Directing
Clare Beavan
Clare Beavan is an award-winning director. She received an International Emmy Award for her documentary on Bernini and a Grierson Award for her adaptation of the memoir The Prince, the Showgirl and Me. She has Bafta and Grierson nominations for Simon Schama’s Power of Art and History of Britain and Simon Schama’s Power of Art. Her drama Daphne was named in The Observer’s top dramas of the year. Recent documentaries include Bricks! (Grierson Nomination), Germaine Bloody Greer (RTS Nomination), Cindy Sherman #Untitled and the feature documentary This is Joan Collins.
Acting credits
Behind the camera
NRFamous for lines like 'It is better to be feared than loved', Machiavelli's notorious book, The Prince, has been a manual for tyrants from Napoleon to Stalin. But how relevant is The Prince today, and who are the 21st century Machiavellians?
Who's Afraid of Machiavelli?
2013
5.9Alan Turing is the genius British mathematician who was instrumental in breaking the German naval Enigma Code during World War II, arguably saving millions of lives. Turing's achievements went unrecognised during his lifetime. Instead he ended up being treated as a common criminal, for being homosexual at a time when homosexual acts were a crime. In 1952, he was convicted of 'gross indecency' with another man and was forced to undergo so-called 'organo-therapy' - chemical castration. Two years later, he killed himself with cyanide, aged just 41. Alan Turing was driven to a terrible despair and early death by the nation he'd done so much to save.
Britain's Greatest Codebreaker
2012
5.9Alan Turing is the genius British mathematician who was instrumental in breaking the German naval Enigma Code during World War II, arguably saving millions of lives. Turing's achievements went unrecognised during his lifetime. Instead he ended up being treated as a common criminal, for being homosexual at a time when homosexual acts were a crime. In 1952, he was convicted of 'gross indecency' with another man and was forced to undergo so-called 'organo-therapy' - chemical castration. Two years later, he killed himself with cyanide, aged just 41. Alan Turing was driven to a terrible despair and early death by the nation he'd done so much to save.
Britain's Greatest Codebreaker
2012
7.2A feature-length documentary on the life of one of the last surviving actresses from the golden age of Hollywood – Joan Collins. This epic film is told from the ringside as Joan narrates her rollercoaster life story with her inimitable wit and verve. A worldwide television phenomenon with her decade-defining role in Dynasty, Collins shares her extraordinary archive and never before seen home movie footage, giving an intimate glimpse into one of the world’s most iconic figures. Against a backdrop of Collins’s own narration, her story showcases the extraordinary life of a woman who has lived through the glitz, the glamour and the enduring moments of Hollywood history, and survived it all with panache.
This Is Joan Collins
2022
7.2A feature-length documentary on the life of one of the last surviving actresses from the golden age of Hollywood – Joan Collins. This epic film is told from the ringside as Joan narrates her rollercoaster life story with her inimitable wit and verve. A worldwide television phenomenon with her decade-defining role in Dynasty, Collins shares her extraordinary archive and never before seen home movie footage, giving an intimate glimpse into one of the world’s most iconic figures. Against a backdrop of Collins’s own narration, her story showcases the extraordinary life of a woman who has lived through the glitz, the glamour and the enduring moments of Hollywood history, and survived it all with panache.
This Is Joan Collins
2022
5.8Set during the years between the "Rebecca" trial and the writing of Du Maurier's short story "The Birds", including her relationship with her husband Frederick 'Boy' Browning, and her largely unrequited infatuations with American publishing tycoon's wife Ellen Doubleday and the actress Gertrude Lawrence.
Daphne
2007
5.8Set during the years between the "Rebecca" trial and the writing of Du Maurier's short story "The Birds", including her relationship with her husband Frederick 'Boy' Browning, and her largely unrequited infatuations with American publishing tycoon's wife Ellen Doubleday and the actress Gertrude Lawrence.
Daphne
2007
NRA dramatized retelling of Colin Clark's experience on the 1957 film "The Prince and the Showgirl" based on the diary he kept throughout production, where he worked as third assistant director.
The Prince, The Showgirl and Me
2004
NRA dramatized retelling of Colin Clark's experience on the 1957 film "The Prince and the Showgirl" based on the diary he kept throughout production, where he worked as third assistant director.
The Prince, The Showgirl and Me
2004
NRThe highs and lows of Alan Turing's life, tracking his extraordinary accomplishments, his government persecution through to his tragic death in 1954. In the last 18 months of his short life, Turing visited a psychiatrist, Dr. Franz Greenbaum, who tried to help him. Each therapy session in this drama documentary is based on real events. The conversations between Turing and Greenbaum explore the pivotal moments in his controversial life and examine the pressures that may have contributed to his early death. The film also includes the testimony of people who actually knew and remember Turing. Plus, this film features interviews with contemporary experts from the world of technology and high science including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. These contributors bring Turing's exciting impact up to the present day, explaining why, in many ways, modern technology has only just begun to explore the potential of Turing's ideas.
Codebreaker Alan Turing Persecution Of A Genius
2014
6.4A six-night miniseries presenting the history of how the United States was invented, looking at the moments where Americans harnessed technology to advance human progress -- from the rigors of linking the continent by transcontinental railroad to triumphing over vertical space through the construction of steel-structured buildings. The series also is a story of conflict, with Native American peoples, slavery, the Revolutionary War that birthed the nation, the Civil War that divided it, and the great world war that shaped its future.
America: The Story of Us
2010
6.0It's a timeless classic of children's literature and the third most-quoted book in English after the Bible and Shakespeare. But what lies behind the extraordinary appeal of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to generations of adults and children alike? To mark the 150th anniversary of its publication, this film explores the life and imagination of its author, the Reverend Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll. Journalist Martha Kearney delves into the biographies of both Carroll himself and of the young girl, Alice Liddell, who inspired his most famous creation. She discusses the book with a range of experts, biographers and distinguished cultural figures - from actor Richard E Grant to children's author Philip Pullman - and explores with them the mystery of how a retiring, buttoned-up and meticulous mathematics don, who spent almost his entire life within the cloistered confines of Christ Church Oxford, was able to capture the world of childhood in such a captivating way.
The Secret World of Lewis Carroll
2015
6.0It's a timeless classic of children's literature and the third most-quoted book in English after the Bible and Shakespeare. But what lies behind the extraordinary appeal of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to generations of adults and children alike? To mark the 150th anniversary of its publication, this film explores the life and imagination of its author, the Reverend Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll. Journalist Martha Kearney delves into the biographies of both Carroll himself and of the young girl, Alice Liddell, who inspired his most famous creation. She discusses the book with a range of experts, biographers and distinguished cultural figures - from actor Richard E Grant to children's author Philip Pullman - and explores with them the mystery of how a retiring, buttoned-up and meticulous mathematics don, who spent almost his entire life within the cloistered confines of Christ Church Oxford, was able to capture the world of childhood in such a captivating way.
The Secret World of Lewis Carroll
2015
NRDocumentary about the life of Lee Strasberg and the creation of Actor's Studio and the introduction of The Method in the USA.
Lee Strasberg: The Method Man
1997
NRIn this new film from Arena, a cast of musical experts and admirers uncover the truth about the Maria Callas myth and the gift of her extraordinary voice.
Maria Callas: The Final Act
2024
NRIn this new film from Arena, a cast of musical experts and admirers uncover the truth about the Maria Callas myth and the gift of her extraordinary voice.
Maria Callas: The Final Act
2024
8.0The story of Gluck - Britain's cross-dressing high society painter of the 1930s - who staged 'one-man shows', had relationships with women and somehow got away with it.
Gluck - Who Did She Think He Was?
2017
8.0Cindy Sherman is one of the world’s leading contemporary artists. She is also notoriously elusive. So, it is a coup for Arena to get this in-depth and revealing audio interview with her. An exuberant weave of art and archive gives us a rare insight into one of the most influential artists alive today.
Cindy Sherman #untitled
2019
8.0In 1976, the Tate Gallery exhibited an experimental artwork that became a national sensation - Carl Andre's Equivalent VIII, or, to its detractors, 120 bricks laid on the floor. This documentary explores the origins of Andre's work and the extraordinary fallout from its exhibition.
Bricks!
2016
8.0In 1976, the Tate Gallery exhibited an experimental artwork that became a national sensation - Carl Andre's Equivalent VIII, or, to its detractors, 120 bricks laid on the floor. This documentary explores the origins of Andre's work and the extraordinary fallout from its exhibition.
Bricks!
2016
NRHustlaball Berlin is a documentary that bares all while it explores the complete Hustlaball experience. Enter a place where porn stars, Hustlers, DJs, and customers meet on and off the dance floor at the famed Kit Kat Club in Berlin. But here you get a first-hand uncensored look!
Hustlaball Berlin - A Documentary That Bares All
2013
NRA profile of the Australian author and academic whose 1970 book "The Female Eunuch" became an international bestseller and an important part of the feminist movement. Featuring previously unseen archive footage.
Germaine Bloody Greer
2018
NRDefinitive biography of arguably the greatest women's tennis player of all time.
Martina: Farewell to a Champion
1994
An elaborate gay dinner party with good food, good wine, and good conversation.
Out
1991