Director Sean Ellis likes to read international urban thrillers

Oscar and BAFTA-nominated director Sean Ellis started taking pictures when he was 11. Trained as a still-life photographer, Sean moved to London from Brighton in 1994. Applying his knowledge of the still life and using it to light fashion models, Sean became one of the new generation of fashion photographers who were most sought-after in the late ‘90s.

Sean has realized photographic campaigns for Davidoff, Patrick Cox, Pirelli, Landrover, Nina Ricci, Plein Sud, Christian Dior, Kenneth Cole and Hugo Boss, to name a few. His work with magazines such as i-D, The Face, Visionaire, GQ, Arena, Arena Homme Plus, Dazed and Confused, Numero and Vogue has often pushed the darker side of fashion photography with a style that has been described as “cinematic.” This led to a crossover into filmmaking and a string of acclaimed music videos followed.

He has directed commercials for Jean Paul Gaultier, Cartier, Davidoff, Land Rover, Rimmel, 02, EA Games, Nike, H&M, Samsung, Roberto Cavalli and Hugo Boss.

“A photograph every day for a year” was the idea behind his first published book 365: A Year in Fashion, which includes commercial and personal work taken during 1999. 

His second published book, Kubrick the Dog (2010), is based on portraits he took during the life of his beautiful canine companion, Kubrick.

Sean has written and directed three short films: Left Turn (2001), a dark psychological horror film; Cashback (2004), a visually rich black comedy which won the top award at over 15 international film festivals, including the prestigious Chicago and Tribeca Film Festivals and was also nominated for a 2006 Academy Award; and his most recent short Voyage D’Affaires (2008), was nominated for a 2008 British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) award and won best film at the 2010 Fuji Short Film competition.

His first feature film was born from the short film of the same name, Cashback (2006), and expands on the original length and story. This quirky romantic comedy was picked up by French major Gaumont, who launched it at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. The film enjoyed its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival 2006 and its European and US Premieres at the San Sebastian Film Festival 2006 and AFI Fest 2006 in Los Angeles. It was released by Gaumont in France in January 2007 and around the world throughout 2007 and 2008 to much critical acclaim.

Sean’s second feature film, the psychological thriller The Broken (2008), stars Lena Headey (300, Game of Thrones) and Oscar-nominated actor Richard Jenkins (The Visitor, Burn After Reading) and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2008. It was released in the UK on Jan. 30, 2009.

Sean’s third feature film, Metro Manila (2012), won the World Cinema Audience Prize at the 2013 Sundance film festival and was released in the UK on Sept. 20, 2013. The film was selected by BAFTA as the official UK submission to the 2014 Oscars for the foreign language film category.

Co-produced by Philippine STAR columnist Celine Lopez, Metro Manila opens in selected theaters on Oct. 9.

Despite Ellis’s hectic schedule, he graciously shared his favorite books.

Z For Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brien.

“I read this in school and found it completely impactful. Its material is very strong and deals with a young girl left to defend herself after a small nuclear exchange in North Europe kills most of the population.”

Ghosts of Manila by James Hamilton-Paterson.

“It was recommended to me by my film director friend, Mike Hodges. Before I made Metro Manila, Mike told me to read Ghosts of Manila and described it as one of the best crime novels ever written. It helped as a reference to get the flavor of the city while I was preparing the script of Metro Manila.”

Final Cut by Stephen Bach.

“A fascinating insight into the events behind the filming of the ill-fated and much underrated epic film of Michael Cimino’s, Heaven’s Gate.”

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy by Stieg Larsson.

“If you haven’t read them — you should have. Simply a great crime thriller trilogy!”

“My next four books are by the same author — yes, I’m a fan! It’s Haruki Murakami.

“Pinball, A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance, Dance, Dance are an incredible trilogy of books that will take you on a journey of poetic surrealism.

“Murakami’s fourth book is The Wind Up Bird Chronicles. It’s my favorite Murakami: rich with cinematic visions of dark suggestions. It’s the one book I would love to adapt for the cinema.”

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski.

“Dark, haunting and cinematic. The book will keep you awake at nights with it ingenious execution of the haunted house genre.”

In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami.

“An American serial killer hires a young Japanese man to be his tour guide of the red light district in Tokyo. It’s a two-hander of east meets west with horrific results! Imagine American Psycho goes to Tokyo for a vacation.”

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“The Reading Club” recommends Tessa! — a book of 10 years of columns and lots of photographs available in selected National Bookstores and Powerbooks.

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For your comments and suggestions write me at gr.rodis@yahoo,com.