Mark Cousins

Mark Cousins (born 3 May 1965; Belfast) is an Irish documentary filmmaker, film critic and programmer. A prolific producer and director, he is best known for his 15-hour documentary "The Story of Film: An Odyssey" (2011). Throughout his career, Cousins has interviewed directors, producers and actors including Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Tom Hanks, Sean Connery, Brian De Palma, Steve Martin, Lauren Bacall, Jane Russell, Paul Schrader, Bernardo Bertolucci, Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Moreau, Terence Stamp, Jack Lemmon, Janet Leigh and Rod Steiger. Cousins was appointed Honorary Professor of the University of Glasgow in 2013, as well as Honorary Doctor of Letters at both the University of Edinburgh in 2007 and University of Stirling in 2014. He is now a Patron of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Cousins previously acted as both a programmer and director (1996-1997) of the festival. He is a Board Member of Michael Moore's Traverse City Film Festival and a Member of the 'Audentia Award' jury at the 42nd Göteborg International Film Festival (GIFF) in 2019, as well as Member of the 'Official Competition' jury at the 53rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2018. In 2021, Cousins joined the jury of the BFI London Film Festival. Cousins interviewed famous filmmakers such as David Lynch, Martin Scorsese and Roman Polanski in the TV series "Scene by Scene" (1997-2001). He presented the BBC cult film series "Moviedrome" (1997-2000). He introduced 66 films for the show, including the little-seen Nicolas Roeg film "Eureka" (1983). His 2011 film "The Story of Film: An Odyssey" was broadcast as 15 one-hour television episodes on More4, and later, featured at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. "A Story of Children and Film" (2013) was critically well-received. Its origins lay in some footage he shot of his niece and nephew at play, and grew into a documentary about the representation of children in cinema. Cousins subsequently wrote and directed "I Am Belfast" (2015), in which the city is personified by a 10,000-year-old woman. Cousins famously axed his own film "Bigger Than The Shining" (2016) following a screening in front of a live audience at the 2017 International Rotterdam Film Festival (IFFR). This was done with the intention being for it to never be shown again, as it was the only copy of the film. His film "The Story of Film: A New Generation" (2021) opened Cannes Film Festival 2021.