{{Short description|British film producer}} {{BLP sources|date=March 2016}} {{Use British English|date=February 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = John Battsek | image = John Battsek 2015.jpg | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = Battsek at the Montclair Film Festival, May 2015 | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1963|9}} | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --> | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Film producer | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = }}
'''John Saul Adrian Battsek''' (born September 1963)<ref name="HSR7"/> is a British film producer of documentary films. In 2020, Battsek co-founded<ref name=":0" /> production company Ventureland with producers Kerstin Emhoff, Ali Brown, and director Paul Hunter.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200121185138/https://deadline.com/2020/01/john-battsek-passion-pictures-ventureland-prettybird-kerstin-emhoff-1202836675/ Docs Supremo John Battsek Exits Passion Pictures After 20 Years To Set Up LA & London-Based Ventureland With Prettybird Trio]. ''Deadline''.</ref>
He has produced<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morfoot |first=Addie |date=2023-04-27 |title=Documentary Filmmakers Turn to Non-Traditional Distribution to Get Their Films Seen |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/global/hot-docs-distribution-1235596771/ |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> a number of feature documentaries, including ''One Day in September'' and ''Searching for Sugar Man'', both winners of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. He also produced the Peabody Award-winning documentary film ''Bobi Wine: The People's President''.<ref name="peabodyawards.com">https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/bobi-wine/</ref>
==Career and awards== Battsek is the son of Micha Battsek, a godson of Albert Einstein. He attended Highgate School until 1977.<ref name="McLaren">{{cite book |last1=McLaren |first1=Stuart |title=Saving Einstein |date=2021 |isbn=978-1-909796-89-8 |page=104 |publisher=Poppyland |url=https://www.poppyland.co.uk/ux/file/ty=PROD&ref=B79689&fnum=1}}</ref><ref name="HSR7">{{cite book |last1=Hughes |first1=Patrick |last2=Davies |first2=Ian F |title=Highgate School Register |date=1988 |page=394 |edition=7th}}</ref> In 1999, he conceived and produced Academy Award winning ''One Day in September''.<ref name="FutureMovies">{{cite web|url=http://www.futuremovies.co.uk/filmmaking/team-america/michelle-thomas|title=Team America|work=Future Movies|date=3 February 2000}}</ref>
He served as an executive producer on Academy Award-winning ''Searching for Sugar Man'', Academy Award nominated ''Restrepo'' and ''Winter On Fire'', and BAFTA award-winning documentaries ''Hillsborough'' and ''The Imposter''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0061557/|title=John Battsek|website=IMDb }}</ref>
In 2013, Battsek produced Greg Barker's Emmy Award-winning documentary ''Manhunt: The Search For Bin Laden''. In 2016, Battsek produced Peabody Award-winning and BAFTA-nominated ''Listen to Me Marlon''. In 2017, Battsek produced ''Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars'', which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Film. In 2018, Battsek produced Emmy Award-winning documentary ''Forever Pure''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6498644/|title = Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars| website=IMDb |date = 24 November 2017}}</ref>
Battsek was nominated for a PGA Award in 2010 and in 2011 for ''Sergio'' and ''The Tillman Story'', respectively. He was also nominated in 2015 for ''The Green Prince''. In 2013, he received the Grierson Trust Trustees' Award.
In 2019, he produced the AACTA Award-winning Australian feature-length documentary, ''The Australian Dream''.
Under the [https://venture.land/ Ventureland] banner as Managing Director/Producer, John received an Academy Award nomination for the documentary ''Bobi Wine: The People’s President''. The film later received a Peabody Award at the 84th ceremony in June 2024<ref name="peabodyawards.com"/> and Cinema for Peace Dove for the Political Film of The Year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goodfellow |first=Melanie |date=2024-02-20 |title=Hillary Clinton Teases Sharon Stone On “Gigantic Bath Robe” Gown At Cinema For Peace Gala In Berlin |url=https://deadline.com/2024/02/hillary-clinton-sharon-stone-cinema-for-peace-navalny-october-7-1235831358/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> He also produced Emmy Award winners ''The Rescue'' and ''BECKHAM'', BAFTA nominee ''Wham!'', Sports Emmy winner ''The Deepest Breath'', and Critics Choice nominee ''If These Walls Could Sing''. He also served as a producer on the two-time Emmy-winning ''Rising Phoenix'', and biopics ''Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker'', ''Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In'' and ''Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story''.
==Filmography== {{div col}} *''One Day in September'' (1999) – producer *''The Game of Their Lives'' (2002) – executive producer *''Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop'' (2003) – producer *''Peace One Day'' (2004) – co-producer *''Lila Says'' (Lila Dit Ca) (2004) – co-producer *''A State of Mind'' (2004) – producer *''Black Sun'' (2005) – producer *''Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos'' (2006) – producer *''Crossing the Line'' (2006) – executive producer *''In the Shadow of the Moon'' (2007) – executive producer *''My Kid Could Paint That'' (2007) – executive producer *''In Prison My Whole Life'' (2007) – co-producer *''Sergio'' (2009) – producer *''The Age of Stupid'' (2009) – executive producer *''Restrepo'' (2010) – executive producer *''The Stones in Exile'' – (2010) – producer *''The Tillman Story'' – (2010) – producer *''Fire in Babylon'' – (2010) – producer *''Project Nim'' – (2011) – executive producer *''Bob & the Monster'' – (2011) – executive producer *''Better This World'' – (2011) – executive producer *''Koran by Heart'' – (2011) – producer *''The Imposter'' – (2012) – executive producer *''Searching for Sugar Man'' – (2012) – executive producer *''How I Live Now'' – (2013) – producer *''Hillsborough'' – (2014) – executive producer *''Listen to Me Marlon'' – (2015) – producer *''We Are X'' – (2016) – producer *''Keep Quiet'' – (2016) – executive producer *''The Fall'' – (2016) – executive producer *''George Best – All by Himself'' – (2016) – producer *''Forever Pure'' – (2016) – executive producer *''Five Came Back'' – 2017 – producer *''Legion of Brothers'' – 2017 – producer *''The Final Year'' – 2017 – producer *''Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars'' – 2017 – producer *''Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist'' – 2018 – producer *''Studio 54'' – 2018 – producer *''If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd'' – 2018 – producer *''The Serengeti Rules'' – 2018 – executive producer *''Mike Wallace Is Here'' – 2019 – producer *''The Australian Dream'' – 2019 – producer *''Andy Murray: Resurfacing'' – 2019 – producer *''Citizen K'' – 2019 – producer *''Circus of Books'' – 2019 – executive producer *''Sid and Judy'' – 2019 – producer *''Mystify: Michael Hutchence'' – 2019 – producer *''Oliver Sacks: His Own Life'' – 2019 – executive producer * ''Rising Phoenix'' – 2020 – producer * ''Final Account'' – 2020 – producer * ''<nowiki/>'Til Kingdom Come'' – 2020 – producer * ''Belushi'' – 2020 – producer * ''The Trials of Oscar Pistorius'' – 2020 – producer * ''The Rescue'' – 2021 – producer * ''The Real Charlie Chaplin'' – 2021 – producer * ''Detainee 001'' – 2021 – executive producer * ''Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In'' – 2021 – producer * ''Football's Darkest Secret'' – 2021 – executive producer * ''Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story'' – 2021 – producer * ''FIFA Uncovered'' – 2022 – producer * ''The Sound of 007'' – 2022 – producer * ''If These Walls Could Sing'' – 2022 – producer * ''Wham!'' – 2023 – producer * ''The Deepest Breath'' – 2023 – producer * ''Beckham'' – 2023 – producer * ''Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker'' – 2023 – producer * ''[https://films.nationalgeographic.com/bobi-wine-the-people-s-president Bobi Wine: The People's President]'' – 2023 – producer * ''99'' – 2024 – producer * ''Elton John: Never Too Late'' – 2024 – executive producer * ''Never Get Busted!'' – 2025 – executive producer * ''Kerouac's Road: The Beat of a Nation'' – 2025 – producer * ''Birthright'' – 2025 – executive producer * ''Just Sing'' – 2025 – producer * ''A Simple Soldier'' – 2025 – producer * ''Murder in Monaco'' – 2025 – producer * ''The Last First: Winter K2'' – 2026 – producer {{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name |id=0061557}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080509095604/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/interviews/john_battsek.html Interview with John Battsek] * [http://www.contactmusic.com/new/home.nsf/webpages/liveforeverqandax12x06x03 LIVE FOREVER - Movie Q&A with John Dower and John Battsek] * [https://www.screendaily.com/news/john-battsek-talks-oscar-winning-documentary-career-future-projects/5112414.article John Battsek talks Oscar-winning documentary career, future projects]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battsek, John}} Category:Living people Category:1963 births Category:British documentary film producers Category:People educated at Highgate School Category:Primetime Emmy Award winners