ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Phil Grabsky is an award-winning documentary filmmaker.

Phil and his company Seventh Art Productions, which is based in Brighton, make films for cinema and television. Phil has directed for all major broadcasters and has written four books.

In 2001 Phil directed 'Muhammad Ali: Through the Eyes of the World', which was a major success and has been seen in over 100 countries.

‘Heavy Water: a film for Chernobyl’ based on Mario Petrucci’s award winning poem ‘Heavy Water’ is a beautiful and revealing film about those who lived through the Chernobyl nuclear explosion. The film recently won the prestigious Best Short Film Award at Cinequest USA and has been showing at festivals around the world, as well as Tate Modern, London and MoMA, New York.

The first ever feature length documentary on the life of Mozart, ‘In Search of Mozart’ was made to celebrate the 250th anniversary of his birth. This film was produced with the world’s leading orchestras and musicians, and is told through a 25,000 mile journey along every route Mozart followed. This is a detective story that takes us to the heart of genius. This film won the coveted ‘Best Documentary’ at the Dubrovnik Film Festival and is currently on theatrical release in cinemas across the USA.

Following on from this success, currently in production is, ‘In Search of Beethoven’. This is a film in search of what lies at the very heart of Beethoven. With many of the leading orchestras and performers already involved this will be ready for delivery by late 2008.

‘The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan’, which Phil filmed and directed in Afghanistan during 2002/2003, has played in cinemas and on television worldwide. To date, it has won 11 awards, including the highly prestigious first prize at Valladolid International Film Festival, and the Gold Hugo in Chicago for best film. Currently in production is the follow on to this film ‘The Boy Mir’, in which Phil will follow the star of the first film from the ages of 8 until 18, as he journeys into early adulthood in one of the toughest places on earth. This film is set for release in 2011 and you can view www.theboymir.com for more details.

For Phil’s latest blog, please visit: http://philgrabsky.blogspot.com/