Chris Jones (filmmaker)

This article is about the director. For other people named Chris Jones, see Christopher Jones.

Chris Jones is a British filmmaker, author, film director, screenwriter and educator,^[1] who has written books on becoming 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]

Chris Jones
Born	Higher End, Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England
Occupation(s)	Filmmaker, author, film director, screenwriter, educator
Years active	1992–present
Website	http://jonesfilm.co.uk/

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 55 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]} and began work on Rocketboy.^{[37][38][39][40]}

In 2015 Jones co-produced the feature documentary The First Film^[41] about Louis Le Prince who is credited as a Leeds-based inventor of film. ^[42]

In 2016, Jones launched Create50, 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.

In 2016 Jones trained to become a firewalk instructor to help creative people break through barriers and began his own firewalk company called The Firewalk Experience.

In 2018 Jones produced the crowd created feature film, Impact50, the opening being written by Joe Eszterhas and starring Olivia Williams as the US president. The story revolves around the social impact of a catastrophic meteor strike. Due to the pandemic, the film was delayed, but released on June 3rd 2022.

In 2023 Jones executive produced the four part docuseries The Enfield Poltergeist^[43] for Apple TV+.

In 2023 Jones joined the Paramount Pictures M:I 7 and 8 team to direct splinter unit on Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning^[44] and also Mission: Impossible 8.^[45]

Jones is the author of several books on film-making, including The Guerilla Filmmakers Handbook.^[37] Having made several feature films on shoestring budgets, Jones has warned in 2010 that the British film industry needed to cut back on its spending if it was to survive.^[46][47] Jones teaches a variety of filmmaker courses from his Ealing Studio location,^[48] and founded the London Screenwriters’ Festival as creative director in 2010.

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 - Co-writer
• Impact50 - 2022 - Producer
• Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning - 2023, 164 min - Splinter Unit Director
• Mission: Impossible 8 - 2025 - Splinter Unit Director
• Rocketboy (forthcoming) – Director

Short films

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

Docuseries

• The Enfield Poltergeist - 2023 - Executive Producer

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 17 April 2008.
• 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

1. Yoram Allon; Del Cullen; Hannah Patterson (2001). Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide. Wallflower Press. pp. 169–. ISBN 978-1-903364-21-5.
2. . Wigan Observer (Wigan, England). 15 April 2010. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2015 – via HighBeam.
3. Film. Vol. c. British Federation of Film Societies. 1992. pp. 51–63. ... White Angel, from a former Bournemouth Film School student, Chris Jones ...
4. Film Review. Orpheus Pub. 1991. pp. 198–. ... Youth Business Trust chipped in £3,000, which provided the photocopier and fax machine that gave birth to Living Spirit. But the ... Living Spirit spent five days in the woods of Nantwich shooting their trailer for The Runner. ... Top: Ford and persuasive director Chris Jones were mainly the Nantwich cottage and its garage.
5. Robert Cettl (2003). Serial Killer Cinema: An Analytical Filmography with an Introduction. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-1292-1.
6. A Paranormal File. john pinkney. pp. 142–. GGKEY:6PQ1NHJ1285.
7. Kim Newman (18 April 2011). Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s. A&C Black. pp. 327–. ISBN 978-1-4088-0503-9.
8. Adam Lukeman (10 August 2011). Fangoria's 101 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen: A Celebration of the World's Most Unheralded Fright Flicks. Crown/Archetype. pp. 357–. ISBN 978-0-307-52347-1.
9. Mike Mayo (1 April 2013). The Horror Show Guide: The Ultimate Frightfest of Movies. Visible Ink Press. pp. 440–. ISBN 978-1-57859-420-7.
10. John Flowers; Paul Frizler (1 January 2004). Psychotherapists on Film, 1899-1999: M-Z. McFarland. p. 614. ISBN 978-0-7864-1908-1.
11. Jim Craddock (2006). Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever. Thomson Gale. p. 908. ISBN 978-0-7876-8980-3.
12. "Appeals for aid to finish movie". wigantoday.net.
13. Mitchell, Wendy (5 August 2008). "Gone Fishing, Soft take prizes in Kodak's Short Film Competition". Screen Daily. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
14. "Netribution article on the premiere of Gone Fishing". Retrieved 20 June 2022.
15. "News : Press Item : Bahamas International Film Festival". bintlfilmfest.com.
16. . Filmmaker Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 December 2015.
17. "RIIFF Awards 2008". film-festival.org.
18. . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
19. Emil Tiedemann. "I Heart Edmonton: EDvent: Edmonton International Film Festival '09, Part III". iheartedmonton.org.
20. . onedayu.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
21. "Big Island Film Festival - Success Stories". bigislandfilmfestival.com.
22. "Big Island Film Festival 'Golden Honu' Awards". Hawaii 24/7. 24 May 2009.
23. Helen Stephenson. "The Sedona International Film Festival Closes on Another Successful Year". Prescott eNews.^{[permanent dead link]}
24. "SINY FILM FEST CLOSE-UP: Chris Jones on "Gone Fishing"". SILive.com. 3 June 2009.
25. . newportbeachfilmfest.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013.
26. Christopher Lloyd (25 July 2009). "And the winners are... - THE FILM YAP". THE FILM YAP.
27. "Another win! Palm Beach in Florida!". Make Film Teach Film. 30 April 2009.
28. "RIIFF News & Updates: 'Gone Fishing' wins the Producers Guild Of America Awards". rifilmfest.blogspot.dk.
29. Lucy Hay (10 September 2013). Writing & Selling - Thriller Screenplays. Oldcastle Books, Limited. pp. 194–. ISBN 978-1-84243-972-2.
30. Chris Jones; Andrew Zinnes; Genevieve Jolliffe (18 March 2010). The Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook: The Ultimate Guide to Digital Film Making. A&C Black. pp. 309–. ISBN 978-1-4411-8078-0.
31. "Gone Fishing with Chris Jones Yet? " Trippin the Movie". deviantpictures.com.
32. "Gympie's Heart of Gold film festival expands to five days". NewsComAu. 13 March 2009.
33. Astle, Randy (11 March 2014). "How to Crowdsource a Film: Chris Jones on the Omnibus Movie, 50 Kisses". Filmmaker. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
34. Louise Cooper (14 February 2014). "Huddersfield film producer Judy Goldberg launches 50 kisses film project in London". huddersfieldexaminer.
35. Salina Patel (27 February 2014). "Hanworth film-makers journey to the red carpet". getwestlondon.
36. "East Grinstead opticians is the set of international movie". East Grinstead Courier.
37. Cooper, Sarah (7 October 2010). "Chris Jones". Screen Daily. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
38. Lucy V. Hay (24 October 2014). Writing and Selling Drama Screenplays. Oldcastle Books, Limited. pp. 143–. ISBN 978-1-84344-413-8.
39. Chris Jones (20 June 2003). Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint. A&C Black. pp. 213–. ISBN 978-0-8264-1453-3.
40. "How To Write A Script Report … And Why It's Good For Your Writing". London Screenwriters' Festival. 15 November 2013.
41. Wilkinson, David (8 September 2016), The First Film (Documentary, Biography, History), Bernard Atha, Stephane Cornicard, Tom Courtenay, Guerilla Docs, Guerilla Films (leprince), retrieved 6 February 2024
42. "The First Film". GUERILLA GROUP. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
43. The Enfield Poltergeist (Documentary, Horror), Max Lohan, Olivia Booth-Ford, Christos Lawton, Concordia Studio, MetFilm Production, 27 October 2023, retrieved 6 February 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
44. McQuarrie, Christopher (12 July 2023), Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (Action, Adventure, Thriller), Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, TC Productions, retrieved 6 February 2024
45. McQuarrie, Christopher (23 May 2025), Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two (Action, Adventure, Thriller), Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Rebecca Ferguson, Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, retrieved 6 February 2024
46. Alberge, Dalya (2 October 2010). "UK film-makers 'frittering away millions'". The Observer. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
47. Adam P. Davies (May 2005). UK Film Finance Handbook 2005/06: How To Fund Your Film. Netribution. pp. 57–. ISBN 978-0-9550143-0-7.
48. "Whats On - Sessions - Script To Screen Live Silence of the Lambs - London Screenwriters' Festival". London Screenwriters' Festival.

• Fitzherbert Henry Film Critic. "Gone Fishing". The Sunday Express.

External links

• Chris Jones at IMDb
• Livingspirit website
• Blog
• Directing website