John Battsek

Movies

Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker
Producer
An inside look at the controversial life and career of tennis great Boris Becker—featuring interviews with John McEnroe, Novak Djokovic, Björn Borg, and other icons.
The Deepest Breath
Producer
A champion freediver and expert safety diver seemed destined for one another despite the different paths they took to meet at the pinnacle of the freediving world. A look at the thrilling rewards — and inescapable risks — of chasing dreams through the depths of the ocean.
If These Walls Could Sing
Producer
The untold story of the Abbey Road studio, all-star interviews and intimate access to the premises.
The Sound of 007
Producer
Pull back the curtain on the remarkable history of six decades of James Bond music, from Sean Connery’s Dr No through to Daniel Craig’s final outing in No Time to Die.
The Rescue
Producer
The enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.
Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story
Producer
In 1968, Jackie Collins published her first novel The World Is Full of Married Men to remarkable success and immediate scandal. Over the next decades, Collins would go on to build an empire writing books where female agency came first. Jackie Collins’ women were unapologetic about their needs and their sexual desire, and to her devoted readers, Collins became a symbol of the effortless power that defined her heroines.
Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In
Producer
A look at the life and legend of Sir Alex Ferguson, from his working-class roots in Glasgow through to his career as one of the greatest football managers of all time. While recovering from a traumatic brain haemorrhage in 2018, Sir Alex intimately recounts vivid details of his life and career to his son, including his legendary 26-year tenure as manager of Manchester United.
Final Account
Producer
A depiction of the last living generation of German participants in Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.
Belushi
Producer
Using previously unheard audiotapes recorded shortly after John Belushi’s death, director R.J. Cutler’s documentary feature examines the too-short life of the once-in-a-generation talent who captured the hearts and funny bones of devoted audiences.
Rising Phoenix
Producer
The history and current standing of the Paralympic Games, which has grown to become the world's third largest sporting event.
Citizen K
Producer
The strange case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky — once believed to be the wealthiest man in Russia — who rocketed to prosperity and prominence in the 1990s, served a decade in prison, and became an unlikely martyr for the anti-Putin movement.
The Australian Dream
Producer
AFL legend Adam Goodes shares the story of his life and career to offer a deeper insight into race, identity, and belonging.
Mike Wallace Is Here
Producer
For over half a century, 60 Minutes' fearsome newsman Mike Wallace went head-to-head with the world's most influential figures. Relying exclusively on archival footage, the film interrogates the interrogator, tracking Wallace's storied career and troubled personal life while unpacking how broadcast journalism evolved to today’s precarious tipping point.
Sid & Judy
Producer
Explore the dramatic career and personal struggles of the talented and tragically short-lived entertainer Judy Garland through rare concert footage, never-heard-before voice recordings and personal photos.
Mystify: Michael Hutchence
Producer
Michael Hutchence was flying high as the lead singer of the legendary rock band INXS until his untimely death in 1997. Richard Lowenstein’s documentary examines Hutchence’s deeply felt life through his many loves and demons.
Circus of Books
Executive Producer
For decades, a nice Jewish couple ran Circus of Books, a porn shop and epicenter for gay LA. Their director daughter documents their life and times.
Spiral
Producer
A look at the rise of anti-Semitism and assaults against Jews in present-day France.
Studio 54
Producer
Studio 54 was the epicenter of 70s hedonism - a place that not only redefined the nightclub, but also came to symbolize an entire era. Its co-owners, Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell, two friends from Brooklyn, seemed to come out of nowhere to suddenly preside over a new kind of New York society. Now, 39 years after the velvet rope was first slung across the club's hallowed threshold, a feature documentary tells the real story behind the greatest club of all time.
Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars
Producer
An unflinching and deeply personal journey into the life and work of guitarist Eric Clapton told through his own words and songs.
Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist
Executive Producer
The remarkable story of iconoclastic fashion designer Vivienne Westwood as she fights to maintain her brand’s integrity, her principles and her legacy.
The Final Year
Producer
Featuring unprecedented access inside the White House and State Department, The Final Year offers an uncompromising view of the inner workings of the Obama Administration as they prepare to leave power after eight years.
Legion of Brothers
Producer
Afghanistan, immediately post-9/11: Small teams of Green Berets arrive on a series of secret missions to overthrow the Taliban. What happens next is equal parts war origin story and cautionary tale, illuminating the nature and impact of 15 years of constant combat, with unprecedented access to U.S. Special Forces.
The Last Shaman
Executive Producer
James, giving himself 12 months before he has "a license to kill himself," sets off to the Amazon rainforest with hopes of finding a shaman who can save his life.
Five Came Back
Producer
The extraordinary story of how Hollywood changed World War II – and how World War II changed Hollywood, through the interwoven experiences of five legendary filmmakers who went to war to serve their country and bring the truth to the American people: John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens. Based on Mark Harris’ best-selling book, “Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War.”
The Fall
Executive Producer
The Fall tells the remarkable story of a South African barefoot runner, an American track-and-field prodigy, and the events behind one of the most memorable moments in sporting history – the 1984 LA Olympics. The film charts two journeys, from rural South Africa under apartheid and the rolling hills of Southern California, to the starting line of the women’s 3,000 metres. It uncovers a tale of betrayal and exploitation, of the blurred lines between politics, media and sport, and of the dedication and sacrifice required to compete at the highest level. It’s a story that split governments and divided nations, but at its heart is a tale of two young women who, despite the turmoil in their lives, just wanted to run.
Don't Look Down
Producer
Don’t Look Down is the untold story behind Sir Richard Branson’s daring attempts to cross the Atlantic and Pacific in the mid 80s and early 90s in the world’s largest hot air balloon. Daniel Gordon captures the intensity and passion of the team that was involved in this ambitious project, as well as the first-hand account from Branson himself. Branson remembers details of his journey with remarkable sharpness and clarity. It’s as if the perilous adventure he embarks upon, with engineer, and Balloonist, Per Lindstrand, just occurred.
Hillsborough
Executive Producer
A look at the April 15, 1989 tragedy at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, where a stampede in the stadium's standing-room-only areas killed 96 people and injured 766. The film also examines the ongoing efforts of victims' families to seek truth and justice, as well as tangible effects on English football, including stadium upgrades and the emergence of the English Premier League.
Chuck Norris vs Communism
Executive Producer
In late eighties, in Ceausescu's Romania, a black market VHS bootlegger and a courageous female translator brought the magic of Western films to the Romanian people and sowed the seeds of a revolution.
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
Executive Producer
A documentary on the unrest in Ukraine during 2013 and 2014, as student demonstrations supporting European integration grew into a violent revolution calling for the resignation of President Viktor F. Yanukovich.
Listen to Me Marlon
Producer
With exclusive access to his extraordinary unseen and unheard personal archive including hundreds of hours of audio recorded over the course of his life, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career as an actor and his extraordinary life away from the stage and screen with Brando himself as your guide, the film will fully explore the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely from Marlon's perspective, entirely in his own voice. No talking heads, no interviewees, just Brando on Brando and life.
Match 64: The Maracanã
Executive Producer
A documentary following the day life of fans in Brazil on July 13, 2014: the day when Germany and Argentina met up in the finals of FIFA World Cup.
Pray for Ukraine
Executive Producer
Three difficult month of Maidan! Ukrainian people united together at Kiev's historic square called Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) came out to voice theire feelings and emotions against the Yanukovich regime. Lots of souls were lost, lots of destinies were changed! So much still to come... Ukrainian Revolution of dignity.
Happy Valley
Producer
The children of "Happy Valley" were victimized for years, by a key member of the legendary Penn State college football program. But were Jerry Sandusky’s crimes an open secret? With rare access, director Amir Bar-Lev delves beneath the headlines to tell a modern American parable of guilt, redemption, and identity.
I Am Ali
Executive Producer
Unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali's personal archive of "audio journals" as well as interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends are used to tell the legend's life story.
9.79*
Executive Producer
A look into the 100-meter final at the 1988 Seoul games.
How I Live Now
Producer
An American girl on holiday in the English countryside with her family finds herself in hiding and fighting for her survival as war breaks out.
Everything or Nothing
Producer
The story of three men with a shared dream: James Bond franchise producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and Bond creator and author Ian Fleming. It’s the thrilling and inspiring narrative behind the longest running film franchise in cinema history, which began in 1962.
The Imposter
Executive Producer
In 1994 a 13-year-old boy disappeared without a trace from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three-and-a-half years later he is found alive thousands of miles away in a village in southern Spain with a horrifying story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems.
Searching for Sugar Man
Executive Producer
Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez. The film won Best Documentary at the 85th Academy Awards.
Koran by Heart
Producer
In this 80-minute documentary, three 10-year-old children leave their native countries to participate in one of the Islamic world’s most famous competitions, a test of memory and recitation known as The International Holy Koran Competition. Up against much older students, these youngsters have committed the 600 pages of the Koran to memory, and will put their skills to the test before the elite of the world’s Muslim community in Cairo, Egypt. In the midst of this intense international competition, the three young competitors –two boys from Senegal and Tajikistan, and one girl from the Maldives – face uncertain futures at home, as they are caught between fundamentalist and moderate visions of Islam. The children discuss their recitation techniques – with accompanying, completely improvised melodies – and talk about their nerves and excitement as they finally compete before a panel of judges.
Match 64: The Final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Producer
Go behind the scenes and get closer to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final than ever before in 'Match 64', a documentary that features exclusive interviews, footage and access to the battle between Spain and the Netherlands.
Better This World
Executive Producer
Set amid arrests and subsequent trials surrounding the 2008 Republican National Convention, this portrait of two young activists caught in the web of an opportunistic mentor and a desperate justice system poignantly describes both the problems of power and the power of forgiveness and love.
The Tillman Story
Producer
Pat Tillman never thought of himself as a hero. His choice to leave a multimillion-dollar football contract and join the military wasn't done for any reason other than he felt it was the right thing to do. The fact that the military manipulated his tragic death in the line of duty into a propaganda tool is unfathomable and thoroughly explored in Amir Bar-Lev's riveting and enraging documentary.
Sergio
Producer
Charismatic, charming and complex, Sérgio Vieira de Mello was the world's go-to guy, a man who could descend into the most dangerous places, charm the worst war criminals, and somehow protect the lives of the ordinary people to whom he'd devoted his life. The documentary tells the story of his most treacherous mission ever... a mission in which his own life hangs in the balance.
Live Forever
Producer
In the mid-1990s, spurred on by both the sudden world-domination of bands such as Oasis and Prime Minister Tony Blair's "Cool Brittania" campaign, British culture experienced a brief and powerful boost that made it appear as if Anglophilia was everywhere--at least if you believed the press. Pop music was the beating heart of this idea, and suddenly, "Britpop" was a movement. Oasis, their would-be rivals Blur, Pulp, The Verve, and many more bands rode this wave to international chart success. But was Britpop a real phenomenon, or just a marketing ploy? This smart and often hilarious documentary probes the question with copious interviews from Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn of Blur, Sleeper's Louise Wener, and many other artists and critics who suddenly found themselves at the cultural forefront.
One Day in September
Producer
The full story of the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and the Israeli revenge operation 'Wrath of God.' The 1972 Munich Olympics were interrupted by Palestinian terrorists taking Israeli athletes hostage. Besides footage taken at the time, we see interviews with the surviving terrorist, Jamal Al Gashey, and various officials detailing exactly how the police, lacking an anti-terrorist squad and turning down help from the Israelis, botched the operation.
The Serpent's Kiss
Producer
A man sends a young architect to build an extravagant garden to bankrupt the husband of the woman he once loved.
The Long Day Closes
Publicist
Bud is a lonely and quiet boy whose moments of solace occur when he sits in rapture at the local cinema, watching towering and iconic figures on the movie screen. The movies give Bud the strength to get through another day as he deals with his oppressive school environment and his burgeoning homosexuality.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances And the Years That Made His Legend
Executive Producer
Unseen concert footage of him over the past 50 years, hand-written journals and present-day footage of Elton John and his family.
Exterminate All the Brutes
Executive Producer
A young, black British-Nigerian poet/activist is haunted by the ghosts of colonialism that he thinks the world refuses to face. He travels across West Africa in search of the origins of Joseph Conrad’s chillingly immortal phrase ‘exterminate all the brutes’. Encounters and discoveries along the journey suggest a surprising and poetic way out of colonialism’s lingering Heart of Darkness towards the Light.