Christopher Morris 

• Name : Christopher Morris

• Job Title : Professor of Practice, Documentary Film

• Email Address : chris.morris@newport.ac.uk

• Contact Telephone Number : 01633 432837

• Campus : City Campus

• Academic Faculty and School or Department : Faculty of Arts and Business

• Research Centre or Group : Documentary Research Group

• Biography : Christopher Morris is a documentary filmmaker.
  He has won three BAFTA awards, a Royal Television Society award, the Premios Ondas and prizes at the Celtic, Berlin and Chicago film festivals. In 2009 he won a gold award at the Association for International Broadcasters, for “Children of God”, a BBC World Service radio documentary about child evangelism.
  
  In 2003 he joined Newport Film School, to run the BA (Hons) Documentary Film & Television course.
  
  He is currently Professor of Practice, Documentary Film.

• Academic and Professional Qualifications :
  • Professor of Practice, documentary Film (University of Wales, Newport 2011)
  • P.G Cert - University of Wales (2007)
  • Royal College of Art MA (RCA) in Film Direction 1985-7

  • Newport College of Art BA (Hons) 1st Class in Graphic Design 1982-5
    
    

• Professional Bodies and Memberships :

  • The Higher Education Academy (2007)
    
    

•  Research Expertise or Interest : I am a storyteller. A recurring theme has been children and the changing nature of childhood. My career as a filmmaker has deliberately alternated between making documentaries 'for' children and 'about' children. In 2001 I made ‘The Hallelujah kids’(BBC 2001), made for an adult audience it was described by The Observer as, “Wistful, sad and slightly surreal….an ‘Oh Brother Where Art Thou’ with shades of David Lynch”. In 2009 I made 'Children of the Road' for CBBC about the lives of Irish traveller children under threat of eviction on Dale Farm, Essex. I have also made films exploring notions of religion, faith, community and memory. Underpinning every film I have made is the pursuit of 'story'.
  
  

• Grants Awarded :

  • 2010 - Wales Government grant of £30,000 to produce a 30 minute drama exploring issues of youth homelessness. The resulting film 'Loserville' (Newport Film School 2011 - written and directed by Peter Watkins Hughes) is due to be distributed throughout schools in Wales and broadcast on BBC Wales.
    
    

• Media Area of Expertise :
  • TV
  • Documentary film
  • Story
  • Representation of children/childhood
  • Film education
  • Graduate start ups
    
    
• Public Engagement Activities and Esteem Indicators :
  • BAFTA and RTS winner (As Seen on TV - Best children’s factual programme) 1995
  • The Chicago Film Festival winner (As Seen on TV - Best children’s factual) 1995
  • Prix Jeunesse winner (As Seen on TV - Special Jury Prize) 1995
  • BAFTA award nomination (History File – Best secondary education) 1999
  • Celtic Film Festival winner (History File - Best Education) 1999
  • ETMA award winner (History File - Best Education) 1999
  • 2 BAFTA CYMRU winner (Lord of the Flies - Best Director and Best Education) 2000
  • BAFTA award nomination (English File - Lord on the Flies BBC education) 2000
  • Celtic Film Festival winner(Fragments In Time - Best radio doc) 2001
  • Premios Ondas winner (Fragments In Time - Best radio doc) 2001
  • Sony Award Nomination (Fragments in Time – Best Radio doc) 2001
  • Kino short film festival winner (Three Minutes of Torture - Special Jury Prize) 2001
  • Berlin Film Festival winner (As above - Winner - films against violence/intolerance) 2001
  • Celtic Media Festival winner (An American in Aberfan – Best Documentary) 2007
  • Assoc for International Broadcasters winner (Children of God – Best Current Affairs Doc – Radio) 2009

• Publications :

  • 2011 Loserville (Newport Film School 1x30) Executive Producer. A thirty minute drama about youth homelssness.
  • 2010 Children of the Road (BBC/Indus Films – 1x30mins) Producer/Director - A portrait of children living on the largest Irish traveller site in Britain; under threat of eviction.
  • 2009 Children of God (BBC World Service Radio – 1x30mins)  Director/Presenter.  The bizarre world of the American Child evangelist is laid bare – exploitation or a miracle from God?
  • 2008 & 2010 Jukebox Juniors & Tough Kids (BBC/Indus Films 2x30mins)  Executive Producer. Two documentaries for children that began as student graduation films - steered to network transmission.
  • 2007 - Gloria Days (RIPE productions – 1x3mins). Director - A short abstract film that formed part of the highly acclaimed dance performance, “Gloria Days’ by Marc Rees. The piece explores the extraordinary 5th Marquis of Anglesey.

  • 2006 - An American in Aberfan (BBC Wales – 1x60mins). Director. An exploration of grief, set against the 40th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster and the creation of an artwork by American artist Shimon Attie.