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Andrew Haigh

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Andrew Haigh
Haigh in June 2011
Born (1973-03-07) 7 March 1973 (age 51)
Harrogate, England
OccupationFilmmaker
Years active1996–present
SpouseAndy Morwood
Children2
Websiteandrewhaighfilm.com

Andrew Haigh (/heɪɡ/;[1] born 7 March 1973) is an English filmmaker. He is best known for writing and directing the films Weekend (2011), 45 Years (2015), Lean on Pete (2017), and All of Us Strangers (2023). He also wrote and directed the HBO series Looking (2014–2015) and its film sequel Looking: The Movie (2016), as well as the BBC Two limited series The North Water (2021).

Early life

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Haigh was born in Harrogate on 7 March 1973[2][3] and grew up in Croydon.[4] He studied history at Newcastle University.[5]

Career

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Haigh worked as an assistant editor on films such as Gladiator and Black Hawk Down before debuting as a writer/director with the short film Oil. In 2009 he directed his first feature-length film, Greek Pete, which debuted at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.[6] The film is set in London and centers on male prostitution, chronicling a year in the life of rent-boy Pete. Greek Pete won the Artistic Achievement Award at Outfest in 2009.[7]

Haigh's second feature, the highly acclaimed romantic drama Weekend about a 48-hour relationship between two men (played by Tom Cullen and Chris New), premiered on 11 March 2011 at the SXSW Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Emerging Visions.[8][9] The film played in many other festivals around the world, and went on to collect many more awards including the Grand Jury Award for Outstanding International Narrative Feature at L.A. Outfest[10] and London Film Critics' Circle award for Breakthrough British Filmmaker.[11][12]

Haigh's next film 45 Years (2015) premiered as part of the main competition at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival.[13] The film won the top acting prizes at the festival for both its leads, Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. The film screened at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals in September 2015. The film later received an Academy Award nomination for Charlotte Rampling. Upon release, the film received positive reviews, holding a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail wrote: "45 Years exposes the paradoxical balance of the successful marriage, one that requires a sentimental suspension of disbelief on the one hand and a hard-headed ability to deal with the everyday on the other."[14]

Haigh co-created, co-produced and occasionally wrote and directed the HBO drama series Looking (2014–2016), about a group of gay men in San Francisco, which struggled to attract audiences despite receiving generally positive reviews from critics.[15][16] Cancelled after two seasons, the series finished with a two-hour TV movie in 2016.[17][18] Haigh's next film, Lean on Pete, based on the Willy Vlautin novel about a teenage boy in Oregon, premiered at the 74th Venice International Film Festival in 2017. It was released in cinemas and on VOD in April–May 2018 and received critical acclaim.[19][20] In October 2016, Haigh was announced as the writer-director of The North Water, a mini-series based on the novel of the same name by Ian McGuire. Filming began in summer 2018.[21][22] After some filming delays in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was released between 15 July and 12 August on BBC Two in 2021.[23]

In 2023, Haigh returned to film directing the romance drama All of Us Strangers starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal. The film is an adaptation of the Taichi Yamada novel Strangers (1988). The film premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival to critical acclaim and will be distributed by Searchlight Pictures. The film also screened across the UK as a part of the BFI London Film Festival and is set to appear at the New York Film Festival on 16 October 2023. Peter Debruge of Variety praised the film writing, "Haigh brings a sense of intimacy to this movie, presenting us with characters who are willing to be vulnerable to partners they barely know. It’s sexy, of course, but also quite moving, as this kind of exposed honesty feels like the foundation for any relationship".[24]

In 2024, Haigh directed a music video for the Pet Shop Boys song "A New Bohemia". Filmed in Margate, the video features Tracey Emin and Russell Tovey.[25]

Influences

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Haigh participated in the 2022 Sight and Sound poll, which is held once every 10 years for contemporary filmmakers to select their 10 favourite films in no particular order; he chose Black Narcissus (1947), Some Like It Hot (1959), L'avventura (1960), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Cries and Whispers (1972), Don't Look Now (1973), Watership Down (1978), Ratcatcher (1999), Uzak (2002), and The Holy Girl (2004).[26]

Personal life

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Haigh is gay.[27] He is married to Andy Morwood,[18] with whom he has two daughters.[28][4][29]

Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Director Screenwriter Editor Distributor Ref.
2009 Greek Pete Yes Yes Yes Peccadillo Pictures
2011 Weekend Yes Yes Yes Peccadillo Pictures / IFC Films
2015 45 Years Yes Yes No IFC Films
2017 Lean on Pete Yes Yes No Curzon Artificial Eye / A24
2023 All of Us Strangers Yes Yes No Searchlight Pictures

Short films

Year Title Director Screenwriter Editor Ref.
2003 Oil Yes Yes Yes
2005 Markings Yes Yes No
2005 Cahuenga Blvd Yes Yes Yes
2009 Five Miles Out Yes Yes No

Editor / Miscellaneous

Filmography critical reception

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Each film is linked to the "Critical response" section of its article.
Critical and public response of Marvel Cinematic Universe films
Film
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score Rotten Tomatoes Average Critic Rating Metacritic
Greek Pete 58% (12 reviews)[30] 5.2/10[31] -
Weekend 95% (87 reviews)[32] 8.1/10[33] 81 (18 reviews)[34]
45 Years 97% (211 reviews)[35] 8.6/10[36] 94 (36 reviews)[37]
Lean on Pete 90% (190 reviews)[38] 7.9/10[39] 80 (40 reviews)[40]
All of Us Strangers 96% (252 reviews)[41] 8.8/10[42] 90 (53 reviews)[43]

Television

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Year Title Director Screenwriter Notes Ref.
2014–2015 Looking Yes Yes HBO series; executive producer
2016 Looking: The Movie Yes Yes HBO movie
2019 The OA Yes No Netflix series; 2 episodes
2021 The North Water Yes Yes BBC2 Miniseries; 5 episodes [21]

Awards and nominations

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Year Association Category Project Result Ref.
2009 Leeds International Film Festival Yorkshire Film Award Five Miles Out Won
2009 Atlanta Film Festival Special Jury Award Greek Pete Won
L.A. Outfest Programming Award for Artistic Achievement Won
2011 Evening Standard British Film Awards Best Screenplay Weekend Won
International Film Festival Rotterdam MovieZone Award Won
L.A. Outfest Grand Jury Award Won
London Film Critics' Circle Award Breakthrough British Filmmaker Won
Nashville Film Festival Best of Festival Award Won
San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival Audience Award Won
SXSW Film Festival Audience Award Won
2015 Edinburgh International Film Festival Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film 45 Years Won
Evening Standard British Film Award Editor's Award Won
London Film Critics' Circle Award Best British / Irish Film of the Year Won
National Board of Review Top Ten Independent Films Won
BAFTA Award Outstanding British Film Nominated
Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear Nominated
BIFA Award Best British Independent Film Nominated
Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
David di Donatello Award Best European Film Nominated
Empire Award Best British Film Nominated
European Film Award Best Screenwriter Nominated
Evening Standard British Film Award Best Film Nominated
London Film Critics' Circle Award Best Film of the Year Nominated
Director of the Year Nominated
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
2018 BIFA Award Best Director Lean on Pete Nominated
2023 BIFA Award Best British Independent Film All of Us Strangers Won
Best Director Won
Best Screenplay Won
2024 Critics' Choice Movie Award Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Satellite Award Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
BAFTA Award Best Director Nominated [44]
Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Outstanding British Film Nominated
Independent Spirit Award Best Director Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Murphy, Mekado (31 December 2015). "Andrew Haigh Narrates a Scene From '45 Years'". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  2. ^ Hughes, Sarah (19 January 2014). "Gay life in all its ordinariness: Director Andrew Haigh discusses his new HBO series". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 January 2014.
  3. ^ "Five Miles Out" (PDF). Berlin Film Festival. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b Needham, Alex (29 December 2023). "'A generation of queer people are grieving for the childhood they never had': Andrew Haigh on All of Us Strangers". The Guardian.
  5. ^ Kellaway, Kate (9 August 2015). "Andrew Haigh: 'It takes a kind of insane self-belief to go on'". The Guardian.
  6. ^ "London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival on Tour". The List. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  7. ^ "Outfest 2011: Highlights of this year's festival". Reuters. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  8. ^ "Weekend (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  9. ^ "SXSW 2011: Andrew Haigh is an emerging talent destined to become the main event". The Guardian. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  10. ^ ""Weekend," "Habana Muda" Among Top Outfest Winners". indieWire. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  11. ^ "ANDREW HAIGH NABS BREAKTHROUGH FILM-MAKER AT LONDON CRITIC'S CIRCLE AWARDS". TheFanCarpet.com. 20 January 2012. Archived from the original on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  12. ^ "Gay director Andrew Haigh talks about his memorable 'Weekend'" Archived 12 April 2013 at archive.today. Wisconsin Gazette, 29 September 2011.
  13. ^ "Berlinale 2015: Malick, Dresen, Greenaway and German in Competition". Berlinale. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  14. ^ "45 Years", Rotten Tomatoes, retrieved 27 June 2017
  15. ^ Brennan, Matt (10 March 2014). "How HBO's Looking Went from Boring to Brilliant". IndieWire. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  16. ^ "HBO should renew Looking, even though nobody watches". 9 March 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  17. ^ "Synopsis | Looking: The Movie". HBO. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  18. ^ a b Carney, Brian T. (28 January 2016). "Looking ahead". Washington Blade.
  19. ^ "Lean on Pete (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  20. ^ "Lean on Pete Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  21. ^ a b Mitchell, Robert (17 October 2016). "Andrew Haigh Dives Into The North Water". Variety.
  22. ^ "BBC Two announces Andrew Haigh to write and direct The North Water". BBC. 4 October 2017.
  23. ^ Mangan, Lucy (10 September 2021). "The North Water review – a riveting voyage of blood, sweat and beards". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  24. ^ "All of Us Strangers Review: A Lonely Gay Man Explores Missed Connections in Andrew Haigh's Latest Heartbreaker". Variety. September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  25. ^ "Pet Shop Boys: A New Bohemia". Nowness. 4 June 2024.
  26. ^ "Andrew Haigh | BFI". www.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  27. ^ Edalatpour, Jeffrey (27 January 2016). "Chatting with Andrew Haigh". SF Weekly.
  28. ^ Ellis, Bret Easton (1 June 2015). "The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast - ANDREW HAIGH - 6/1/15" (Podcast). Podcast one. Event occurs at 41:30. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  29. ^ Brennan, Matt (20 December 2023). "My journey to the heart of Andrew Haigh, the director behind the year's best film". LA Times.
  30. ^ "Greek Pete | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  31. ^ "Greek Pete | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  32. ^ "Weekend | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  33. ^ "Weekend | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  34. ^ "Weekend". Metacritic.
  35. ^ "45 Years | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  36. ^ "45 Years | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  37. ^ "45 Years". Metacritic.
  38. ^ "Lean on Pete | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  39. ^ "Lean on Pete | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  40. ^ "Lean on Pete". Metacritic.
  41. ^ All of Us Strangers rottentomatoes.com
  42. ^ "All of Us Strangers | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  43. ^ "All of Us Strangers". Metacritic.
  44. ^ Ritman, Alex; Shafer, Ellise (18 January 2024). "BAFTA Film Awards Nominations: Oppenheimer and Poor Things Lead as Barbie Falls Short". Variety. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
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