FOCAL International to honour Julien Temple

FOCAL AWARDS 2019
FOCAL International press release – 13 February, 2019

The legendary and inventive director to receive Lifetime Achievement Award

FOCAL International are delighted to announce that the 2019 recipient of the FOCAL Lifetime Achievement Award will be the renowned film director, Julien Temple.   

Julien Temple’s celebrated filmography traverses the realms of fiction, documentary and music video. His iconic documentaries that include The Filth and the Fury; The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson; Requiem for Detroit; and London: A Modern Babylon demonstrate his fascination with the lives of creative pioneers as well as the multi-layered histories of people and place. 

Whether it is documenting the scarred history of Motor City, the anarchic energy of London, or the tumults of fame and creativity his prolific use of archive as a living and dynamic resource treats the source material with both respect and imagination. It is for this dedication to the creative and transformative potential of archive that FOCAL are recognising his achievements.

Julien’s work truly embodies the 2019 FOCAL Awards tagline: the future of production lies in the past.

In granting this award and on behalf of the FOCAL Executive board Massimo Moretti states: Julien’s work with archival content has been constantly pushing the barriers of creativity for many years. From pop videos to feature-length documentaries he creates visual associations, reveals hidden meanings, keeps his audiences enthralled with a narrative where archival sources are not merely visual tapestry but a living, changing element in the storytelling process.  

Miriam Walsh, the fêted Archive Producer, and collaborator on many of Julien’s films states: Julien is the artful dodger of the archive world, his films magically assembling narratives of sound and vision plundered from both iconic and often long forgotten audiovisual artifacts. All achieved with and I quote Mark Kermode “an irrepressibly punky joie de vivre”. 

Julien will receive his award at the 2019 Gala ceremony on 20 June 2019 at The Troxy in London. 

More About the FOCAL Awards 2019

The Future of Production Lies in the Past  

The FOCAL Awards celebrate the very best use of archive material in film, TV and across the creative and cultural industries. Since their inception in 2004, the FOCAL International Awards have championed creativity, integrity and sustainability in screen culture.

FOCAL welcome entries from the whole spectrum of production, restoration and preservation spheres. The FOCAL International Awards celebrate achievement in the use of footage in all variety of genres, across all media platforms plus its restoration.

The competition also recognises the researchers, technicians and producers that access, maintain and use this precious resource with Awards on the night for best archive researcher, footage company and individual as well as accomplishments in film and television restoration work.

Further details on the awards and how to enter is available at focalintawards.com.  

Previous FOCAL Award winners include: Amy; Senna; London – A Modern Babylon; I Am Not our Negro; The Vietnam War; as well as many other excellent film and TV productions.

A full list of the 2018 Nominees and winners is available here.

The 16th FOCAL Awards will take place at the Troxy in London on 20 June 2019.  

Submissions for entry are open until 18 February 2019.   

For awards submissions or media enquiries, please contact: Madeline Bates madeline@focalint.org/ +44(0)7760 818 478  

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact: Mary Egan mary@focalint.org / +44 (0) 7789 056661  

FOCAL International are the Federation of Commercial Audiovisual Libraries International. A not-for-profit trade association formed in 1985. FOCAL endeavours to support the international media archive community and advocate for best practice around the use of archive in the creative and cultural industries.

Further information can be found at focalint.org