Molly Dineen (born 7 March 1959) is a television do*entary director, cinematographer and producer. One of Britain's most acclaimed do*entary filmmakers, Molly is known for her intimate and probing portraits of British individuals and ins*utions. Her work includes The Lie of the Land (2007), examining the decline of the countryside and British farming, The Ark (1993) about London Zoo during Thatcherism and the Lords' Tale (2002), which examined the removal of the hereditary peers.

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Career in do*entary
• 3 Awards and nominations
• 4 Filmography
• 5 Personal life
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Early life

Dineen was born in Canada and brought up in Birmingham, England. She attended the Bournville School of Art and then studied Photography, Film and Television at the London College of Printing. Sound Business (1981), featuring sound producer Lloyd Coxsone and record store owner Blacker Dread (Steve Burnett-Martin) was her final degree project. She then worked for two years for a do*entary camera crew, becoming a member of the ACTT Union. She went on to the National Film and Television School, where she studied do*entary under Herb Di Gioia and Colin Young, achieving recognition for her 1987 debut Home from the Hill. This film was picked up by BBC Two for Eddie Mirzoeff's 40 Minutes series, nominated for a BAFTA and shown in 22 other countries.

Career in do*entary

Dineen makes observational do*entaries and has a "tone of her own". She has been described as a "leading film-maker of her generation". Her style is unique, creating close personal portraits of issues and ins*utions. She has been described as exemplary, "standing-ovation television...Dineen is our box Byron". In 1997, she made the party election broadcast for Tony Blair. In 2011, the British Film Ins*ute released a three volume box set of her work. "Her camera watches faces, conversations and behaviour patterns with a seemingly incurious objectivity, allowing her subjects to unveil their secret fears and frustrations".

Awards and nominations

Winner of BAFTA Best Single Do*entary

Winner of BAFTA Best Factual Series

Winner of Grierson Award for Best Do*entary on a Contemporary Issue

Winner of Grand Jury Prize at Visions du Reel, Neon

Winner of Royal Television Society Do*entary Award

Winner of Royal Television Society Prize

Winner of First Prize at Anthropos Do*entary Festival, Los Angeles

Winner of Women in Film and Television - Broadcaster's Contribution to the Medium Award

Winner of Prix des Bibliothèques at Lyon Biennale Europeane de Cinema

Winner of TV Suisse Rommande Prize, Nyon Do*entary Festival

Winner of Voice of Viewers and Listeners Best Television Programme

Winner of Uppsala Film Festival Do*entary Prize

Winner of Indies Do*entaries and Features Awards

Winner of BFI Kodak Newcomers of the Year Award

Nominated for BAFTA Best Single Do*entary

Nominated for Grierson Award for Best Single Do*entary on a Contemporary Issue

Nominated for Grierson Award for Best Single Do*entary

Nominated for Prix Europa

Nominated for Screen Nation Film & TV Awards for Diversity in Factual Production

Nominated for Indies Award

Filmography

• Home from the Hill – 1985 BBC Two do*entary about Lieutenant-Colonel Hilary Hook's return to the UK after living abroad. Nominated for a BAFTA, Won Royal Television Society Prize, First Prize at Anthropos Do*entary Festival, Los Angeles, TV Suisse Rommande Prize, Nominated for a Grierson Award for Best Single Do*entary.
• My African Farm (BBC Two, 1988) – Dineen returns to Kenya and to the home of Sylvia Richardson, a stalwart of British colonialism.
• Operation Raleigh, The Mountain, The Village (BBC Two, 1988) – Operation Raleigh was founded by the Prince of Wales to give young people the benefit of war time in peace. Two 30-minute films about an expedition to Southern Chile.
• Heart of the Angel (BBC Two, 1989) – Capturing life in Angel Tube Station, one of the busiest on the London Underground, this account of the struggles by staff to cope with the British travelling public is filled with humour and pathos. Won Royal Television Society Do*entary Award, Chosen as the British entry for Prix Europa and nominated for Grierson Award for Best Single Do*entary.
• The Pick, the Shovel and the Open Road (Channel 4, 1990) – A 60-minute film about the Irish roadwork company McNicholas.
• The Ark (BBC Two, 1993) – In this series of four films, Dineen reveals the inner working of London Zoo. Won the BAFTA for Best Factual Series, a Special Commendation at the Prix Europa, won Voice of Viewers and Listeners Best Television Programme and Indies Do*entaries and Features Award.
• In the Company of Men (BBC Two, 1995) – A three-part series which joins Major Crispin Black and his men in The Prince of Wales Company of the Welsh Guards during a final tour of duty in pre-ceasefire Northern Ireland. Won Women in Film and Television - Broadcaster's Contribution to the Medium Award.
• Tony Blair, a short profile of the Prime Minister produced as a party political broadcast and screened on all four channels for the general election campaign in 1997.
• Geri (Channel 4, 1999) – Geri Halliwell, the most colourful and outrageous of the Spice Girls, has dramatically left the band. Two days later, Dineen joins her as she dodges the paparazzi and seeks solace with family and friends in a fascinating rollercoaster ride through fame, celebrity and the personality behind that infamous Union Jack dress. Nominated for an Indies Award.
• The Lord's Tale (Channel 4, 2002) – About the hereditary lords losing their seats in the Lords due to the House of Lords Act 1999. Dineen follows one of Parliament’s greatest upheavals: the abolition of the hereditary peers.
• The Lie of the Land (Channel 4, 2007) – On the eve of the fox hunting ban, Dineen uncovers the unpleasant thrust of life in the British countryside, where farmers struggle to survive under the weight of government legislation and national indifference towards rural communities. Won the BAFTA for Best Single Do*entary, Grand Jury Prize at Visions du Reel in Nyon, Grierson Award for Best Single Do*entary on a Contemporary Issue.
• Being Blacker (BBC Two, 2018) – Following three years of Blacker Dread's life. Nominated for Best Single Do*entary at the Grierson Awards and Diversity in Factual Production - Screen Nation Film & TV Awards.

Personal life

Dineen has been married to William Sieghart since 1996. They have three children together, Maude, Ruby and Joseph and a Lucas Terrier called Jessie, whom Molly is particularly attached to.

References

External links

• Molly Dineen at IMDb
• Molly Dineen at the British Film Ins*ute
• Sound Business 1981 Reggae Do*entary