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Mike Christie is a British director with a reputation for bold and striking films, principally in specialist factual and arts. He also defined a genre of spectacular action sports filmmaking uniquely as his own and, more recently, directed a set of acclaimed music documentary features, Grierson shortlisted Hansa Studios: By The Wall 1976-90, New Order: Decades and Suede: The Insatiable Ones.

Other documentary work includes RTS finalist Jump London, The Secret Life Of Buildings, award-winning series Body Talk and Big Art, plus - for the BBC - The Art Of China, Darcey's Ballet Heroes, Sir Alex Ferguson: Secrets of Success, and Little Britain Down Under.

Mike is also a live multi-camera broadcast director, and has made commercials and content for agencies, events and brands including DDB, AMVBBDO, Publicis, Universal McCann, London 2012 Ceremonies, Red Bull and Apple.

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LATEST NEWS:

07.05.21 / SUEDE CLASSIC ALBUMS COMING UP... AND NEW ORDER TOO

May 7th, 2021 sees the broadcast of CLASSIC ALBUMS: SUEDE'S COMING UP and the home video release of NEW ORDER: EDUCATION ENTERTAINMENT RECREATION, both directed by Mike. The SUEDE documentary airs at 9pm on Sky Arts, and unpicks the recording of their globally successful 1996 album COMING UP and hit singles including Trash, Beautiful Ones, Filmstar, Saturday Night and Lazy.

09.04.21 / NEW ORDER: TV SPECIAL, SKY ARTS

A special, 90-minute, TV version of our concert film, New Order: Education Entertainment Recreation, airs on Sky Arts on Saturday, April 10th, 2021. The full length 135-minute concert film is released on BluRay and multiple formats through Warners Music on May 7th, 2021. Here's a sneak preview, one of our favourite New Order songs Bizarre Love Triangle

22.02.21 / NEW ORDER: EDUCATION ENTERTAINMENT RECREATION

The CHQ concert film 'New Order: Education Entertainment Recreation', directed by Mike Christie, is released on May 7, 2021 on a glorious range of formats. The film continues the immersive graphic style of Mike's New Order Decades film and is over two hours long. A shorter TV version is distibuted by White Light.

11.11.20 / OFFENDED BY IRVINE WELSH / SKY ARTS

This new documentary airs on Sky Arts and Freeview channel 11 at 10pm, Tues Nov 17th, 2020. It explores the impact of offensiveness and offence taking in the arts, and features artists Jake Chapman (of the Chapman Brothers) and Sarah Maple, the ultra woke Titania McGrath and her comic creator Andrew Doyle, right wing comedian Geoff Norcott, musician M.I.A. author Nadifa Mohammed, and the one and only Kate Bryan. Loads of great press already appearing, including this Esquire piece which fills in some more detail about the film.

09.11.20 / NEW ORDER / LIVE AT ALEXANDRA PALACE

On the anniversary of the gig itself, New Order have announced that the concert film of their amazing Alexandra Palace concert, made for them by CHQ and directed by Mike Christie, is being released by Warner Music in April on all formats. More details on their social channels - and much more to come nearer the time of release.

20.09.20 / OFFENDED BY IRVINE WELSH / SKY ARTS

I've just produced and directed a new film - announced this week - called 'Offended By Irvine Welsh' for Sky Arts, which is now a free to air channel. Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh explores the nature of offence and its impact. Does the fear of offence and cancel culture affect artists’ creative risk taking? He sets out to reclaim the right to offend – but not abuse – as an essential tool for artists. The film will be broadcast this Autumn. TX details to follow. 

17.07.20 / ROAD TO GYMKHANA / AMAZON PRIME

My feature doc ROAD TO GYMKHANA GRID is now available on AMAZON PRIME. Thanks to his Gymkhana film series, race driver Ken Block has half-a-billion YouTube views. This compelling film follows Ken and seven incredible drivers around the world as they converge at the finals of his event, Gymkhana Grid. Shot in many countries and eclectic locations including Chernobyl (!), Utah, Hungary, Portugal, Sweden and South Africa. With a diverse cast and truly epic locations, it's dramatic, gripping, and surprisingly personal and moving at times.

10.12.19 / LEGACY OF OUR ANCESTORS: UAE48

When the brilliant Catherine Ugwu MBE - Executive Producer of London 2012 Ceremonies, and founder of Betty Productions - said "we're going to do a years work in four months", she wasn't joking. Working as broadcast director, alongside her as artistic director and a brilliant cast and crew of 5,000, we staged and delivered an original, stadium-sized theatrical production - Legacy Of Our Ancestors - in Abu Dhabi on December 2nd. After four months in UAE, the live broadcast was the most complex I'd worked on as director, running a 19-camera OB on this beautiful, truly spectaular and very high-budget vision.

01.10.19 / COMPLETING A NEW ORDER CYCLE

Wrapping up a cycle of projects with the iconic band, my feature-doc New Order:Decades airs in the USA on Dec 27th, on Showtime. Since completing that film, I've collaborated with the band on two more projects: Divers is a complex re-creation of their opening film at their live concerts made with the brilliant team at Neon. The new version of the old black and white film, transitions to glorious colour in high-speed and high resolution as it builds to the climax - see more on the Neon website. And finally, a third project is... more news on that soon, I hope.

05.03.19 / CPH.DOX / Q&A EVENT WITH BRETT ANDERSON & BERNARD SUMNER

My films New Order: Decades and Suede: The Insatiable Ones have been selected for CPH.dox 2019. Brett Anderson, Bernard Sumner and I will be appearing at the festival for a Q&A event after the screening of the two films on March 23, 2019 in Copenhagen. More details here.

12.12.18 / SUEDE: THE INSATIABLE ONES / DVD RELEASE

Amazing response since the first broadcast of Suede: The Insatiable Ones: "The ugly beautiful truth is a must watch” - GQ MAGAZINEPainfully honest and deeply moving… Mike Christie’s portrait of Brett Anderson’s 1990s glam-pop outsiders gets everything right.” - THE SUNDAY TIMES. “Stunning”  - LOUDER THAN WAR. "Fascinating and uncomfortable, brutally honest and painfully raw” - DISARM MAGAZINE. Suede: The Insatiable Ones is released on DVD on April 12th, 2019. Pre-order here. International TX news and other format release info to follow here and via @suedemovie

12.09.18 / SUEDE: THE INSATIABLE ONES / SKY ARTS & BMG FILMS

I'm delighted to announce my latest feature-documentary. ‘Suede: The Insatiable Ones’ has been commissioned by Sky Arts, produced by ChristieHQ, and is a Sky Arts and BMG Films co-production. Brett Anderson, Mat Osman, Simon Gilbert, Richard Oakes andNeil Codlingare joined in the film by an eclectic cast that includes former band members Justine Frischmann and ex-Smith Mike Joyce. Also present are Ricky Gervais, part of their early management team, as well as family, friends and collaborators, including Richard Osman, legendary art director Peter Saville, Nude founder Saul Galpern, and producer Ed Buller. The film airs in the UK on Nov 24th, 9pm, Sky Arts. Press and PRgeorge@murraychalmers.com. Worldwide distribution: andrew@specialtreats.co.uk

13.08.18 / NEW ORDER: DECADES / SKY ARTS

Almost forty years to the day of Joy Division's TV debut, my new film "New Order: Decades", which will air on Saturday 22nd September at 9pm on Sky Arts, is a unique and timely feature-length film about one of the UK’s most original and truly iconic bands. Part concert, part documentary, this film follows the band’s preparations in the re-staging of their acclaimed collaboration So It Goes.. with the artist Liam Gillick and the 12-piece synthesiser orchestra that spectacularly captured the headlines during Manchester International Festival 2017.  The complexities extend beyond the technical and logistical: this is a band that rarely looks backwards, yet for this project they had to reflect on - and de-construct – the band’s history, in order to create something very new. With full access to New Order and their collaborators, this film is an unprecedented and intimate celebration of their story and their music. Through personal interviews with the band members and close collaborators including Gillick and art director Peter Saville, 'New Order: Decades' offers a rare chance to enter the band's private world, understand the visual philosophy of their aesthetic and design, and witness their collaborative, creative processes first hand. The full-length New Order and Joy Division song performances featured in the film - captured from the spectacular concert, designed by Gillick and augmented by the synth orchestra - look and sound simply incredible. They also serve as a perfect cross section of the musical journey the band have undertaken in their incredible career over the last four decades, and the perfect soundtrack to this very special film. I produced and directed this film for Caravan Media.

27.07.18 / HANSA STUDIOS: BY THE WALL / SHORTLIST FOR GRIERSON

Chuffed to bits to hear our feature 'Hansa Studios: By The Wall 1976-90' has been shortlisted for the Grierson Best Music or Arts Documentary 2018! 

09.04.18 / ROAD TO GYMKHANA GRID /INSIGHT TV

My new 4K UHD HDR feature documentary - Road To Gymkhana Grid - is broadcast on Saturday, April 14th. Thanks to his Gymkhana film series, race driver Ken Block has half-a-billion YouTube views. This compelling film follows Ken and seven incredible drivers around the world as they converge at the finals of his event, Gymkhana Grid. Shot in many countries and eclectic locations including Chernobyl (!), Utah, Hungary, Portugal, Sweden and South Africa. With a diverse cast and truly epic locations, it’s a highly personal film, often surprisingly moving, dramatic and gripping. The film is globally available via Insight TV which airs the film in the UK on Sky (channel 564 on HD boxes) at 7pm, April 14th. It's been made in partnership with Monster Energy and will also be available to view on Amazon Prime.

12.01.18 / HANSA STUDIOS: PRESS & FESTIVALS

Wow, the Hansa Studios film had an amazing response! There's a promo of the ninety minute feature documentary here on my site. Advance press was brilliant and plentiful -  “Fantastisch!” Radio Times,  “Meticulous” - The Times,  “A stellar cast of interviewees… As wild as celluloid gets in these digital days” – DJ Magazine, "★★★★★" The FT, and "★★★★★"  The Mail on Sunday, just for starters. Loved The Guardian's wonderful review, which you can read here. Also delighted to say the film has been already been selected for competition in the FIPA Festival and the Trieste Film Festival. It's repeated on Saturday, Jan 13th at 21.00hrs in the UK and at other times across Sky Arts Europe.

08.12.17 / HANSA STUDIOS: BY THE WALL 1976-90 / SKY ARTS

Few films I've made have been this much of a labour of love. Hansa Studios: By The Wall 1976-90 is a ninety-minute documentary about Berlin’s legendary Hansa Studios. Standing virtually alone in the wasteland of West Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz, metres from the Berlin Wall, it was a studio at the edge of the western world. Here David Bowie immortalised the same wall in “Heroes”, while his flatmate Iggy Pop found a Lust For Life and was inspired to write The Passenger riding the city’s U Bahn and S Bahn. Countless notable, international artists followed including Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Marillion and U2 – whose Achtung Baby sessions were the final chapter in the studio’s incredible 20th century life. The film features unprecedented access to the artists, engineers, producers, studios and immersive, evocative archive. It premieres on Jan 10th, 2018 on Sky Arts, and, I'm delighted to say, it has already been selected for multiple film festivals. Trailers and further details to follow. Press enquiries: contact MCPR.

10.06.17 / ADVENTURES IN ART

The Art Show - 8 x 1 hours - is a unique, accessible and intelligent series, shot over 18 months and several continents. It is now showing on Sky Arts. Working with the wonderful peeps at Infinity, I was Series Director and racked up the airmiles and suffered permanent jet lag! Each episode features several films, from Art Weekender travelogues, unqiue insights into the minds and studios of some inspiring artists, stories from the art industry and a host of special features from around the world. The Observer said the series is 'urgent and vital': hopefully you'll agree. Instagram / Twitter.

15.02.17 / FOOTBALL: A BRIEF HISTORY BY ALFIE ALLEN

The modern game of football played around the world is based on the Victorian English game of Assoication Football. This series looks at the origins of the game and the growth of the industry - a really fascinating social history for football fans and non-football fans alike. It's fronted by the brilliant British actor Alfie Allen, making his documentary debut, and features Greg Dyke, Andy Cole, Sol Campbell, Cyrille Regis, Jake Humphrey, Dan Portman, as well as Alfie’s father Keith Allen. The series - which I produced and directed for Woodcut Media - starts on Thursday, February 23rd at 10pm on History

06.10.16 / ALFIE ALLEN'S STORY OF FOOTBALL

I'm currently series producing and directing Alfie Allen's Story Of Football for Woodcut Media and History - the first documentary outing for this long-term Game Of Thrones star - as well as completing The Art Show as series director. Both will be broadcast early 2017.

24.12.15 / DARCEY'S BALLET HEROES / BBC2

Shot over the course of Summer 2015, I wrote and directed this 60-minute film in which much-loved ballet star and Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell undertakes a very personal journey to meet the heroes and dancers who transformed male ballet. Commissioned by BBC Arts, it's on air 20.50 BBC2 Christmas Day, repeated New Years Day, 10.15 BBC2 and again in the wee hours of Jan 5th, 2016. 

05.10.15 / SIR ALEX FERGUSON: SECRETS OF SUCCESS / BBC1

It was a treat directing this fascinating one hour documentary in which Nick Robinson gets up close and personal with Sir Alex and discusses the secrets of his success. Also features contributions from leading figures in business, politics, military and sport including Cristiano Ronaldo, Tony Blair, General Sir Michael Jackson, Lord Sugar, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Sir Michael Moritz, Jose Mourinho, Paul McGinley and Harvard Professor Anita Elberse. It's broadcast on Sunday, October 11th on BBC1 at 10.30pm.

18.08.15 / CURRENT PRODUCTIONS

I'm currently directing SIR ALEX FERGUSON: SECRETS OF SUCCESS (for Juniper and BBC1), an Xmas special with Darcey Bussell (for Leopard and BBC2) and a new arts magazine show called THE ART SHOW (for Infinity Creative Media/Sony). The first of these projects airs in October. More information soon.

21.11.14 / WAITING/ONE.ORG

It's been an intense couple of weeks working with the One Campaign to put together this powerful film called Waiting. With a great creative from the global team Roxane Philson and Meagan Bond, the commercial has been released in multiple languages and forms around the world, making news globally.

13.08.14 / THE ART OF CHINA / BBC4

So pleased with the response to the Art Of China series, which I had the honour of producing and series directing. Episode 3 aired tonight. Was a long haul but well worth it. Available here on iPlayer for the next few days at least, and then no doubt ripped and on YouTube by a Chinese art enthusiast (or a fan of Andrew Graham-Dixon's scarves). 

10.04.14 / THE ART OF CHINA: A NEW SERIES

I've just completed six-months work for Renegade Pictures series directing The Art of China. Presented by Andrew Graham-Dixon, it's a co-production for the BBC, Arté and CCTV. It's the latest outing of Graham-Dixon's BAFTA nominated 'Art Of' brand but I've taken a different approach to the style: it's a more dramatic treatment. TX Summer 2014.

28.03.14 / GARY BARLOW

I've been working with Gary Barlow and creative director Kim Gavin to create the opening sequence for Gary's new tour, which starts on March 29th in Belfast. The aspect ratio 80:9 film plays across the five giant video screens that come together - and come alive - during the sequence. The brief was to create a film that reflected his journey since Gary's last tour in 1999. I built the film around lines from an interview I conducted with Gary, archive, and a shoot to create the sequences with Gary that top and tail of the film. Of course, Mr Barlow also wrote the music. On an arena scale, it's a powerful combination.

17.03.14 / FROM STOKE MANDEVILLE TO SOCHI

On March 1st, 2014, the Paralympic Heritage flame was re-created at a firey ceremony event at Stoke Mandeville, England, before it's journey to Sochi and the March 7th opening ceremony. I was asked to write and direct a film for both events: the result was I Am The Flame, narrated by Sir Ian McKellen. Two versions of the film were made: the first told the story of the birth of the Paralympic movement at Stoke Mandeville, and this film opened the flame event at this historic place. The second version was used at the opening ceremony - and as part of the live global broadcast, shown on Channel 4 in the UK - to herald the arrival of the flame at the Sochi stadium. The film cites a vital declaration of human rights, hopefully appreciated by at least one key member of the Sochi audience; the Russian president himself...

02.12.13 / THE MAKING OF IMAGINATE: THE DOCUMENTARY

The success of Imaginate has been extraordinary: in five months Danny MacAskill's stunning film has already accumulated nearly fifteen million views between YouTube and Red Bull's site. From start to end, the film was two years in the making and the whole process was captured for an hour long documentary which will be shown on Dave at 8pm on Tuesday, December 3rd. A ChristieHQ production for Red Bull Media House.

02.12.13 / NEW SPOT FOR COLA CAO AND DDB

The Cola Cao winter sports spots have been major campaigns for the Spanish brand and their agency DDB over the last few years. The new spot, which I directed for production company Monkey Films in Barcelona, has just been launched. It combines disability and action sports through the talents of the sport ace teenager Daniel Stix. A subtitled version will be uploaded to the shortform section soon.