Malcolm Frank Venville[1][2](born 1962,Birmingham, England) is a British photographer and film director.[3]

Life and career

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Born in Birmingham, Venville was a hearing child to deaf parents. He was, in the words of his uncle, "caught in some no-man's land between the deaf world and the hearing world."[4]He attendedSolihull College(1981–83) andPolytechnic of Central London(1983–86), graduating with honors with a BA in film, video, and photographic arts.[1]

After working as an assistant, Venville began producing images. After winning awards withThe Association Of Photographers,he became a sought-after advertising photographer. His first print work was the "Be more than just a number" campaign for the advertising agency Simons Palmer Denton forWrangler.This was followed by print campaigns forWieden and Kennedy,Bartle Bogle HegartyandBBDO.

Venville began directing award winning commercials, most notably was theVolkswagen"Squares" project for the agency Arnolds. This spot was the most world's most awarded TV commercial of 2003 winning aGolden LionatCannes,aClio,a Grandy at theANDY Awards,anAICP's Award of Overall Excellence and anEmmynomination. Venville has published three books of photography.Layers(Westzone 2001) is a monograph of Venville's advertising and personal photography.Lucha Loco(Therapy 2006) is a collection of over a hundred portraits ofLucha Librewrestlers taken inMexico City.The Women of Casa X(Schilt Publishing 2013) is a series of portraits and interviews with sex workers housed in Casa Xochiquetzal, a shelter primarily for elderly sex workers,[5]in theTepitodistrict of Mexico City.

Venville's film career began with the award winningSilent Film(BBC/Channel 4.1997), a short film about his profoundly deaf parents. This was followed with short documentary films;Remembering Sister Ruth(BBC 1997), that featuresKathleen Byrondiscussing her role as Sister Ruth inBlack Narcissus,andRemembering Miss Torso(2004) aboutGeorgine Darcy,who played the ballet dancer "Miss Torso" inRear Window(Therapy Films 2003). Venville directed the shortZillions(Nowness2013) featuringKarl Lagerfeldwhich won best documentary atThe International Fashion Film Festival.

Venville's feature film debut was44 Inch Chest(Anonymous Content2009), which won the Jury Prize at Seville Film Festival and theSan Diego Film Critics Society Awardsfor best Ensemble. This was followed by another independent featureHenry's Crime(2010), which he filmed in New York City and Buffalo.

In 2019,A&Eaired a mini series directed by Venville based onRon Chernow's biography of Ulysses Grant. Justin Salinger played Grant (Radical Media). This was followed by the mini series,Abraham Lincoln(2022) featuring Graham Sibley asAbraham Lincoln.This show was executive produced byDoris Kearns Goodwinand based on her book,Leadership In Turbulent Times.Venville continued his collaboration with Kearns Goodwin, Radical Media and A&E withTheodore Roosevelt(2022).[6]

Filmography

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Feature films

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Miniseries

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Short films

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  • Remembering Sister Ruth(1997)
  • Silent Film(1998)
  • That Certain Something(1999)[7]
  • Zillions(2013)
  • Philophiles(2014)
  • Portrait of a Dancer: Sarah Lamb(2015)

Bibliography

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  • Layers(2003)
  • Lucha Loco(2006)
  • The Women of Casa X(2013)

References

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  1. ^ab"Malcolm Frank Venville."People of Today.Debrett'sLtd., 2009. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 19 July 2011.
  2. ^"Malcolm Venville".British Film Institute.Archived fromthe originalon 22 July 2012.Retrieved27 June2015.
  3. ^Official website,malcolmvenville. Accessed 26 July 2023.
  4. ^Ross, Peter (6 July 2003). "The naked and the deaf; You may not have heard of the photographer Malcolm Venville, but you will have seen his adverts.His upbringing by profoundly deaf parents has given him a visual talent, which he plans to use in a new career as a director. But is Britain ready for a film entirely in sign language?".Sunday Herald.p. 14.
  5. ^Angulo, Annuska. "Casa Xochiquetzal."Herizons,vol. 25, no. 1, summer 2011, pp. 24+.Gale OneFile: Contemporary Women's Issues,link.gale /apps/doc/A272245850/CWI?u=ucberkeley&sid=bookmark-CWI&xid=26fda288. Accessed 8 March 2023.
  6. ^Jeffrey, Andrew (11 February 2022)."History sets air date for presidential miniseries on Theodore Roosevelt".Realscreen.Retrieved31 March2022.
  7. ^"That Certain Something (1999)".British Film Institute.n.d. Archived fromthe originalon 22 July 2023.Retrieved22 July2023.
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