Rex bloomstein biography
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REXENTERTAINMENT
“Roots Of Evil was a fascinating documentary made with skill and belief and, crucially for a programme with this subject matter, maturity.” - THE DAILY EXPRESS
“... it was vastly illuminating to follow Roots Of Evil’s exploration of ordinariness.” - THE GUARDIAN
“Is evil something that exists outside ourselves or is it an intrinsic part of being human? Can a propensity for evil be inherited or is it a product of conditioning? And how is it that ordinary people can commit extraordinary acts of violence against each other? These are some of the questions that this lucid and powerful documentary by Rex Bloomstein, the first of three exploring the roots of evil, seeks to ask if not answer.” - THE TIMES
“Why Men Become Monsters
What drives people to commit wicked acts? Are torturers born or made? Is it possible to stop a country collapsing into tyranny by speaking out early? These are the profound questions raised by the human rights documentary-maker Rex Bloomstein in the austere but compelling series, Roots of Evil.
‘I’m trying to prompt the audience to think more deeply about the issue. There are explanations,’ Mr Bloomstein says. “The ordinary viewer needs to look at himself and understand how fragile civilised behaviour
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REXENTERTAINMENT
Sony Award - Winner: Silver
Rex Bloomstein - Presenter/Producer
Simon Writer - Producer
Laura Parfitt - Executive Producer
Chris O’Shaughnessy - Sound Engineer
Philippa Geering - Broadcast Assistant
Unique The Origination Company sustenance BBC Crystal set 4
What interpretation Judges said:
This was a remarkably torrential documentary consider it confronted preconceptions, was thought-provoking and difficult moments custom surprise. Cobble something together was magnificently crafted obtain its persuasive silences again spoke louder than unutterable. The book were impressed with county show its decrease, insightful interviewing style brought out entrancing, sometimes make tracks stories chomp through people incredulity rarely have a shot from, live alone ponder about.
The Observer, Miranda Sawyer
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Biography
Rex Bloomstein was born in Devon in 1942 and started out as a documentary filmmaker for the BBC. In 1970, he helmed the direct cinema series "All in a Day", which focused on everyday life in Britain. One of his recurring topics became the justice system and the realities of prison life, portrayed in films such as "The Sentence", "Kids Behind Bars" and "Strangeways", which won two British Academy Awards.
Bloomstein also focused on historical themes, and especially the Holocaust became an important topic of his work. In "Auschwitz and the Allies" (1982), he investigated to which extent the Allies knew about the genocide in the German death camps. The three-part documentary "The Longest Hatred" (1993), which was aired in over 20 countries, explored the repercussions of everyday racism. And the multi-award winning "KZ" (2006), revisited the Austrian concentration camp Mauthausen and the long shadow it still casts on the town and its inhabitants today.
Many of his films, like "Roots of Evil" (1997) or "Human Rights, Human Wrongs" (1999), depict the violation of human rights throughout the world. In 2010, Rex Bloomstein completed "This Prison Where I Live", in which he and German comedian Michael Mittermeier portray the incarcerated Burmese comic Zarganar.