Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961 in Blackburn, Lancashire) is a prolific British filmmaker who has directed sixteen films in the past thirteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films — Welcome to Sarajevo, Wonderland and 24 Hour Party People — have been nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Personal life

Winterbottom went to Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn, taking his O Levels in an accelerated four years, and then attended Oxford University before going to film school at Bristol University, where his contemporaries included Marc Evans.

Career

Television

Winterbottom's television career included such diverse projects as Jimmy McGovern's mystery series Cracker, the Inspector Alleyn Mysteries, two documentaries about Ingmar Bergman, numerous television movies and an episode of the series Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood, focusing on Scandinavian silent cinema. He also directed the mini-series Family, written by Roddy Doyle, with each of four episodes focusing on one member of a working-class Dublin family. It was this series that first brought Winterbottom to the attention of moviegoers, when it was edited down into a feature.