Film 4 and More4 co-commission The Story of Film: An Odyssey

5 August 2011

Film 4 and More4 have greenlit The Story of Film: An Odyssey, a history of innovation in cinema, directed by award-winning filmmaker Mark Cousins.

The Film 4 / More4 collaboration is the first of its kind since Death of a President and was commissioned by Channel 4 Arts Editor, Tabitha Jackson, for More4. The Story of Film: An Odyssey is produced by John Archer at Hopscotch Films and written and directed by Mark Cousins It is the 15 part-story of international cinema told through the history of cinematic innovation.

Five years in the making, The Story of Film: An Odyssey covers six continents and 12 decades. It is the adaptation of Cousins' book of the same name, which showed how film-makers are influenced both by the historical events of their times, and by each other. The film visits the key sites in the history of cinema; from Hollywood to Mumbai; from Hitchcock's London to the village where Pather panchali was shot, and features interviews with legendary filmmakers and actors including Stanley Donen, Kyoko Kagawa, Gus van Sant, Lars Von Trier, Claire Denis, Bernardo Bertolucci, Robert Towne, Jane Campion and Claudia Cardinale.

Tabitha Jackson, Channel 4 Arts Editor, said: "I'm not aware of there having been another series with the scope of this one- a full narrative history of international cinema -and can think of no better person to embark on this Odyssey/labour of love than Mark Cousins. He combines passion, exquisite storytelling and a cinematic insight second to none."

Mark Cousins said: "Growing up as a nervy wee boy in Belfast in the 70s, during the war, cinema took me places, showed me virtue as well as resentment.  It made me sing and dance inside.  It thrilled me with form.  It made me feel alive at a time and in a place where there wasn't much sign of such things.  I will always be grateful for that and, by way of thanks, I'd like to try to tell its passionate story, the first time anyone has attempted to tell the full narrative history of world cinema."

The Story of Film: An Odyssey premiers at the Toronto International Film Festival, before airing on Saturday 3 September, at 9pm on More4.

The Story of Film: An Odyssey has been funded by: Film4, More4, Hopscotch Films, Media 2, Creative Scotland and UKFC/bfi.

More4 also showed Mark Cousin's The First Movie, which received widespread critical acclaim.

 

About More4

Launched in 2005, More4 is part of Channel 4's digital offering. It is home to True Stories, which commissions and showcases the best documentaries from around the world. Recent channel commissions include Werner Herzog's 3D film, The Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Clio Barnard's The Arbour and the Oscar shortlisted Mugabe and the White African.