Alex Usborne
Alex Usborne is a British film producer.
He won a Student Academy Award at age 26 for See You At Wembley, Frankie Walsh. Since then he has specialised in producing films conceived and made in the North of England. His feature film The Acid House, adapted by Irvine Welsh from his collection of short stories by the same name, was released in 1999 by Film Four International to critical acclaim. Variety stated, "The Acid House makes Trainspotting look like a mild mannered youth comedy."
Usborne produced the films F*** Sheffield, and Large, a teen comedy directed by Justin Edgar for FilmFour and The Film Consortium.
Among Usborne's early films are the award-winning documentaries Johnny Fantastic and Brendan's Boys. Both films were about boxers in Sheffield.
Set in his home town of Sheffield, Tales from a Hard City is about four dreamers in search of a break in the Old Steel City. It was financed by Channel 4, Yorkshire Television, La Sept/ARTE, Eurimages and the CNC, and co-produced with JBA in France.
A graduate of MEDIA 95’s EAVE programme, Alex attracted European finance for several projects - Tales from a Hard City was 60% financed from mainland Europe and was the first UK project to be awarded Eurimages funding.
In March 2012, the UK trade magazine Screen International claimed that Usborne was shooting his next feature film We are the Freaks working with regular director Justin Edgar.
Recognition
His Tales from a Hard City won the Grand Prix at the 1994 Marseilles Film Festival (Sunny Side of the Doc) and Best regional Programme at the 1995 Indie Awards. The film was screened at the London and Edinburgh Film Festivals in 1994 and ran for two weeks at the ICA.
The Granton Star Cause was awarded the Prix Italia Top TV Fiction Award in September 1998, Best Single Drama RTS 1998, and nominated for Best Single Drama, BAFTA Awards 1998. The film won its director, Paul McGuigan, the RTS's coveted Best Newcomer Award in 1998.
Filmography
Features
- 2012 We Are the Freaks
- 2013 I Am Breathing
- 2012 N.F.A. (No Fixed Abode)
- 2010 Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
- 2007 Special People
- 2001 Large
- 1998 The Acid House
Documentary
- 2006 Fucking Sheffield
- 2008 The Making of Into the Woods
- 1995 Tales from a Hard City
- 1995 A Band Called Treacle
Short film
- 2010 Threads
- 2008 Boy
- 2008 Into the Woods
- 2008 Hunger House
- 2005 Black/Blue
- 2004 Room to Think
- 2003 Paw
- 2002 Swansong
- 2002 Post
- 1987 See You at Wembley, Frankie Walsh