Podchaser Logo
Home
Asif Kapadia, film director

Asif Kapadia, film director

Released Sunday, 1st December 2019
Good episode? Give it some love!
Asif Kapadia, film director

Asif Kapadia, film director

Asif Kapadia, film director

Asif Kapadia, film director

Sunday, 1st December 2019
Good episode? Give it some love!
Rate Episode

Asif Kapadia is an Academy Award-winning film director, renowned for his documentaries about the musician Amy Winehouse, the Brazilian motor racing star Ayrton Senna, and the Argentinian footballer, Diego Maradona.

Born in 1972, Asif is the youngest of five children. His parents emigrated from Gujarat in the mid-1960s. His father’s ambition to seek his fortune took the family to the US for a short time in the late 70s, but by 1980 they had returned to London. Asif grew up in Hackney, and describes his all-boys secondary school as tough. His mother was ill while he was taking his GCSEs, and he vowed never to sit exams again. At 17, he worked as a runner on a film and so enjoyed feeling part of a crew that he decided he wanted to make a career in the industry.

He studied film at the Newport Film School, going on to the Polytechnic of Central London where his graduation film, Indian Tales, was highly regarded. His 1997 Royal College of Art graduation film, The Sheep Thief, shot in Rajasthan in the Hindi language, won a prize at Cannes. He made two feature films, The Warrior which won two Baftas, and Far North, which was filmed close to the North Pole.

His first documentary was Senna, which was widely acclaimed and won two Baftas. Asif used the same collage technique - drawing on camcorder snippets, TV news, and entertainment specials – on Amy, his film about Amy Winehouse. It won an Oscar, a Bafta and a Grammy Award and surpassed Senna to become the highest grossing documentary of all time in the UK. His latest documentary is about the footballer Diego Maradona: he calls it “the third part of a trilogy about child geniuses and fame”.

Asif is married to Victoria Harwood with whom he has two sons.

DISC ONE: Tears Dry On Their Own by Amy WinehouseDISC TWO: Good Times by Chic DISC THREE: Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein by Lata Mangeshka And Mukesh DISC FOUR: Rebel Without a Pause by Public Enemy DISC FIVE: No Good (Start The Dance) by The ProdigyDISC SIX: Man With A Harmonica by Orchestra Ennio MorriconeDISC SEVEN: A Morte by Antônio PintoDISC EIGHT: Just by RadioheadBOOK CHOICE: The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Malcolm X and Alex Haley LUXURY ITEM: A polaroid camera with film from the seventiesCASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Man With A Harmonica by Orchestra Ennio Morricone

Presenter: Lauren LaverneProducer: Cathy Drysdale

Show More
Rate

Join Podchaser to...

  • Rate podcasts and episodes
  • Follow podcasts and creators
  • Create podcast and episode lists
  • & much more

Episode Tags

Do you host or manage this podcast?
Claim and edit this page to your liking.
,

Unlock more with Podchaser Pro

  • Audience Insights
  • Contact Information
  • Demographics
  • Charts
  • Sponsor History
  • and More!
Pro Features