James Jones (documentary maker)

James Jones is a British director known for making documentary films on social issues for international television and theatrical release.

Career

James Jones' films have been broadcast on the BBC, Channel 4, Sky, HBO, Apple TV+ and PBS Frontline.[1][2][3]

Jones has tackled subjects including suicide in the military and homelessness. He has also made films in North Korea and Saudi Arabia. His film Children of the Gaza War was broadcast on the BBC in July 2015 on the first anniversary of the 2014 Gaza war.[4] In 2016 he made a feature-length documentary Unarmed Black Male about the murder trial of a police officer in Portsmouth, Virginia. In 2017 he co-directed Mosul with Olivier Sarbil.

In 2019, he released a feature documentary on the drug war in the Philippines, On the President's Orders, for PBS's Frontline, Arte France, BBC's Storyville and Bertha Doc Society, in which he follows a newly installed police chief of Caloocan City who is a supporter of president Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug campaign.[5][6] It played at the Sheffield DocFest[7] and Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York.

In 2022, his film Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes was broadcast on Sky Documentaries. It told the story of the Chernobyl disaster using personal interviews with people who were there and newly discovered, dramatic footage filmed at the nuclear plant. The film was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Documentary and won a BAFTA for Best Editing.[8]

In 2023, his series Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn was released on Apple TV+.[9]

Filmography

Year Title Awards and Nominations Notes
2010 Secret Iraq BAFTA for Best Current Affairs (nominated)[10]
2011 Sex, Lies and Black Magic
2011 Landlords from Hell
2011 Vlad's Army
2012 Interviews Before Execution
2013 Britain's Hidden Housing Crisis BAFTA for Best Current Affairs (nominated)
2013 Broken by Battle
2013 North Korea: Life Inside the Secret State BAFTA for Best Current Affairs (nominated)[11] Alternatively titled Secret State of North Korea
2014 Syria's Second Front
2014 Battle for Ukraine
2015 Children of the Gaza War BAFTA for Best Current Affairs (nominated)
2016 Saudi Arabia Uncovered[12]
2016 Unarmed Black Male[13] BAFTA for Best Current Affairs (nominated)[14]
2017 Mosul As co-director and writer only
2019 On the President's Orders Emmy Award for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary (nominated)[15] Also producer
2022 Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes[16][17] Also producer
2023 Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn Television series
2024 Antidote Also producer

References

  1. ^ "What's It Like to Make a Film About Life Under Kim Jong-un?". FRONTLINE. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  2. ^ Hale, Mike (2014-01-13). "PBS 'Frontline' Looks Inside a Notoriously Closed Country". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
  3. ^ "NOMINEES FOR THE 36th ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS ANNOUNCED". emmyonline.com. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  4. ^ "BBC Two - Children of the Gaza War". BBC.
  5. ^ Lodge, Guy (2019-05-02). "Hot Docs Film Review: 'On the President's Orders'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  6. ^ Gorber, Jason (2019-04-28). "Review: 'On the President's Orders'". POV Magazine. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  7. ^ Garner, Bianca. "Shef Doc Fest Exclusive: On The President's Orders". Filmotomy. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Television". Bafta. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  9. ^ "Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn - Apple TV+ Press". Apple TV+ Press (United Kingdom). Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  10. ^ "Bafta TV awards 2011: nominations in full". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. 26 April 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  11. ^ "BAFTA Television Awards - The 2014 winners and nominees". BBC One. BBC. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  12. ^ "How James Jones Uncovered a Rarely Seen Side of Saudi Arabia". PBS.
  13. ^ "BBC Two - This World, Unarmed Black Male".
  14. ^ Mitchell, Robert (10 April 2017). "'The Crown' Leads BAFTA Television Award Nominations". Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  15. ^ "NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR THE 41ST ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS" (PDF). National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. August 6, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  16. ^ Heritage, Stuart. "Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – stunning TV that is suddenly unmissable". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes". Sky Documentaries. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
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