Film search

search string:
search in:
 film titles
 names
 notes

Mike Leigh
born:
 died:
birthplace:

A British writer and director of film and theatre. He began as a theatre director and playwright in the mid 1960s. In the 1970s and 1980s his career moved between work for the theatre and making films for BBC Television, many of which were characterised by a gritty 'kitchen sink' realism style. His well-known films include Life is Sweet (1990), the comedy-drama Career Girls (1997), the Gilbert and Sullivan biopic Topsy Turvy (1999), and the bleak working-class drama All or Nothing (2002). His most notable works are arguably Naked (1993) for which he won the Best Director Award at Cannes, the BAFTA-winning (and Oscar-nominated) Palme d'Or winner Secrets & Lies (1996) and Golden Lion winner Vera Drake (2004).

photo
filmtypereleasedrole(s)
Nuts in May TV 1976 director, writer (original)
Meantime TV 1984 director, writer (original)
High Hopes film 1988 director, writer (original)
Life Is Sweet film 1990 director, writer (original)
Naked film 1993 director, writer (original)
Secrets & Lies film 1996 director, writer (original)
Topsy-Turvy film 1999 director, writer (original)
All or Nothing film 2002 director, writer (original)
Vera Drake film 2004 director, writer (original)
Happy-Go-Lucky film 2008 director, screenplay
Another Year film 2010 director, writer (original)
Mr. Turner film 2014 director, writer (original)
Hard Truths film 2024 director, writer (original)
yearawardcategoryfor
1997 London Critics' Circle Film Award British Director of the Year Secrets & Lies
2004 BAFTA Best Direction Vera Drake
2005 London Critics' Circle Film Award British Director of the Year Vera Drake
2005 London Critics' Circle Film Award British Screenwriter of the Year Vera Drake