Andrew Haigh

Andrew Haigh (born 7 March 1973) is a British filmmaker. Haigh, who started his career as an assistant film editor, is best known for directing and writing the screenplays for the critically acclaimed films Weekend (2011), 45 Years (2015), Lean on Pete (2017), and All of Us Strangers (2023). Haigh also wrote and produced the HBO series Looking (2014–2015) and the HBO movie Looking: The Movie (2016). Further television work includes the BBC limited series The North Water (2021).
Early life and education
Haigh was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. He read History at Newcastle University.
Career
2000–2011: Early work and film debut
Haigh worked as an assistant editor on films such as Gladiator and Black Hawk Down before debuting as a writer/director with the short film Oil. In 2009 he directed his first feature-length film, Greek Pete, which debuted at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. The film is set in London and centers on male prostitution, chronicling a year in the life of rent-boy Pete. Greek Pete won the Artistic Achievement Award at Outfest in 2009.
Haigh's second feature, the highly acclaimed romantic drama Weekend about a 48-hour relationship between two men (played by Tom Cullen and Chris New), premiered on 11 March 2011 at the SXSW Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Emerging Visions. The film played in many other festivals around the world, and went on to collect many more awards including the Grand Jury Award for Outstanding International Narrative Feature at L.A. Outfest and London Film Critics' Circle award for Breakthrough British Filmmaker.
2015–present: Breakthrough and acclaim
Haigh's next film 45 Years (2015) premiered as part of the main competition at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. The film won the top acting prizes at the festival for both its leads, Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. The film screened at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals in September 2015. The film later received an Academy Award nomination for Charlotte Rampling. Upon release, the film received positive reviews, holding a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail wrote: "45 Years exposes the paradoxical balance of the successful marriage, one that requires a sentimental suspension of disbelief on the one hand and a hard-headed ability to deal with the everyday on the other."
Haigh co-created, co-produced and occasionally wrote and directed the HBO drama series Looking (2014–2016), about a group of gay men in San Francisco, which struggled to attract audiences despite receiving generally positive reviews from critics. Cancelled after two seasons, the series finished with a two-hour TV movie in 2016. Haigh's next film, Lean on Pete, based on the Willy Vlautin novel about a teenage boy in Oregon, premiered at the 74th Venice International Film Festival in 2017. It was released in cinemas and on VOD in April–May 2018 and received critical acclaim. In October 2016, Haigh was announced as the writer-director of The North Water, a mini-series based on the novel of the same name by Ian McGuire. Filming began in summer 2018. After some filming delays in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was released between 15 July and 12 August on BBC Two in 2021.
In 2023, Haigh returned to film directing the romance drama All of Us Strangers starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal. The film is an adaptation of the Taichi Yamada novel Strangers (1988). The film premiered at the 50th Telluride Film Festival to critical acclaim and will be distributed by Searchlight Pictures. The film also screened across the UK as a part of the BFI London Film Festival and is set to appear at the New York Film Festival on Peter Debruge of Variety praised the film writing, "Haigh brings a sense of intimacy to this movie, presenting us with characters who are willing to be vulnerable to partners they barely know. It’s sexy, of course, but also quite moving, as this kind of exposed honesty feels like the foundation for any relationship".
Favourite films
In 2022, Haigh participated in the Sight & Sound film polls of that year. It is held every ten years to select the greatest films of all time, by asking contemporary directors to select ten films of their choice.
Haigh’s selections were:
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Black Narcissus (1947)
Cries and Whispers (1972)
Uzak (2002)
Don't Look Now (1973)
La niña santa (2004)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
L'avventura (1960)
Ratcatcher (1999)
Watership Down (1978)
Personal life
Haigh is married to novelist Andy Morwood. The couple have two daughters. Haigh identifies as an atheist.
Filmography
Films
Short Films
Editor / Miscellaneous
1996 The Proprietor - Production assistant (London)
2000 Small Time Obsession - Second assistant director
2000 Gladiator - Apprentice editor
2000 Born Romantic - Assistant editor
2000 Breathtaking - Assistant editor
2001 Black Hawk Down - Assistant editor
2002 The Count of Monte Cristo - Assistant editor
2002: The Four Feathers - Assistant editor
2003: Shanghai Knights - Assistant editor
2003: Mona Lisa Smile - Assistant editor
2005: Kingdom of Heaven - Assistant editor
2007: The Good Night - Assistant editor (dailies)
2007: Hannibal Rising - Assistant editor
2007: Mister Lonely - First assistant editor
2008: A Matador's Mistress - First assistant editor
2008: Crack Willow - Editor
2004: Fits - Short film; unit production manager
2004: Fragments - Short film; first assistant director
Television
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Official website
2013 Interview from The New York Times' "20 Directors to Watch" article
1973 births
Living people
English film directors
21st-century English screenwriters
English male screenwriters
English LGBT writers
British LGBT film directors
British LGBT screenwriters
People from Harrogate
British gay writers
LGBT people from Yorkshire
LGBT television directors
English television directors
21st-century English LGBT people
English atheists
English atheist writers