Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A filmmaker and criminologist whose pioneering documentaries on institutions like the police changed attitudes and policy.
On the island
Eight records
That's the last shot of the film, made wonderfully by Kim Longinato. I'm incredibly proud of that film.
we've immediately put on Nina Simone and we start dancing.
Moonlight Sonata (3rd movement)
I suddenly got the point. I actually heard jazz with architecture.
New York Philharmonic Orchestra
I played Mahler's fifth, the funeral march.
it's an Italian love song sung by a wonderful Italian singer called Caterina Bueno.
Robert Merrill and Jussi Björling
my brother came over from Boston and sang.
St. Matthew Passion (excerpt: 'So ist mein Jesus nun gefangen')
English Baroque Soloists conducted by John Eliot Gardiner
what Bach does for us, it's a way of saying thank you.
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:00Where would you consider the biggest differences have been made in the many films you've made over the decades?
Well, I've been told by the Policy Studies Institute that my film about how the police handle rape was the most effective change of social policy ever with a documentary, which I'm very proud of, but that was a long time ago. I know the Youth Justice Board was influenced by the films we made looking for ways of dealing with young offenders without sending them to prison. And the best of all, Kirsty, is the Great Ormond Street series. The hospital called us in for a feedback session and we thought, oh God, who have we offended? And the director of communication said, no, no, no. They were very happy they liked the series. The most important feedback is from new parents who come with much more realistic expectations of what is possible with their very sick children. And I think that's more important than any of the BAFTAs.
Presenter asks
9:04All of that sounds entirely idyllic to me, was it?
No, because they didn't get on. And so we, I'm afraid, had rather a cantankerous household. Um it was very intense, but uh and there was lots of treats, but it wasn't an easy childhood.
Presenter asks
14:22What are your strongest memories of Harvard?
Well, they're to do with the theatre, because I didn't study much, I'm afraid. I actually spent all my time directing plays. … And I saw in the audience a quality of attention that meant maybe I could promote social justice through the theatre because they were listening and they were there, empathetically, they were there. So that's when I decided to become a director.
The keepsakes
The luxury
piano and Bartok's Microcosmos (six books)
I've never really followed through with my early piano lessons, and I since I have all this time and I'm not going to be bored, I'd like a piano and the six books of Bartok's Microcosmos.
Presenter asks
20:27Did you feel you belonged among the famous people you worked with?
Well, I was just excited by it, to be honest. I didn't think about it that way. I wouldn't say that I felt it was where I belonged, but I felt good about being there.
Presenter asks
23:06Why do you think people expose the very depths of their experience to a camera crew they don't even know?
When I started my I've accessed films, the f so-called Fly on the Wall films, I came up with the first Criteria that I would use forever. And that is, what would I want to do if they wanted to make a film about me? That's it. Don't ask people to do things you wouldn't do. So we agree what the film is. They can at any point say that's confidential, please switch off, or you know, leave the room. And they have the right to see it and change anything that is inaccurate. or professionally or personally confidential, and you can then decide if you want us to show it or not. And almost no families have pulled out at that point because they've been through a kind of trauma which, if shared, they feel other people will understand. And the parents, I think, are fabulous in that series. But it's mutual trust.
Presenter asks
33:13As you sit alone on this desert island, you're going to be bored to tears, aren't you?
Well, maybe it'll be the first time I've ever been bored, but I might, you know, try and start a theatre company of one, you know. I would try and create something out of the adventure.
“I am an optimist and I believe in the power of change for the better.”
“I think that's more important than any of the BAFTAs.”
“I actually heard jazz with architecture.”
“we're geniuses too.”
“love became the balm that healed all this pain.”