Jamie Daniel Adams (born 30 May 1980) is a Welsh filmmaker.
Jamie Adams | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jamie Daniel Adams 30 May 1980 Weymouth, England |
| Alma mater | |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Children | 3 |
Early life edit
Adams was born in Weymouth, Dorset and grew up in Porthcawl. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2001 and a Master of Arts in Film from Newport's International Film School Wales in 2004.[1] His mother died while he was at university.[2][3]
Career edit
He began his career working as an assistant editor for BBC Television.[4] He also worked as a second unit director on BBC Series Industry.[5]
His first feature film was the 2014 film Benny & Jolene starring Charlotte Ritchie, Craig Roberts and Rosamund Hanson with the pitch that they would be "in a motor-home travelling into North Wales to a music festival and we’d improv all the way there and back". His next film A Wonderful Christmas Time was a five-day improvisational shoot starring Laura Haddock. [6]
His 2015 Black Mountain Poets was an improvised film about improvised poetry and shot in five days on location in the Welsh Black Mountains and starred Dolly Wells and Alice Lowe.[7][8]
He released three films, Songbird (2018), Balance, Not Symmetry and Bittersweet Symphony (both 2019), over an eight week period.[9]
His 2021 film Love Spreads starred Alia Shawkat and featured a struggling rock band under pressure to record an album at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire.[10]
His film She is Love (2022) starred Haley Bennett, Sam Riley and Marisa Abela and was shot over a week in Cornwall at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.[4][11]
Film making process edit
He has said he finds the use of storyboards "too rigid and too restricting".[6] His films use a process which is highly improvisational with no script in the traditional sense, often on a low budget and filmed over a very short period of time. He has described not with a script or treatment but with “a scriptment”.[5] The "scriptment" process he has described as giving the actors a story outline, and "if they're interested, we have a few conversations. If they decide to be a part of the process, we take those conversations further. I then go away and write what we call a scene by scene 'scriptment', a screenplay without dialogue, so everybody has half a chance to know how to plan and schedule it". Then, once filming starts he's happy for actors to improvise because everyone is aware "where we're headed, we know what the arc of the story is, and as long as we're being truthful to the characters, then I'm always happy to improvise."[12]
Personal life edit
Adams lives in Porthcawl with his wife Zoe and their three children.[13]
Filmography edit
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Benny & Jolene | Writer, Producer and Director | |
| 2014 | A Wonderful Christmas Time | Writer, Producer and Director | |
| 2015 | Black Mountain Poets | Writer, Producer and Director | |
| 2018 | Wild Honey Pie! | Writer, Producer and Director | |
| 2018 | Songbird | Writer, Producer and Director | |
| 2019 | Balance, Not Symmetry | Writer, Producer and Director | |
| 2019 | Bittersweet Symphony | Writer, Producer and Director | |
| 2021 | Love Spreads | Writer, Producer and Director | |
| 2022 | Venice at Dawn | Writer and Director | |
| 2022 | She is Love | Writer, Producer and Director | |
| TBA | Real Love (Yes, It's Real Love!)† | Writer and Director |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | All Shook Up! | Writer, Producer and Director | |
| 2011 | Made in Wales | ||
| 2016 | BBC Comedy Feeds | 1 episode | |
| 2019 | Hymns & Arias |
References edit
- ^ "International Success for Film Graduate". University of South Wales. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ Potier, Laura (20 August 2019). "Welsh director Jamie Adams on making Balance, Not Symmetry and working with Biffy Clyro". Outtake. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ Pape, Stefan (2 August 2019). "Balance Not Symmetry director Jamie Adams: "The biggest influence for me was my mother"". The Hot Corn. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Exclusive interview with writer director Jamie Adams". Cinemadailyus. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ a b Arnot, Garry (January 31, 2023). "She is Love Interview: Jamie Adams – 'The process creates an original atmosphere and an energy that doesn't exist anywhere else'". Cinema Perspective. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ a b Arnot, Garry (November 20, 2014). "Director interview: Jamie Adams – 'A surrogate family emerges almost organically – you can't escape it at Christmas!'". Cinema Perspective. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ "Black Mountain Poets". Filmhubwales.org. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ Jenkins, David. "Black Mountain Poets". Little White Lies. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ Pape, Stefan (4 July 2019). "ONE TO WATCH - The impressive consistency of prolific filmmaker Jamie Adams". The Hot Corn. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ "Porthcawl's Jamie Adams teams with Alia Shawkat for fictional band biopic, LOVE SPREADS". Buzz Mag. August 1, 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ Kemp, Ella. "Wild Honey Pie! director Jamie Adams on the art of improvisation". Little White Lies.
- ^ Risker, Paul. "Seeking resolution - Jamie Adams on revisiting the past in She Is Love". Eye for Film. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ Williams, Kathryn (14 October 2022). "Welsh director Jamie Adams' Black Mountain Poets in running for Edinburgh Film Festival award". Wales Online. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
External links edit
- Jamie Adams at IMDb