Philippa Lowthorpe

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Philippa Lowthorpe
Born (1961-12-27) 27 December 1961 (age 62)
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
Years active1992–present

Philippa Lowthorpe (born 27 December 1961)[1] is an English film and television director. She was awarded the Deluxe Director Award at the WFTV Film and Television Awards for the miniseries Three Girls.[2] She recently directed episodes of the second season of The Crown and the 2020 film Misbehaviour.

Early life[edit]

Lowthorpe was born in a village near Doncaster, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire,[3][4] and grew up in Nettleham, Lincolnshire. She attended De Aston School in Market Rasen and then went to St Hilda's College, Oxford to study Classics.[5] Lowthorpe moved to Bristol to make documentaries for BBC Bristol, including Three Salons at the Seaside and A Skirt Through History about women's untold stories.

Career[edit]

Lowthorpe started out as a director in documentaries. Her award-winning documentaries led her to be invited to write and direct her first drama Eight Hours from Paris (1997) for George Faber, a film for Screen Two in which real people played themselves, alongside professional actors.[5] This was followed by The Other Boleyn Girl (2003), adapted from the 2001 novel of the same name by Philippa Gregory, for BBC films, shown on BBC 2.

She was lead director on the very first series of Call the Midwife. Her opening episode gained the highest audience for any debut of a drama in the past decade. She also directed the first Call the Midwife Christmas Special (2013), for which she won a BAFTA for directing. She is the only woman ever to have won this award.

Other directing credits include the multi-award-winning Five Daughters (2010), Jamaica Inn (2014), Cider with Rosie (2015), and the feature film Swallows and Amazons (2016) for BFI/Studio Canal/BBC films.

Her credits include Jamaica Inn, Call the Midwife, for which she won a British Academy Television Craft Award in 2013,[6] Five Daughters, Beau Brummell: This Charming Man (2006), and The Other Boleyn Girl (2003). A 2013 interview with her appears on the BAFTA website,[7] and she received a British Film Institute award in 2013.[8] Her very first feature film Swallows and Amazons won Grand Prize Feature at New York International Children's Film Festival, and the Youth Jury Award for Best Films4Families Feature at Seattle International Film Festival in 2017.[9][10][11]

Lowthorpe's recent work, the BBC mini-series Three Girls (2017) about the Rochdale young child exploitation, reunited her with Executive Producer Susan Hogg and Producer Simon Lewis who she had previously worked with on the award-winning Five Daughters. The series was awarded by BAFTA for best directing in fiction, with writer Nicole Taylor recognised for best writing in a drama series, and Úna Ní Dhonghaíle for best editing in fiction, in 2018. In May 2018 "Three Girls" was also voted Best Mini Series at the BAFTA TV Awards (shared with Nicole Taylor, Susan Hogg and Simon Lewis). In October 2018 "Three Girls" also won the Prix Italia (again shared with Nicole Taylor, Susan Hogg and Simon Lewis).

Filmography[edit]

Film and television[edit]

DR Director — WR Writer — OT Other
Year Title DR WR OT Notes
1992 BBC 40 Minutes Yes Documentary series;[12]
Episode: "Not at Their Age"
1994 Three Salons at the Seaside Yes Yes Documentary;[13] also producer
1994 A Skirt Through History Yes Yes Yes Documentary series;[14] also producer;
Episodes: "The Experiment", "A Marriage"
1997 Eight Hours from Paris Yes Yes Yes Television film for Screen Two; also producer
2003 The Other Boleyn Girl Yes Yes Television film
2006 Beau Brummell: This Charming Man Yes Television film
2007 Sex, the City and Me Yes Yes Television film[15]
2010 Five Daughters Yes Miniseries; all 3 parts
2013-2014 Call the Midwife Yes 5 episodes
2014 Jamaica Inn Yes Miniseries; all 3 parts
2015 Cider with Rosie Yes Television film[16]
2016 Swallows and Amazons Yes
2017 Three Girls Yes Miniseries; all 3 parts
2017 The Crown Yes Episodes: "Marionettes", "Vergangenheit"
2020 Misbehaviour Yes
2022 Willow Yes No No

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Association Category Work Result Ref.
1995 RTS Programme Awards Best Single Documentary Three Salons at the Seaside Won [17]
2011 RTS Programme Awards - West of England Best Television Drama Five Daughters Nominated [4a] [18]
Best Director Won
RTS Programme Awards Best Drama Serial Five Daughters Won [4a] [19]
2013 British Academy Television Craft Awards Best Director - Fiction / Entertainment Call the Midwife Won
British Academy Television Awards Radio Times Audience Award Nominated [1a]
Television and Radio Industries Club Awards HD Drama Programme of the Year Won [1a] [20]
Christopher Award Television & Cable Won [1b] [21]
RTS Programme Awards - West of England Best Director Drama Call the Midwife Won [22]
RTS Programme Awards Best Drama Series Call the Midwife] Nominated [1a] [23]
2017 Seattle International Film Festival Youth Jury Award for Best Films4Families Feature Swallows and Amazons Won [3a] [24]
RTS Programme Awards - West of England Best Director, Drama Nominated [25]
New York International Children's Film Festival Grand Prize Feature Won [3a] [26]
2017 WFTV Awards The Deluxe Director Award Herself Won [27]
Festival de la Fiction TV Awards [fr] Jury Special Prize for European Fiction [fr] Three Girls Won [2a]
2018 British Academy Television Craft Awards Best Director: Fiction Three Girls Won
British Academy Television Awards Best Mini-Series Nominated [2a]
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards Best Single Drama/Mini-series Won [2a] [28]
UK Broadcast Awards Best Drama Series or Serial Won [2a] [29]
RTS Programme Awards - West of England Best Television Drama Three Girls Won [2a] [30]
Best Director Drama Won
RTS Programme Awards Best Mini-Series Three Girls Won [2a] [31]
Notes
1. 1a Call the Midwife — with Heidi Thomas (writer), Hugh Warren (producer), and Pippa Harris (executive producer)
... 1b — with Heidi Thomas (writer) and Pippa Harris (executive producer)
2. 2a Three Girls — with Nicole Taylor (writer), Simon Lewis (producer), and Susan Hogg (executive producer)
3. 3a Swallows and Amazons — with Andrea Gibb
4. 4a Five Daughters — with Stephen Butchard and Simon Lewis

Honours[edit]

  • Honorary Degree of Doctor of Arts in recognition of Lowthorpe's contribution to film and television, UWE Bristol.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Philippa Lowthorpe - Personal Appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Meet the 2017 Women in Film and Television Award Winners". WFTV (Women in Film & TV, UK). Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  3. ^ "UWE Bristol awards honorary degree to Philippa Lowthorpe - UWE Bristol: News Releases". info.uwe.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Interview: Acting for Crewe and camera". The Independent. 13 November 1997. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "UWE Bristol awards honorary degree to Philippa Lowthorpe". UWE Bristol. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Lowthorpe becomes BAFTA's first female drama director winner". Directors UK. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  7. ^ "Philippa Lowthorpe: Big Questions". BAFTA. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  8. ^ "BFI announces support for Philippa Lowthorpe, Andrew Steggall and Jane Lightfoot in latest round of First Feature Awards" (PDF). BFI. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  9. ^ "New York International Children's Film Festival - Announces 2017 Award Winners" (PDF). MYICFF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  10. ^ "SIFF 2017 Award Winners". SIFF (Seattle International Film Festival). Archived from the original on 17 July 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  11. ^ Barraclough, Leo (29 June 2015). "'Sherlock's' Moriarty, Andrew Scott, Joins Cast of 'Swallows and Amazons' (Exclusive)". variety.com. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  12. ^ "40 Minutes". BBC Genome. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Three Salons at the Seaside (1994)". BFI. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  14. ^ "A Skirt Through History". BBC Active's Video for Learning. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  15. ^ "BBC Two - Sex, the City and Me". BBC. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  16. ^ "BBC Two - Cider with Rosie". BBC. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Royal Television Society, UK - 1995 Awards". IMDb. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  18. ^ "West of England Award Winners and Nominees 2010" (PDF). UK RTS. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  19. ^ "RTS Programme Awards 2011". UK RTS. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  20. ^ "BBC leads the pack at TRIC Awards". BBC. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  21. ^ Rossi, Tony (9 April 2013). "The 2013 Christopher Award Winners for TV, Film and Books Are…". Patheos. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  22. ^ "RTS West of England Awards 2013". UK RTS. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  23. ^ "RTS Programme Awards Awards 2013". UK RTS. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  24. ^ "SIFF 2017 Award Winners". SIFF. Archived from the original on 17 July 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  25. ^ "RTS West of England Awards 2017". UK RTS. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  26. ^ Jennifer Wolfe (20 January 2017). "New York Int'l Children's Film Festival Announces Complete 2017 Slate". AWN. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  27. ^ "Meet the 2017 Women in Film and Television Award Winners". WFTV. 2 December 2017. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  28. ^ "BPG Awards 2018". Broadcasting Press Guild Association. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  29. ^ "Winners 2018". The Broadcast Awards. February 2019. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  30. ^ Bristol (18 March 2018). "RTS West of England Awards - winners announced!". UK RTS. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  31. ^ "RTS Programme Awards 2018, In Partnership with Audio Network". UK RTS. Retrieved 16 May 2018.

External links[edit]