"I don't know anything, I'm only watching. Ignorance is a great privilege."
Stephen Frears

Born June 20th 1941 in Leicester (United Kingdom), Stephen Frears studies law at Cambridge, before becoming assistant to the director of the Royal Court Theatre in Chelsea. He quickly finds his place in cinema within the British New Wave movement. He directs his first short film, The Burning, in 1967. In 1970, the meeting with scriptwriter Neville Smith results in him making Gumshoe, his first feature and disillusioned thriller, a film that marks the beginning of his career. Stephen Frears then dedicates himself to television (twenty-odd films in twelve years), but in 1984 the success of his film The Hit heralds his long term return to cinema.
Between 1985 and 1987, he signs three great satires of British society: My Beautiful Laundrette, Prick Up Your Ears (Best Artistic Contribution Prize at Cannes in 1987) and Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. The trilogy having firmly established his international reputation, Frears adapts Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos in 1988 in the United States, where he also makes The Grifters and Hero. He then returns closer to home, directing two episodes of Irish author Roddy Doyle's social trilogy: The Snapper and The Van, both of which were selected for Cannes, in 1993 and 1996 respectively. In 2000, he directs High Fidelity, adapted from the novel by Nick Hornby in a social humoristic vein, and in 2002 the modern social drama: Dirty Pretty Things. Stephen Frears, who established himself very early on as one of the most innovative filmmakers in British cinema, is today one of the great figures in international film.

Filmography

2002: Dirty Pretty Things
2000: Liam
2000: High Fidelity
1998: The Hi-Lo Country
1996: The Van
1996: Mary Reilly
1993: The Snapper
1992: Hero
1990: The Grifters
1988: Dangerous Liaisons
1987: Prick up Your Ears
1987: Sammy and Rosie Get Laid
1985: My Beautiful Laundrette
1986: Walter and June
1984: The Hit
1971: Gumshoe

The Cinema Masterclass by Stephen Frears, facilitated by Jean-Pierre Lavoignat, takes place on Tuesday May 18th at 2.30pm in salle Buñuel.