Sean McAllister is one of the most distinctive British film makers working today. His multi-award-winning films for the BBC and Channel 4 TV have played all over the world. His successes include the Sundance Film Festival winning films, The Liberace Of Baghdad (2004), Japan: A Story Of Love And Hate (2008) and The Reluctant Revolutionary, and the Sheffield Jury Prize winning A Syrian Love Story (2015), which was screened in both the UK and European parliaments, was named The Guardian's #3 film of 2015 and McAllister a BAFTA nomination for outstanding debut. He is currently working on a sequel to his 2008 film Japan: A Tale of Love and Hate.
"One of the most brave and powerful film makers around" – Michael Moore
"The great thing about Sean's films is that he champions the characters in his documentaries, he always takes a loser and makes them a winner." - D A Pennebaker
What sets Sean’s practice as a documentary filmmaker apart is the intimacy and connectedness of the relationship he manages to establish with his protagonists during the course of a film, which in turn allows him to enter and see their world through their eyes. What emerges are intricate portraits of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary struggles of various kinds. In this dialogue, we will be discussing his choice of subjects and explore his approach within the context of his own development as a documentary filmmaker.
More information about Sean McAllister is available at seanmcallister.com. You can subscribe to our YouTube channel at youtube.com/@nnotationz.
The Eye of the Other