Nov 2025 11:30:54 +0000 Adrian Sibley https://adriansibley.com/Richard-Burton-Wild-Genius Richard Burton: Wild GeniusBBC 2 - 60’ (2025)The centrepiece of the BBC’s season celebrating the centenary of the Welsh actor’s birth, this documentary traces Burton’s epic journey from Valleys mining village to Hollywood, and from poverty and pain to riches, acclaim and - thanks to his romance with Elizabeth Taylor - unprecedented fame. Fellow actors Claire Bloom, Gabriel Byrne, Dame Sian Phillips and Michael Sheen shed light on this brilliant and complicated Welshman. Also appearing are his daughter Kate, widow Sally Burton and Matthew Rhys who reads from The Richard Burton Diaries. A Bright Yellow Films & Yeti Media co-production for BBC Wales & BBC Arts "This excellent documentary paints a portrait of a man caught between different worlds. The proud Welshman who trained to sound English. The self mythologising man of the people who lived a life of dazzling excess." The Telegraph"This fascinating documentary charts the journey of the Welsh miner's son who became one of the greatest actors of his generation." - **** Heat "The film doesn't shy away from his relationship with alcohol, his complicated feelings about acting and masculinity, and his plunge into celebrity's destructive glare alongside Elizabeth Taylor."- Critics' Choice - The TimesNominated: Single Documentary, BAFTA Cymru 2026Nominated: Editing, BAFTA Cymru 2026 Winner: Documentary - Biography, New York Festivals 2026 Credits:Director: Adrian Sibley Executive Producer: Sian Price Camera:  Aled Jones with Joe Cooper & Sam Shinn Editor: Jules Cornell Is it Time to Break the Law? https://adriansibley.com/Is-it-Time-to-Break-the-Law Tue, 19 Sep 2023 16:13:05 +0000 Adrian Sibley https://adriansibley.com/Is-it-Time-to-Break-the-Law Chris Packham: Is it Time to Break the Law?Channel 4 - 52’ (2023)This deeply personal film follows naturalist Chris Packham as he considers whether or not it is ethically acceptable to break the law, to protest against government policies on climate change. He meets activists who believe mass civil disobedience is necessary to force policy change, one of whom tries to persuade Chris to join them and be imprisoned to inspire others. And he meets radical environmentalist Andreas Malm, who believes that more extreme, violent action against property like blowing up oil pipelines is now necessary as well as the most famous young activist Greta Thunberg. Finally, Chris makes up his own mind about what he thinks is justified to combat the climate crisis. A Proper Content production for Channel 4 "There is one obvious reason to hope he doesn’t get himself sent to jail: it would stop him making programmes as honest, as challenging and as urgently relevant as this... ...the bravest, most anguished TV of the year." ***** - The Guardian "Opening with a shot of Chris Packham's face slicked with oil, this provocative but deeply thoughtful documentary follows the presenter as he wrestles with the limits of his climate activism."  - The Sunday Times (Documentary of the Week) "...it should spark conversations and considerations among those who watch - and furore among those who inevitably refuse to do so."- The Financial Times Winner: Critical Award in Television, 2024 Nominated: Climate Impact Award, Edinburgh TV Festival, 2024Nominated: Best Single Documentary, Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, 2024 Credits:Director: Adrian Sibley Executive Producer: David DehaneyCamera: Joe Cooper, Hugh Campbell, Graham Smith, Lee Sutterby, Paul Wood-Walker & Matthew GormleyEditor: Drew Hill The Ghost Of Richard Harris https://adriansibley.com/The-Ghost-Of-Richard-Harris Tue, 10 May 2022 07:31:04 +0000 Adrian Sibley https://adriansibley.com/The-Ghost-Of-Richard-Harris <img width="2880" height="2160" width_o="2880" height_o="2160" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/057c5a2b3ea4cf0be0bb81f86ab0d37f96551f0b42ef7ced316dd4d093a95bcf/_GORH_Horizontal_Digital_2.jpg" data-mid="217201559" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/057c5a2b3ea4cf0be0bb81f86ab0d37f96551f0b42ef7ced316dd4d093a95bcf/_GORH_Horizontal_Digital_2.jpg" /> The Ghost Of Richard HarrisFEATURE DOCUMENTARY (2022) A candid and revealing insight into the private life and public career of Richard Harris. One of the most remarkable actors of his generation, this feature documentary explores Harris’s complex and, at times, contradictory character. Each of his three sons - Jared, Jamie and Damian - brings their own perspective to bear as they summon the ghost of their late father to the screen.A Bright Yellow films, Samson films and Groove International production "This beautifully crafted and remarkable film was a tribute to a one-off, presenting Harris in his glories and his faults." ***** The Times "it was a pleasure to be reminded of Harris’s great performances...experiencing at first-hand that charisma, that lion-in-winter defiance" **** The Guardian Winner: Audience Award: Best Documentary Feature, Newport Beach Film Festival 2022 Winner: Best Documentary Feature, Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival 2022 Nominated: George Morrison Feature Documentary Award, Irish Film & Television Academy Awards (IFTA). Nominated: Best Arts Programme,  The Royal Television Society Programme Awards (RTS) Nominated:  Best Factual Single Programme, RTS Ireland Television Awards Longlist: ‘Best Documentary’ - 2023 BAFTA Film Awards World Premiere: Venice International Film Festival 2022 Credits:Director: Adrian Sibley Producers: David Collins, Adrian Sibley and George Waud Executive Producers: David Blake-Knox, Mike Downey, Celine Haddad, Philip Edgar-Jones and Jack Oliver Director of Photography: Eoin McLoughlin Editor: Gretta Ohle Project Nav https://adriansibley.com/Project-Nav Sat, 28 Apr 2018 10:20:45 +0000 Adrian Sibley https://adriansibley.com/Project-Nav Index     Next ︎ Forever Punk https://adriansibley.com/Forever-Punk Fri, 17 Jan 2020 08:46:06 +0000 Adrian Sibley https://adriansibley.com/Forever-Punk Chris Packham: Forever PunkBBC4 - 60” (2020)The environmentalist reveals how, as a teenager with undiagnosed Asperger's, punk rock may have saved his life. By giving him a purpose, he was able to harness his creativity, which led to him becoming a TV presenter with a determination to champion wildlife. Chris sets out to question both himself and other former punks who, like him, rocked against racism, fought for gay rights and caused their parents untold grief, to discover if the values they all believed in still hold true today. "What makes the documentary fascinating is that Packham explains everything from his youthful anger to his affiliation with Extinction Rebellion — whom he sees as the true inheritors of the punk spirit — through his condition."  - The Times "When Johnny Rotten snarled “No Future” at the close of “God Save the Queen” he can hardly have imagined its relevance for a burning planet more than four decades later… Packham firmly rebuts it: "There is a future and England needs to dream.”" - The Financial Times (Pick Of The Week) Credits:Director & Producer: Adrian Sibley Executive Producers: James Hunt & John Cassy Directors of Photography: Doug Hartington & Sam Al-Kadhi Editor: Steve Miller  Looking For England https://adriansibley.com/Looking-For-England Wed, 02 Jan 2019 15:46:27 +0000 Adrian Sibley https://adriansibley.com/Looking-For-England Don McCullin: Looking For EnglandBBC4 - 60’ (2019)Don McCullin: Looking For England follows the inimitable photographer, now 83, documenting his country from inner cities to seaside towns, on a journey in search of his own nation. Sixty years after starting out as a photographer Don returns to his old haunts in London's East End, Bradford, Consett, Eastbourne and Scarborough.  Along the way he encounters an array of English characters at The Glyndebourne Festival and Goodwood Revival and photographs a hunt with sabateurs aiming to disrupt them. Don's journey is punctuated by scenes in his darkroom, where he allowed filming for the first time. A Bright Yellow Films / Oxford Films production for the BBC "Now, in a real treasure of a film, the 83-year-old visits old haunts and tries to 'discover what makes him tick and this country tick’... This journey is often concerned with the darker corners of our green and eccentric land... Yet this is never po-faced or worthy - it's often enchanting." - The Times "A delightful waltz of a watch, it deserved a series." - The Observer "Following his riveting journey to Palmyra... a powerful portrait both of a nation divided and of a great artist reckoning with his past."  - The Telegraph Credits:Director & Producer: Adrian Sibley Executive Producers: Nicolas Kent & Sam Hobkinson Director of Photography: Eoin McLoughlin Additional photography: Rob Goldie, Steve Foote Editor: Hugo Fowler Read the feature, “What Lies Behind The Real Don McCullin” at The Standard. The Road To Palmyra https://adriansibley.com/The-Road-To-Palmyra Thu, 03 May 2018 19:46:51 +0000 Adrian Sibley https://adriansibley.com/The-Road-To-Palmyra <img width="1190" height="841" width_o="1190" height_o="841" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/34634151fa82b3f800a87f0731071b0cf7fa901c4b134f6b4d1ab36f5c053704/Broadcast-BTS.jpg" data-mid="224086672" border="0" data-scale="91" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/34634151fa82b3f800a87f0731071b0cf7fa901c4b134f6b4d1ab36f5c053704/Broadcast-BTS.jpg" />The Road To PalmyraBBC4 - 60’ (2018)The Road to Palmyra follows historian Dan Cruickshank and photographer Don McCullin into the heart of war torn Syria, on a dangerous mission to document the cultural destruction wrought by so called Islamic State, and understand what it means to the people of the nation.Their final destination is the ancient city of Palmyra to find out what remains of the ruins. For Dan and Don these stones represent the very soul of Syria, and for Syrians and the world  the debate about what to do with them is about to begin.For both men, it is a return journey to a place with which they have long been obsessed.  But to get there, they have to travel through a country that is in still in the grip of war. A Bright Yellow Films / Oxford Films production for the BBC "As much as this is a powerful and sobering documentary about what happens when heritage is a victim in a war of ideology, it could also be McCullin's swansong."  - The Times Credits: Writer: Dan Cruickshank Photographs: Don McCullinDirector & Producer: Adrian Sibley Executive Producers: Nicolas Kent & Sam Hobkinson Director of Photography: Neil Bonner Editor: Rick Aplin Last Year Of A Legend https://adriansibley.com/Last-Year-Of-A-Legend Mon, 30 Apr 2018 19:26:48 +0000 Adrian Sibley https://adriansibley.com/Last-Year-Of-A-Legend <img width="1192" height="842" width_o="1192" height_o="842" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a32a502249f5edc403f3850b7b92a5f0a1fe19fc2a0eb07e15bddc856cdb6deb/BroadcastPrince.jpg" data-mid="224086668" border="0" data-scale="91" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/a32a502249f5edc403f3850b7b92a5f0a1fe19fc2a0eb07e15bddc856cdb6deb/BroadcastPrince.jpg" />Last Year Of A LegendChannel 4 - 60’ (2018)A chronicle of key events from the final 12 months of Prince's life, including the Rally 4 Peace concert, a secret White House gig for the Obamas and his solo Piano and Microphone tour. Featuring interviews with friends and musicians including CeeLo Green, Al Sharpton, George Clinton, Estelle and Andy Allo. "The death of Prince in a lift – admittedly his own lift, in his own nine-acre studio complex/folly/compound – was a slightly prosaic end to this extraordinary life. As this doc – featuring pals such as George Clinton and CeeLo Green – reveals, Prince didn’t rest on his laurels." - The Guardian Credits:Director & Producer: Adrian Sibley Narrator: Zawe Ashton Executive Producer: Dan Goldsack Director of Photography: Anton Jeffes Editors: Duncan Buchanan & Duncan Thompson  Stopping Time https://adriansibley.com/Stopping-Time Mon, 30 Apr 2018 21:16:26 +0000 Adrian Sibley https://adriansibley.com/Stopping-Time Stopping TimeJust So - 4’ (2015)Dancer Lindsay Kemp both amused and outraged audiences in London throughout the Sixties and Seventies. He taught David Bowie and Kate Bush how to move, and now at 77 is still teaching and dancing. We find Lindsay in the Italian port of Livorno, admired by a small coterie of students and fans, but largely forgotten by the outside world. He’s full of life but also dealing with passing time, which is both eating at his body and pushing him further adrift from his love of performance and the stage. "Both beautiful and utterly heartbreaking... one of the most affecting things I’ve seen all year." - It’s Nice That Vimeo Staff Pick Official Selection - Open City Doc/Fest Credits:Director: Adrian SibleyProducer: Matt Diegan Director of Photography: Eoin McLoughlin Editors: Ross Hallard, Hugo Fowler The Ivy https://adriansibley.com/The-Ivy Mon, 30 Apr 2018 19:30:59 +0000 Adrian Sibley https://adriansibley.com/The-Ivy The IvyITV - 60’ (2015)Going behind the scenes at The Ivy as it undergoes its first major renovation in 25 years. The documentary follows director Fernando Peire and chef Gary Lee as they oversee the London institution's re-launch. Features interviews with Calvin Klein, Dame Joan Collins, Maggi Hambling, Ronald Harwood, Tracey Emin and Julian Fellowes. "This observational documentary gives us the rare chance to peek inside while the restaurant was undergoing its first major renovation in 25 years." - The Radio Times Credits:Director: Adrian Sibley Narrated: Rupert Everett Executive Producer: Derren Lawford Directors Of Photography: Chris Titus Smith, Tim Cragg Editor: Matt Blyth