SIMON BARKER
FILM & TELEVISION EDITOR
www.simonbarker.tv E-mail sibark@mail.com mobile 07976 284555
CURRENT:
WESTMINSTER ABBEY - A Year in the Life
3 x 1 Hours for the BBC
This 3 part series takes a look behind the scenes at this 1000 year old institution
Produced @ BBC Directed by Flavia Rittner
IN POST:
WORLD BRAIN – The Future of Knowledge
90 minute feature documentary for BBC Storyville.
In 1937, HG WELLS predicted a computer that would control the world.
The film reveals Google’s attempts to scan all the world’s books and make this dream
a reality.
Produced @ BLTV and Directed by Ben Lewis
RECENT: 2009-12
OUR CRIME-SPEED (BBC)
The film looks at the consequences of young peoples addiction to speed.
Produced@Minnow Films. Directed by Dov Freedman.
REAGAN.
102 minute, feature documentary for HBO/BBC.
Premiered at The Sundance Film Festival 2011.
Reagan examines the enigmatic career of one of the most revered architects of the
modern world - icon, screen star, and two-term president Ronald Reagan.
Produced @ Charlotte Street Films, NYC. Directed by Eugene Jarecki.
Winner CINE Golden Eagle 2011.
EMMY Nominated Outstanding Historical Documentary 2012.
9/11 HEROES OF THE 88th FLOOR
90 minute, drama documentary for Discovery/TLC.
A film to mark the 10 year, anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Centre.
Produced @ Darlow Smithson Directed by James Quinn.
EMMY Nominated Outstanding Informational Documentary 2012.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE
Season 3 for NBC AMERICA
Episodes Martin Sheen, Marisa Tomei, Blair Underwood and Rita Wilson.
Produced @ Shed Media US
EMMY Nominated Outstanding Reality Series 2012
FREAKONOMICS 85 minute, feature documentary for Magnolia Pictures.
America's leading documentary makers Alex Gibney, Heidi Ewing, Eugene Jarecki
and Morgan Spurlock, collaborate on a film version of the hugely popular economics
book Freakonomics. I was Supervising Editor on “It’s (not always) A Wonderful Life.
Produced @ Charlotte Street Films, NYC Directed by Eugene Jarecki.
THE HUNT FOR BRITAIN'S SEX TRAFFICKERS
3x50 minute series for Channel 4.
Follows operation Pentameter 2 the largest ever crackdown on sex traffickers in UK
history. These 3 programmes have unprecedented access to the police as they attempt
to put an end to a growing crime.
PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY AMELIA HANN @ OCTOBER FILMS.
THE GREAT CONTEMPORARY ART BUBBLE
90 minute, feature documentary for the BBC.
A film, borne of sorrow as much as anger, casts a caustic spotlight on the gallerists,
collectors and auction houses dedicated to another art: speculating on and inflating the
value of figures such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst
PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY BEN LEWIS @ BLTV
AWARD WINNING PROGRAMMES:
Cutting Edge-BABY BIBLE BASHERS
Winner Golden Ace Award, Las Vegas Film Festival 2009
Baby Bible Basher's tells the extraordinary stories of three of the Lord's "chosen
children", and their relationships with God, their families and their congregations. Are
these children the innocent conduits of God's word, or has their childhood been
sacrificed to satisfy zealous parents and congregations hungry for miracles?
Dir. AMELIA HANN.
PRODUCED @ FIRECRACKER FILMS.
MY BRILLIANT BRAIN
Winner. World Television Awards 2008
Best Science Documentary
A compelling three part documentary that with the help of 3D graphics explores the
incredible inner workings of the human brain. The programmes look at a group of
remarkable people and poses questions about the origins of genius: are these
extraordinary abilities genetic, developed or acquired by accident?
Dir. KURT TONDORFF.
PRODUCED @ WINDFALL FILMS.
MOUNTAIN presented by, GRIFF RHYS JONES.
Winner, Scottish BAFTA Best Factual Entertainment Programme 2007
Griff starts his mountainous tour of Great Britain in the formidable Highlands of
North West Scotland. This bleak and beautiful region is one of the most remote areas
of Great Britain. Follow in his footsteps and find out more about the peaks and the
people he encounters.
DIRECTED BY RUPERT SMITH,EXECUTIVE PRODUCER HAMISH BARBER
PRODUCED @ IWC MEDIA.
THE SEARCH FOR MALLORY & IRVINE
Winner Canal Plus award for best documentary 2002.
Finalist, BAFTA best cinematography 2000.
BBC nomination, BAFTA & RTS best documentary 2000.
In the spring of 1924 a British expedition set out to conquer the as yet unclimbed peak
of mount Everest. Two of the expeditions climbers, George Mallory and Andrew
Irvine were last seen, 6 /800 metres below the summit. Was Everest scaled 29 years
before Hilary and Tensing?
PRODUCED & DIRECTED @ BBC BRISTOL BY PETER FIRSTBROOK.
THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER
Winner. Best Human Rights Film. Amsterdam. 2002
Nominated for Best Picture; Amnesty International Media Awards 2002.
Henry Kissinger. Nobel Laureate. And the most famous American diplomat in
history. This 80minute, film investigates charges of war crimes and crimes against
humanity.
PRODUCED BY ALEX GIBNEY @ JIGSAW/THINK TANK N.Y.C
DIRECTED BY EUGENE JARECKI
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ROY ACKERMAN
A BABY TO SAVE OUR SON 60 minutes.
BBC Nominated, BAFTA Best Current Affairs Documentary, 2003.
Tells the story of, Jason and Michelle Whitaker, and their seriously ill son,
Charlie. Their only hope of finding a cure for Charlie and saving his life is to use a
controversial gene technology--produce a baby that is a perfect genetic match for
Charlie and harvest stem cells from the baby's umbilical cord. We follow the
Whitaker's two-year journey through a minefield of emotions and ethical issues, from
one continent to another, as they prepare to create one baby to save another.
DIRECTED BY RACHEL COUGHLAN.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER EDWINA VARDEY.
BIG GIRL LITTLE GIRL
Best Short Film – Miami Film Festival 2004
Best Directing – Strasbourg Film Festival 2004
7 year old Lucy is in love with her uncle, and finds herself fighting for his attention in
a big girl’s world.
DIRECTED BY AMELIA HANN.
MINDREADERS EQUINOX
Winner of 2 B.M.A. Silver Awards.
The film explores what the autistic mind can tell us about why male and female
relationships so often end in divorce.
PRODUCED @ ILLUMINATIONS TELEVISION.
DIRECTED BY JEREMY TAYLOR.
DRAMA CREDITS:
THE VISIT starring Celia Imrie & Hattie Morahan
The film studies a complex relationship between mother and daughter.
DIRECTED BY AMELIA HANN. PRODUCED @ LOOSE CANNON.
BIG GIRL LITTLE GIRL
Best Short Film, Miami Film Festival 2004
Best Directing, Strasbourg Film Festival 2004
7 year old Lucy is in love with her uncle, and finds herself fighting for his attention in
a big girl’s world.
DIRECTED BY AMELIA HANN @ LOOSE CANNON.
THE OPPONENT starring Erika Eleniak.
A tightly woven tale of fear, passion and self-respect, THE OPPONENT finds love in
the most unlikely of places. Patty , a victim of domestic abuse, meets her match in
Tommy, a former boxing hopeful looking for a new star to put in the ring. But he
never could have imagined it would be Patty.
PRODUCED BY THINK TANK N.Y.C. DIRECTED BY EUGENE JARECKI.
BBC CREDITS:
THE MYSTERY OF THE TEENAGE PREGNANCY PACT 60 minute.
Unravelling the strange circumstances in which 18 American schoolgirls became
pregnant at the same time in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY JAMES QUINN @ OCTOBER FILMS
MOUNTAIN presented by, GRIFF RHYS JONES.
Winner. Scottish BAFTA; Best Factual Entertainment Programme 2007.
Griff starts his mountainous tour of Great Britain in the formidable Highlands of
North West Scotland. This bleak and beautiful region is one of the most remote areas
of Great Britain. Follow in his footsteps and find out more about the peaks and the
people he encounters.
DIRECTED BY RUPERT SMITH
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER HAMISH BARBER
PRODUCED @ IWC MEDIA
BIN LADEN: DEAD OR ALIVE 60 minute.
Tracing the CIA's interest in Bin Laden through the mid 90's to present day. Using
both archive and reconstruction to illustrate events, we interview both CIA operatives
and Special Forces teams who were on the ground in Afghanistan.
DIRECTED BY MARK EVEREST
EXEC. PRODUCER ROY ACKERMAN @ DIVERSE
THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER 84 minute.
Winner. Best Human Rights Film; Amsterdam 2002.
Nominated for Best Picture, Amnesty International Media Awards 2002.
Henry Kissinger. Nobel Laureate. And the most famous American diplomat in
history. The film investigates charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
PRODUCED BY ALEX GIBNEY @ JIGSAW/THINK TANK N.Y.C
DIRECTED BY EUGENE JARECKI
THE SEARCH FOR MALLORY & IRVINE 60 minute.
Winner. Canal Plus Award: for Best Documentary 2002.
Finalist. BAFTA: Best Cinematography 2000.
BBC Nomination. BAFTA. & RTS. Best Documentary, 2000.
In the spring of 1924 a British expedition set out to conquer the as yet unclimbed peak
of mount Everest. Two of the expeditions climbers, George Mallory and Andrew
Irvine were last seen, 6 /800 metres below the summit. Was Everest scaled 29 years
before Hilary and Tensing?
PRODUCED & DIRECTED @ BBC BRISTOL BY PETER FIRSTBROOK.
ULTIMATE ROCK CLIMB 60 minute.
WATCHDOG's Julia Bradbury led by Tim Emmett one of the worlds top rock
climbers, attempts to scale three of Britains toughest rock faces.
DIRECTED BY PAUL COPELAND. EXEC PRODUCER SARAH SWINGLER.
PRODUCED @ DARLOW SMITHSON PRODUCTIONS.
A BABY TO SAVE OUR SON 60 minute.
BBC Nominated, BAFTA Best Current Affairs Documentary 2003.
Tells the story of , Jason and Michelle Whitaker, and their seriously ill son,
Charlie. Their only hope of finding a cure for Charlie and saving his life is to use a
controversial gene technology--produce a baby that is a perfect genetic match for
Charlie and harvest stem cells from the baby's umbilical cord.
We follow the Whitaker's two-year journey through a minefield of emotions and
ethical issues, from one continent to another, as they prepare to create one baby to
save another
DIRECTED BY RACHEL COUGHLAN.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER EDWINA VARDEY.
BLOOD BROTHERS
The Story of Britain’s First Designer Baby. 60 minute.
Following on from Baby to Save Our Son, this film charts the Whittaker families
struggle from the beginning in 1999 to find a cure for their son, through to Charlies
treatment in the summer of 2004.
Dir Rachel Coughlan Exec Producer Edwina Vardey
THE 4 MINUTE MILE 60 minutes.
A film to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Roger Bannister's record breaking sub 4
minute mile.
DIRECTED BY CARL HINDMARCH @ LION TELEVISION.
DAYS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD 12x60 minute films.
The dramatic reconstructions; of the assassination of Martin Luther King and the
release of Nelson Mandela.
PRODUCED BY LION TELEVISION.
DIRECTED BY SRIK NARAYANAN.
ICEDOGS 6x30 minute
Modern day explorer/adventurer, Benedict Allen, visits Eastern Siberia, one of the
worlds most remote and inhospitable environments.
Learning from the local Chukchi Indians he hopes to lead a dog team across 1500
miles of the most hostile terrain known to man.
PRODUCED BY JOHN HESLING
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER BOB LONG
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? - Colin Jackson 60 minutes.
Olympic hurdler Jackson; traces his roots back through Jamaica
and Panama to Africa.
Series Producer Lucy Carter
Directed by Jackie Osei-Tutu @ WALL TO WALL TV
PIPE DREAMS 60 minutes.
Follows one mans journey back to the Venezuelan Amazon to honour a promise he’d
made 7 years earlier to a young Yanomami tribesman to take him on holiday to
Britain.
PRODUCED @ CAFÉ PRODUCTIONS. DIRECTED BY DAVID GOODALE
QUEST FOR THE CARIB CANOE 60 minutes.
The small and marginalised remaining Caribs of Dominica set out on
a voyage to re-discover their heritage and raise awareness to their plight; by sailing a
traditional 500 year old canoe back to their South American homeland in Guyana.
PRODUCED @ THINK TANK N.Y.C.
PRODUCED & DIRECTED BY EUGENE JARECKI
"HARLEY STREET." 8x30 minute.
Examines life on the world’s most famous medical street.
Exec Producer Narhinder Minhas @ DIVERSE.
CHANNEL 4 CREDITS:
CUTTING EDGE - JESS: BRITAIN'S YOUNGEST SLEEPWALKER?
Three and a half year old Jess, has a condition that has baffled every doctor she has
seen so far. For the last two and a half years she has been living a double life: during
the day she is a bright and happy girl but at night she is "different". Then, Jess spends
hours sitting in a trance, acting out elaborate scenes. She describes the "friends" who
visit her, who keep her awake, who hit her and who won't go away.
PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY AMELIA HANN @ BLAST FILMS.
CUTTING EDGE - BABY BIBLE BASHERS
Born again Christians or Evangelists as they like to be known are on the increase
across the globe. This film looks at the roles 3 child preachers and their families are
having on a religion that some say is the fastest growing on the planet.
PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY AMELIA HANN.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MARK SOLDINGER.
PRODUCED @ FIRECRACKER FILMS
THE FAKES TRADE 2x60 minute
Two-part series examining the global industry of fake goods and how luxury brands
are struggling to fight back, taking a journey from the sweatshops of China to Bond
Street boutiques. The brands helped turned counterfeiting into the world's biggest and
fastest-rising criminal industry by outsourcing production to China, a country with a
centuries-old tradition of copying. Chinese counterfeit syndicates now make and
distribute fakes throughout Britain, but only the foot soldiers ever get caught.
DIRECTED BY NICK HORNBY
EXEC PRODUCED @ BLAST FILMS ED COULTHARD/GRANT McKEE
UNREPORTED WORLD - GUINEA BISSAU
The tiny West African state of Guinea Bissau was, until recently known only for
being the 5th poorest country in the world. But in the last 2 years Colombian drug
cartels have begun using the country to warehouse vast quantities of cocaine bound
for Western Europe. The UN estimates that 2.5 tonnes is being flown in per day.
Reporter Kate Seelye seeks to uncover the scale of the problem and the potential
threat this poses to Europe.
PRODUCER DIRECTOR EDWARD WATTS. EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
EAMONN MATTHEWS. PRODUCED @ QUICKSILVER MEDIA.
TRAVELS WITH A GRINGO
Sean Langhan in Latin America.
Sean travels to Latin America to look at the affect globalisation is having on this vast
Continent.
PRODUCED @ MENTORN BY BEN SUMMERS.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER GEORGE CAREY.
THE UNTEACHABLES
4x1 hour films
A group of badly behaved 14 year olds with over 50 school exclusions between them
are sent on a series of innovative study camps, held by some of the best
educationalists in the country, to determine if they are beyond repair.
SERIES PRODUCER. SALLIE CLEMENT.
DIRECTOR PHILIPPA ROSS.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER. CHARLES FURNEAUX.
PRODUCED @ TALKBACKTHAMES.
GRAND DESIGNS
DIRECTED BY DAVID GOODALE @ TALKBACKTHAMES.
CHILDBIRTH
30 minutes
Editor of The Erotic Review Rowan Pelling, takes a look at childbirth in the UK
today.
PRODUCED BY HOWARD ANDERSON @ MENTORN.
FORBIDDEN FRUIT
3x50 minute documentaries tracing the history of interracial sex in Britain.
PRODUCED @ DIVERSE LIMITED. DIRECTED BY HELEN LITTLEBOY.
PLANET OF FIRE
2 hour special following volcano hunters around the world as they study at first hand
the worlds great volcanos’.
PRODUCED @ PIONEER PRODUCTIONS. DIRECTED BY PATRICK
FLEMING. EXECUTIVE PRODUCER. STUART CARTER.
WRECKS OF CONDOR REEF - ENDS OF THE EARTH
Charts the progress of two shipwreck detectives, hoping to find wrecks off the coast
of Cambodia.
PRODUCED @ INCA. DIRECTED BY JEREMY TAYLOR.
MINDREADERS EQUINOX
The film explores what the autistic mind can tell us about why male and female
relationships so often end in divorce. Winner of 2 B.M.A. Silver Awards.
PRODUCED @ ILLUMINATIONS TELEVISION. DIRECTED BY JEREMY
TAYLOR.
ANIMALS WORLD - LIONS
Looking at the world from a lions point of view. Part of a three film series screened
autumn 99.
PRODUCED @ WALL TO WALL TELEVISION.
DIRECTED BY ALEXANDRA BEASLEY.
EMPIRES OF STONE
3x 50 minute documentaries using dramatic reconstruction and state of the art 3D
graphics to show how why and when "The Colosseum, The Acropolis and The Great
Wall Of China were built.
SERIES PRODUCER @ OCTOBER FILMS, ADAM BULLMORE
DIRECTED BY PATRICK FLEMING.
TIME TEAM
The 7th series of this highly acclaimed archaeological programme. Presented by Tony
Robinson.
PRODUCED @ VIDEOTEXT. DIRECTED BY MICHAEL DOUGLAS.
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER. PHILIP CLARKE.
CHANNEL 5 CREDITS
MARY MAGDALENE - SAINT OR SINNER
Recorded in the Bible as the first person to see Christ after the Resurrection, Mary’s
exact role in Christianity has long been debated. This film examines the scant details
of her life and questions the theory that she was deliberately sidelined by the Christian
Church in order to protect the male hierarchy..
Directed by MARTIN KEMP @ CTVC
MY BRILLIANT BRAIN
Winner. World Television Awards, Best Science Documentary
A compelling three part documentary that with the help of 3D graphics explores the
incredible inner workings of the human brain. The programmes look at a group of
remarkable people and poses questions about the origins of genius: are these
extraordinary abilities genetic, developed or acquired by accident
Dir. KURT TONDORFF.
PRODUCED @ WINDFALL FILMS.
IDEAS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
Tony Benn looks at the history of Democracy.
DIR. SRIK NARAYANAN
PRODUCED @ MENTORN
MISSION TO THE DEEP
8 x 30 minute films locating, diving & studying some of histories great shipwrecks.
PRODUCED @ MAVERICK BY BETHAN CORNEY & MARTIN HEAD.
DISCOVERY/TLC CREDITS:
FIRE-THE NATURE OF THE BEAST
The film examines the uneasy peace that exists between man and one of our most
deadly predators.
PRODUCED @ OPTOMEN TELEVISION. DIRECTED BY PATRICK FLEMING.
SECRETS OF THE GREAT WALL
A scientific/dramatic look at one of mankind’s greatest achievements "The Great
Wall of China" and how? And why it was built?
PRODUCED @ OCTOBER FILMS. DIRECTED BY PATRICK FLEMING."
HIDDEN HISTORIES
A series of 6 half-hour docu-dramas examining relationships between historical
events and recent paranormal activity.
PRODUCED @ CAFÉ PRODUCTIONS. DIRECTED BY EDDIE BABBAGE &
ALEXANDRA BEASLEY.
GHOSTHUNTERS
A series of 10 half-hour programmes examining the paranormal.
PRODUCED @ INCA. DIRECTED BY EDDIE BABBAGE.
HEADHUNTERS
Documentary looking at headhunting .A forbidden rite; that as we enter the 21st
century is alarmingly, still with us.
PRODUCED BY ANDRE SINGER @ CAFÉ PRODUCTIONS.
DIRECTED BY TOM SHEAHAN.
SIMON BARKER
FILM & TELEVISION EDITOR
www.simonbarker.tv E-mail sibark@mail.com mobile 07976 284555