Mick Csáky
Documentary film writer, producer & director
Profile:
Mick Csáky was born in the UK in 1945, of an English mother and a Hungarian father. He was educated at Bedales School during 1951-63, after which he undertook 8 years of further education - studying painting and sculpture at Farnham School of Art; design and photography at Saint Martin’s School of Art (BA); film and television at the Royal College of Art (MA).
In 1971 he entered the television industry by joining the production team making LWT's arts and entertainment magazine programme Aquarius. One year later he went freelance as an independent writer, producer and director.
To date he has produced and directed more than 100 documentary films for the cinema, television and DVD, in addition to executive producing a further 600 productions.
The majority of his output has been in the form of documentary singles and landmark series, made through his independent film and television production company Antelope, in the areas of human interest stories, biography, history, science, politics, economics, religion, music and arts; with assorted performance and magazine programmes and a limited number of drama productions for the cinema. For more detail, please visit www.antelope.co.uk
His programmes have won numerous international awards (including both US National and International Emmy awards), and have appeared on all of the main UK channels and in most countries of the world.
In 1998 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Television Society "In recognition of an outstanding contribution to the furtherance of television".
Since entering the industry he has run five independent production companies: Pictures That Move (1972-81 as Chief Executive); Viscom (1975-81 as an Executive Director); Mitchell Beazley Television (1981-83, as Chief Executive); Csáky Limited (1983-90 as Chief Executive); and Antelope (1988-90 as Executive Director and from 1990 to the present as Chief Executive & Creative Director).
Over the years he has served on the Councils of the Association of Independent Producers (AIP), Independent Programme Producers Association (IPPA), Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT) and the Royal Television Society (RTS). During the 1990s he was Chairman of the Film Production Committee of the Arts Council of England.
Currently, he is a trustee of One World Media - see www.oneworldmedia.org.uk
He regularly lectures in the UK, Europe and the USA about documentary film and television production and has conducted numerous Master Classes at film and television festivals.
Alongside his film and television work, Mick Csáky has undertaken extensive multi-media and multi-screen audiovisual work for museums (Natural History and Science museums, etc), exhibitions (British Genius and UK Expo pavilions, etc) and art galleries (Hayward Gallery, Musée des Arts Decoratif in Paris, etc). Additionally, his still photographs have appeared in numerous publications, including books that have accompanied several of his television series.
Mick Csáky is married to the screenwriter Jean Du Pasquier. They have three children: Leo, Corinna and Tim.
To see a list of all Mick Csáky's productions from 1971 to 2013 click here
To view a dozen past productions by Mick Csáky click on the Vimeo links below:
- SISTER ROSETTA THARPE: The Godmother of Rock & Roll
52-minute documentary about one of the USA’s most influential African-American gospel singers.
60-minute version made for BBC4 transmission in 2011
https://vimeo.com/51287182
52-minute International version of 2013 for worldwide distribution
https://vimeo.com/57467878 -
Interview with the producer and director Mick Csáky
12-minute interview about the making of the film SISTER ROSETTA THARPE: The Godmother of Rock & Roll.
Filmed in 2013 for the PBS / American Masters website
https://vimeo.com/56900358 - B’TSELEM
3-minute presentation of a camera distribution project by the Israeli NGO B’Tselem.
2009 / One World Media Awards
http://vimeo.com/53931136 - AFRICA LIVE: The Roll Back Malaria Concert
120-minute concert documentary made to raise global awareness of malaria in Africa.
2005 / BBC4/Arte France
https://vimeo.com/51290691 - SHIRIN EBADI: Divided By The Prize
30-minute profile of 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi.
2004 / BBC4
https://vimeo.com/56626386 - GEIKO GIRL
52-minute documentary about a geisha girl working within the Gion district of Kyoto.
2000 / BBC2/Kyoto Broadcasting Service
http://vimeo.com/47315749 - MOZART IN TURKEY
90-minute opera movie featuring Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, staged and filmed within the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul.
1999 / BBC2
http://vimeo.com/51526127 - 444 DAYS
104-minute account of the US hostage crisis in Iran of 1979-81 directed by Leslie Woodhead
1997 / BBC2
http://vimeo.com/54007647 - CHAIRMAN MAO: The Last Emperor
60-minute biography of Mao Zedong directed by Jeremy Bennett
1993 / BBC2 / A&E / France 3
http://vimeo.com/53959962 - THE WORLD RELIGION
Episode 1 of a 6x1-hour global economics series THE MIDAS TOUCH written & presented by Anthony Sampson, co-directed by Mick Gold
1990 / BBC2 / TV Asahi
http://vimeo.com/53931598 - KILLING THE DRAGON
52-minute documentary about a remarkable cure for heroin addiction in Thailand.
1988 / ITV
http://vimeo.com/51477161 - CARAVANS OF GOLD
Episode 3 of the 8x1-hour series AFRICA written & presented by Basil Davidson.
1984 / Channel 4
http://vimeo.com/51477162