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Marc James Francis

April 15, 2024

Marc James Francis (also known as Marc J. Francis and Marc Francis) is a British film director, producer and documentary cinematographer.[1][2][3][4]

Marc James Francis
Francis in 2020
Born (1975-12-04) 4 December 1975 (age 48)
UK
Other namesMarc J. Francis, Marc Francis
Occupation(s)Film director, film producer, documentary film cinematographer
Years active2000–present

In 2007, Marc and his brother Nick Francis were chosen by Harper’s Bazaar magazine as two of their top Forty Under 40; Household Names of the Future.[5] In 2007, The Observer newspaper named the brothers as some of Britain’s Rising Stars.[6] They both were regular contributors to the Observer's sister paper The Guardian between 2006 and 2012, notably in its film blog.[7]

Marc is Co-founder and Creative Director of the production company Speakit, founded in 2004 with his brother Nick Francis.[8][9]

Early life edit

Prior to his film career, Marc was an undergraduate at the University of Leeds where he learned Mandarin.[10] He also studied Chinese cinema and lived in China during the economic boom of the mid-1990s.[6]

During that time, together with his brother Nick Francis, he made a documentary about the anti-nuclear weapons protest movement and their attempts to shut down Britain’s Trident submarine base in Scotland in 2002.[11]

Career edit

In 2004, Francis and his brother founded British production company Speakit Films. Their first Speakit film was Black Gold which launched at the Sundance film festival in 2006[12] to critical acclaim.[13][14][15][16] His work has been supported by The Sundance Institute, The BRITDOC Foundation, the BFI, Bertha Foundation[17] CNC and EU MEDIA Programme Fund.[9][18][19]

Feature films edit

Black Gold (2006)

Directed and produced with his brother Nick Francis, Black Gold was the first film to receive funding from BritDoc.[20] The film follows the efforts of an Ethiopian Coffee Union manager as he travels the world to obtain a better price for his workers' coffee beans.[21] The film premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.[22] It was nominated to[23][24] and won several awards, amongst which Best Achievement in Production - British Independent Film Awards 2007[4] and Contemporary Issues - San Francisco Black Film Festival (2006).[2]

Black Gold went on to be seen in over 60 international film festivals including London, Rome, Berlin, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Rio de Janeiro and has secured major broadcast deals around the world including Channel 4 (UK), PBS/Independent Lens (US), Documentary Channel (Canada), NHK (Japan), and Al-jazeera (Middle East).[25]

The film has attracted wide coverage in the media including features on CNN,[13] The Guardian,[26] BBC World, BBC News 24,[27] Sky News,[28] Bloomberg, The Observer,[29] The Times,[30] The Daily Telegraph,[31] New York Times,[32] LA Times,[33] The Washington Post[34] and The Sunday Times.[35]

Since the first showing of Black Gold during Sundance, Starbucks sent people to screenings of the film in what has been called by one journalist "going on a charm offensive".[12][26] As the film became more and more popular, Starbucks flew Tadesse and four other African coffee producers to their Seattle headquarters for a weekend conference, which was seen by many as a PR stunt.[36] Further, just before the film premiered at the London Film Festival in October 2006, a memo received by Starbucks staff from the headquarters leaked to the Black Gold forum. The internal memo was sent out to inform all Starbucks employees that Black Gold was "incomplete and inaccurate".[37]

When China Met Africa (2010)

Directed and produced with his brother Nick Francis. Set on the front line of Chinaʼs foray into Africa, the film follows the lives of a Chinese farmer, a road builder, and the Zambian trade minister.[38]

Walk with Me (2017)

In 2011, Marc was invited by filmmaker and friend Max Pugh to help him make a film[39] about Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.[40][41] He spent several months over 5 years living in Plum Village  - Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastery in France, where he learned the art of meditation and mindfulness. This experience changed his life and by 2017, they had completed their film Walk with Me and it was released worldwide.[39]

Directed and produced with Max Pugh, the Benedict Cumberbatch narrated film premiered in 2017 and screened at international film festivals like SXSW,[42] BFI London Film Festival 2017,[43] Illuminate Film Festival[44] and Foyle Film Festival.[45]

Short films edit

A Letter from Calais (2016)

Directed by Marc and Nick Francis and produced by Marc and Nick Francis and Max Pugh released in October 2016 for Benedict Cumberbatch's company, Sunny March.[46][47] Featuring Jude Law,[48] the film aims to draw attention to the hundreds of unaccompanied children living in the Calais refugee camp.

Madam President (2012)

Directed and produced by Marc and Nick Francis released on The Guardian website in December 2012 and supported by The Guardian and the Worldview Broadcast Media Scheme.[49] The film is an exclusive portrait of Malawi’s first female President Joyce Banda, as she tries to steer her country out of an economic crisis.

TV Documentaries edit

Nuke UK (2001)

Channel 4 / Ideal World Productions TV documentary directed by Marc and Nick Francis.[46]

St Dunstans (2003)

TV documentary of 6 x 30 minutes episodes directed by Marc J. Francis and released on ITV.[46]

References edit

  1. ^ "Directors Marc and Nick Francis win first Margaret Mead Filmmaker Award For When China Met Africa at the American Museum of Natural History" (PDF). American Museum of Natural History. November 2010. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "The San Francisco Black Film Festival Announces Winners". www.studentfilmmakers.com. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  3. ^ Adams, Tim; Conner, Megan; Elan, Priya; John, Emma; Shaitly, Shahesta (2012-06-02). "The 2012 winners of the Observer Ethical Awards in association with Ecover". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  4. ^ a b "British Independent Film Awards (2007)". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  5. ^ "Forty Under 40; Household Names of the Future" (PDF). Harper’s Bazaar. September 2007. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Rising stars". The Observer. July 10, 2007. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  7. ^ "Marc Francis Profile". The Guardian Newspaper. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  8. ^ "Speakit Films". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  9. ^ a b "About Speakit". Speakit Films. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  10. ^ "50th Anniversary of East Asian Studies". leeds.ac.uk. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  11. ^ . BFI. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  12. ^ a b "IndieLondon: Black Gold - Marc and Nick Francis interview - Your London Reviews". www.indielondon.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  13. ^ a b "Black Gold film shakes up coffee industry". Youtube. CNN. 15 September 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  14. ^ French, Philip (2007-06-09). "Black Gold". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  15. ^ Hoyle, Ben. "A wake up call to world's coffee giants". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  16. ^ Hornaday, Ann (8 December 2006). "Brewing 'Black Gold'". Washington Post. Retrieved 23 Sept 2020
  17. ^ "Bertha Directory of completed films A - Z". Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  18. ^ "Impact of Art" (PDF). britdoc.org. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  19. ^ "Key Crew". Speakit Films. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  20. ^ Evans, Chris (2007-06-08). "Black Gold: storm in a coffee cup". Screen. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  21. ^ . 2008-05-22. Archived from the original on 2008-05-22. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  22. ^ . 2008-05-22. Archived from the original on 2008-05-22. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  23. ^ "Nominees Announced in Four Categories for 22nd Annual International Documentary Association Awards". Studio Daily. 2006-10-24. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  24. ^ "Why Ahlaam (Dreams) deserved to win". The Guardian. 2008-04-22. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  25. ^ "Impact". Black Gold Movie. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  26. ^ a b Seager, Ashley (2007-01-29). "Starbucks stirred by fair trade film". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  27. ^ "BBC News - Live interview with Black Gold Directors Marc and Nick Francis and Kraft". Youtube (Video). BBC News. 1 October 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  28. ^ "Sky News - Marc & Nick Francis talk about Black Gold, trade & coffee". Youtube. Sky News. 7 June 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  29. ^ French, Philip (2007-06-09). "Black Gold". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  30. ^ Hoyle, Ben. "A wake up call to world's coffee giants". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  31. ^ "Britain shines at Sundance". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  32. ^ Scott, A. O. (2006-01-27). "Art in Review". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  33. ^ Chocano, Carina (2007-01-12). "Poverty in that morning cup". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  34. ^ Hornaday, Ann (8 December 2006). "Brewing 'Black Gold'". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  35. ^ Dawson, Jeff. "Wake up and smell the coffee". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  36. ^ "Ethiopian coffee farmer Tadesse Meskela Gudeta tastes... 904004 - seattlepi.com". www.seattlepi.com. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  37. ^ Forrest, Adam (27 May 2007). "Grounds for complaint? Why a film about coffee". The Sunday Herald. pp. 16–17.
  38. ^ Pulver, Andrew (2011-10-06). "When China Met Africa – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  39. ^ a b "Marc J. Francis: "Bringing in my documentary experience into the fiction film world, that's what I would like to do"". FILM TALK. 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
  40. ^ "Benedict Cumberbatch boards Buddhism doc". Screen International. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  41. ^ "The Making of "Walk With Me"". thichnhathanhfoundation.org. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  42. ^ Barraclough, Leo (2017-03-09). "Alejandro G. Inarritu on Mindfulness Documentary 'Walk With Me' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  43. ^ "BFI - London Film Festival 2017". UKFilmNews.com. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  44. ^ "Walk With Me | ILLUMINATE Film Festival | Sedona, Arizona". illuminatefilmfestival.com. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  45. ^ "Walk With Me (NI Premiere)". Foyle Film Festival. 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  46. ^ a b c "Nick Francis and Marc J Francis". United Agents. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  47. ^ "Benedict Cumberbatch joins wife Sophie Hunter for Letters Live". 14 March 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  48. ^ "A Letter from Calais - Short Film". 11 March 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  49. ^ Francis, Directed by Nick; Francis, Marc (17 December 2012). "Madam President: meeting Malawi's Joyce Banda – video". The Guardian. Retrieved July 14, 2017.

External links edit

  • Marc J Francis Website
  • Speakit Website
  • Walk With Me Website
  • Black Gold Website
  • When China Met Africa Website

April 15, 2024
marc, james, francis, also, known, marc, francis, marc, francis, british, film, director, producer, documentary, cinematographer, francis, 2020born, 1975, december, 1975, ukother, namesmarc, francis, marc, francisoccupation, film, director, film, producer, doc. Marc James Francis also known as Marc J Francis and Marc Francis is a British film director producer and documentary cinematographer 1 2 3 4 Marc James FrancisFrancis in 2020Born 1975 12 04 4 December 1975 age 48 UKOther namesMarc J Francis Marc FrancisOccupation s Film director film producer documentary film cinematographerYears active2000 presentIn 2007 Marc and his brother Nick Francis were chosen by Harper s Bazaar magazine as two of their top Forty Under 40 Household Names of the Future 5 In 2007 The Observer newspaper named the brothers as some of Britain s Rising Stars 6 They both were regular contributors to the Observer s sister paper The Guardian between 2006 and 2012 notably in its film blog 7 Marc is Co founder and Creative Director of the production company Speakit founded in 2004 with his brother Nick Francis 8 9 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Feature films 4 Short films 5 TV Documentaries 6 References 7 External linksEarly life editPrior to his film career Marc was an undergraduate at the University of Leeds where he learned Mandarin 10 He also studied Chinese cinema and lived in China during the economic boom of the mid 1990s 6 During that time together with his brother Nick Francis he made a documentary about the anti nuclear weapons protest movement and their attempts to shut down Britain s Trident submarine base in Scotland in 2002 11 Career editIn 2004 Francis and his brother founded British production company Speakit Films Their first Speakit film was Black Gold which launched at the Sundance film festival in 2006 12 to critical acclaim 13 14 15 16 His work has been supported by The Sundance Institute The BRITDOC Foundation the BFI Bertha Foundation 17 CNC and EU MEDIA Programme Fund 9 18 19 Feature films editBlack Gold 2006 Directed and produced with his brother Nick Francis Black Gold was the first film to receive funding from BritDoc 20 The film follows the efforts of an Ethiopian Coffee Union manager as he travels the world to obtain a better price for his workers coffee beans 21 The film premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival 22 It was nominated to 23 24 and won several awards amongst which Best Achievement in Production British Independent Film Awards 2007 4 and Contemporary Issues San Francisco Black Film Festival 2006 2 Black Gold went on to be seen in over 60 international film festivals including London Rome Berlin Melbourne Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro and has secured major broadcast deals around the world including Channel 4 UK PBS Independent Lens US Documentary Channel Canada NHK Japan and Al jazeera Middle East 25 The film has attracted wide coverage in the media including features on CNN 13 The Guardian 26 BBC World BBC News 24 27 Sky News 28 Bloomberg The Observer 29 The Times 30 The Daily Telegraph 31 New York Times 32 LA Times 33 The Washington Post 34 and The Sunday Times 35 Since the first showing of Black Gold during Sundance Starbucks sent people to screenings of the film in what has been called by one journalist going on a charm offensive 12 26 As the film became more and more popular Starbucks flew Tadesse and four other African coffee producers to their Seattle headquarters for a weekend conference which was seen by many as a PR stunt 36 Further just before the film premiered at the London Film Festival in October 2006 a memo received by Starbucks staff from the headquarters leaked to the Black Gold forum The internal memo was sent out to inform all Starbucks employees that Black Gold was incomplete and inaccurate 37 When China Met Africa 2010 Directed and produced with his brother Nick Francis Set on the front line of Chinaʼs foray into Africa the film follows the lives of a Chinese farmer a road builder and the Zambian trade minister 38 Walk with Me 2017 In 2011 Marc was invited by filmmaker and friend Max Pugh to help him make a film 39 about Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh 40 41 He spent several months over 5 years living in Plum Village Thich Nhat Hanh s monastery in France where he learned the art of meditation and mindfulness This experience changed his life and by 2017 they had completed their film Walk with Me and it was released worldwide 39 Directed and produced with Max Pugh the Benedict Cumberbatch narrated film premiered in 2017 and screened at international film festivals like SXSW 42 BFI London Film Festival 2017 43 Illuminate Film Festival 44 and Foyle Film Festival 45 Short films editA Letter from Calais 2016 Directed by Marc and Nick Francis and produced by Marc and Nick Francis and Max Pugh released in October 2016 for Benedict Cumberbatch s company Sunny March 46 47 Featuring Jude Law 48 the film aims to draw attention to the hundreds of unaccompanied children living in the Calais refugee camp Madam President 2012 Directed and produced by Marc and Nick Francis released on The Guardian website in December 2012 and supported by The Guardian and the Worldview Broadcast Media Scheme 49 The film is an exclusive portrait of Malawi s first female President Joyce Banda as she tries to steer her country out of an economic crisis TV Documentaries editNuke UK 2001 Channel 4 Ideal World Productions TV documentary directed by Marc and Nick Francis 46 St Dunstans 2003 TV documentary of 6 x 30 minutes episodes directed by Marc J Francis and released on ITV 46 References edit Directors Marc and Nick Francis win first Margaret Mead Filmmaker Award For When China Met Africa at the American Museum of Natural History PDF American Museum of Natural History November 2010 Retrieved September 13 2020 a b The San Francisco Black Film Festival Announces Winners www studentfilmmakers com Retrieved 2020 09 23 Adams Tim Conner Megan Elan Priya John Emma Shaitly Shahesta 2012 06 02 The 2012 winners of the Observer Ethical Awards in association with Ecover The Observer ISSN 0029 7712 Retrieved 2020 09 23 a b British Independent Film Awards 2007 IMDb Retrieved 2020 09 23 Forty Under 40 Household Names of the Future PDF Harper s Bazaar September 2007 Retrieved July 13 2017 a b Rising stars The Observer July 10 2007 Retrieved July 13 2017 Marc Francis Profile The Guardian Newspaper Retrieved July 14 2017 Speakit Films The Guardian Retrieved 2020 09 23 a b About Speakit Speakit Films Retrieved July 13 2017 50th Anniversary of East Asian Studies leeds ac uk Retrieved July 13 2017 Nuke UK 2002 BFI Archived from the original on October 1 2020 Retrieved 2020 09 23 a b IndieLondon Black Gold Marc and Nick Francis interview Your London Reviews www indielondon co uk Retrieved 2020 09 23 a b Black Gold film shakes up coffee industry Youtube CNN 15 September 2008 Retrieved 25 September 2020 French Philip 2007 06 09 Black Gold The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 09 23 Hoyle Ben A wake up call to world s coffee giants The Times ISSN 0140 0460 Retrieved 2020 09 23 Hornaday Ann 8 December 2006 Brewing Black Gold Washington Post Retrieved 23 Sept 2020 Bertha Directory of completed films A Z Retrieved July 14 2017 Impact of Art PDF britdoc org Retrieved July 13 2017 Key Crew Speakit Films Retrieved July 13 2017 Evans Chris 2007 06 08 Black Gold storm in a coffee cup Screen Retrieved 2020 09 23 Close Up Film Filmmaking 2008 05 22 Archived from the original on 2008 05 22 Retrieved 2017 07 18 Close Up Film Filmmaking 2008 05 22 Archived from the original on 2008 05 22 Retrieved 2020 09 23 Nominees Announced in Four Categories for 22nd Annual International Documentary Association Awards Studio Daily 2006 10 24 Retrieved 2020 09 23 Why Ahlaam Dreams deserved to win The Guardian 2008 04 22 Retrieved 2020 09 23 Impact Black Gold Movie Retrieved 2020 09 23 a b Seager Ashley 2007 01 29 Starbucks stirred by fair trade film The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 09 25 BBC News Live interview with Black Gold Directors Marc and Nick Francis and Kraft Youtube Video BBC News 1 October 2006 Retrieved 25 September 2020 Sky News Marc amp Nick Francis talk about Black Gold trade amp coffee Youtube Sky News 7 June 2006 Retrieved 25 September 2020 French Philip 2007 06 09 Black Gold The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2020 09 25 Hoyle Ben A wake up call to world s coffee giants The Times ISSN 0140 0460 Retrieved 2020 09 25 Britain shines at Sundance The Telegraph Retrieved 2020 09 25 Scott A O 2006 01 27 Art in Review The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2020 09 25 Chocano Carina 2007 01 12 Poverty in that morning cup Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2020 09 25 Hornaday Ann 8 December 2006 Brewing Black Gold Washington Post Retrieved 25 September 2020 Dawson Jeff Wake up and smell the coffee The Times ISSN 0140 0460 Retrieved 2020 09 25 Ethiopian coffee farmer Tadesse Meskela Gudeta tastes 904004 seattlepi com www seattlepi com Retrieved 2020 09 25 Forrest Adam 27 May 2007 Grounds for complaint Why a film about coffee The Sunday Herald pp 16 17 Pulver Andrew 2011 10 06 When China Met Africa review The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2017 07 18 a b Marc J Francis Bringing in my documentary experience into the fiction film world that s what I would like to do FILM TALK 2017 09 21 Retrieved 2020 09 23 Benedict Cumberbatch boards Buddhism doc Screen International Retrieved July 14 2017 The Making of Walk With Me thichnhathanhfoundation org Retrieved July 14 2017 Barraclough Leo 2017 03 09 Alejandro G Inarritu on Mindfulness Documentary Walk With Me EXCLUSIVE Variety Retrieved 2020 09 13 BFI London Film Festival 2017 UKFilmNews com 2017 08 31 Retrieved 2020 09 13 Walk With Me ILLUMINATE Film Festival Sedona Arizona illuminatefilmfestival com Retrieved 2020 09 13 Walk With Me NI Premiere Foyle Film Festival 2017 10 06 Retrieved 2020 09 13 a b c Nick Francis and Marc J Francis United Agents Retrieved July 13 2017 Benedict Cumberbatch joins wife Sophie Hunter for Letters Live 14 March 2016 Retrieved July 14 2017 A Letter from Calais Short Film 11 March 2016 Retrieved July 14 2017 Francis Directed by Nick Francis Marc 17 December 2012 Madam President meeting Malawi s Joyce Banda video The Guardian Retrieved July 14 2017 External links editMarc J Francis Website Speakit Website Walk With Me Website Black Gold Website When China Met Africa Website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Marc James Francis amp oldid 1185146917, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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