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Amanda Blue

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Biography

Amanda Blue has been directing and producing documentaries for the past 17 years and has been nominated for and won numerous awards both in the UK and Internationally.

Most recently she has been directing award-winning commercials and is currently moving into directing drama. Having grown up in Sydney with her Scottish parents, Amanda moved to London to complete a Masters Degree in Film.

She started her career in drama working for Oscar nominated feature film director, Mike Figgis and later collaborated with him on his documentary arts films. She then went on to direct her own work in both documentary and comedy.

Early in her career Amanda directed the multi award-winning documentary series for Channel 4, YOUNG BLACK FARMERS, about a group of inner city black teenagers going to live and work on a Devonshire farm, winning a Banff Award for Best Unscripted Series.
Following this, Amanda produced and directed the landmark series THE MUMMY DIARIES for Channel 4, shot over two years about dying Mum’s and the process of preparing their children for the ultimate separation. Garnering huge critical acclaim the series was sold across the world. In 2008, Amanda was Bafta nominated as Best Director for her award-winning, PRESCOTT: THE CLASS SYSTEM AND ME, about the infamous British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, his inimitable wife Pauline and their journey through the British class system. Amanda then directed the seminal series THE BIG SCHOOL LOTTERY for the BBC about the state of British education and the experiences of children going from primary to secondary school, which garnered many award nominations. She then went on to direct TWINCREDIBLES another critically acclaimed film for the BBC about growing up mixed race in modern Britain, Tom Sutcliffe wrote in The Independent, “Blue’s film, full of grace notes and emotion, was a lovely rebuke to the most familiar prejudices surrounding race, but it forced you to think about some cherished liberal prejudices too”, the film was nominated for Best Documentary at Prix Europa Festival.

Her next film THE TOWN THAT CAUGHT TOURETTES pulled in huge ratings for Channel 4 and vast international sales. The Times had this to say about THE GREATEST SHOWS ON EARTH, Amanda’s comedy/documentary series with her long-time collaborator the writer, comedian and actress Daisy Donovan…”As in all really memorable television something had happened that nobody could have predicted…”

Blue is now directing commercials in the UK; her first commercial went on to win the CIMTIG television advertisement of the year award. She has quickly gone on to direct a raft of critically acclaimed commercials, picking up a Bronze Lion at Cannes, Kinsale shark, Lia awards and New York Festival awards. Dave Reviews in the UK says this about Blue’s commercials work, “Amanda marries beautiful photography with multi-layered story-telling and is able to deal with the complexities of modern life, revealing the human experience in surprising ways”.

Two years ago Amanda wrote and directed the feature length drama documentary AFTER THE WAVE about the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand. An international co-production funded by Screen Australia, SBS, Film Victora, The Wellcome Trust and Discovery Europe it screened at festivals across the world, was nominated for several awards and went on to garner critical acclaim across the board, “haunting and beautiful”, said the Sydney Morning Herald. Most recently Blue has written and directed the feature length drama documentary DEEP WATER for Screen Australia and SBS. It is already receiving critical accolades; “It’s up there with the best crime documentaries of the recent past…. leaving audiences with a sense that justice still needs to be done…” The Telegraph, and lauded Australian film critic Margaret Pomeranz calling it “…. deeply unforgettably moving”. It is soon to be released.

Amanda is now moving into directing drama and is developing several projects.