British cinema legend Lord David Puttnam, the producer of multi-award-winning classics such as Chariots of Fire, The Killing Fields and Midnight Express will reveal the stories behind some of his greatest films during an event at The Fire Station in Sunderland on Tuesday 11th October.
Using excerpts from his films, which have netted 25 BAFTAs and 10 Oscars, he will discuss how his career took him from 30 years in the Hollywood-dominated film industry, including two years as chairman and CEO of Columbia Pictures, to 24 years in Westminster, where he sat on the Labour benches in the House of Lords, chaired the 2019 select committee on Democracy and Digital Technology, and shaped policy in the areas of Media Ownership, Climate Change, Education, Disinformation and Online Safety. He has also served as chancellor of the Open University and the University of Sunderland.
The Fire Station Auditorium is Sunderland’s brand new, state of the art performance venue set in the heart of the city’s cultural quarter. Tickets will cost £5 with all proceeds going to UNICEF’s Ukraine Children’s Appeal. It is presented by Atticus Education, The University of Sunderland, North East Screen and Pinewood Group.
Puttnam said: “I’m very much looking forward to being back in Sunderland, not only to meet the university’s new Puttnam Scholars in-person, but also to spend an evening revisiting these feature films and some of the tales and anecdotes from the past 50 years. Whilst I hope the evening will be enjoyable for the audience, I am overjoyed that we are also able to together support UNICEF and its critical appeal for the children of Ukraine.”
