Chris Jones (filmmaker)

Chris Jones is a British filmmaker, author, film director, screenwriter and educator,^[1] known for his books about how to become 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]

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]}

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 35 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]} His upcoming feature is titled Rocketboy.^{[37][38][39][40]}

In 2015 Jones co-produced the feature documentary ‘The First Film’ about Louis LePrince who is credited as a Leeds based inventor of film.

In 2016, Jones launched Create50.com, an initiative to connect creative people to collaborate and produce works, such as books and feature films, that enter the mainstream marketplace. Create50’s first major project was Twisted50.

Jones is the author of several books on film-making, inkluding The Guerilla Filmmakers Handbook.^[37] Having made several feature films on shoestring budgets, Jones has warned that the British film industry needs to cut back on their spending if it is to survive.^[41][42] He teaches a variety of filmmaker courses from his Ealing Studio location.^[43]

Jones is currently the Creative Director of the London Screenwriters’ Festival.

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)
• Rocketboy (forthcoming) – Director

Short films

• Gone Fishing – 2008, 13 min 35mm – Writer and director

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 2008-04-17. 
• 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. 

Citations

• Fitzherbert Henry Film Critic. "Gone Fishing". The Sunday Express.  |access-date= requires |url= (help)

External links

• Chris Jones at the Internet Movie Database
• Livingspirit website