Mike Leigh: A Life in Pictures

21 December 11

The iconic Secrets And Lies and Vera Drake filmmaker speaks about his work and techniques in this video on BAFTA Guru.

_{The full length Mike Leigh interview
video is available to watch now on BAFTA Guru.}

Five-time Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner, and the only British director to have won top prize at both Cannes (Secrets and Lies) and Venice (Vera Drake), Mike Leigh is unquestionably one of world cinema's pre-eminent figures.

If an actor can create a character and be absolutely secure in that character, then, only then, can he or she improvise and it can be real.

In the full video, recorded at Brighton Festival and available to watch in full on BAFTA Guru, Leigh reflects on a body of work that includes such contemporary classics as Naked, Meantime, Life Is Sweet and Abigail's Party. He reveals the methods and motivations behind his filmmaking and describes how he came to develop his distinctive working methods and techniques.

The event was held in partnership with Brighton Festival and Screen South and was sponsored by The Open University.