
Directing
Martin Bell
Born
1943-01-16 (83)
Place of birth
USA
Known for
Directing
Credits
20 titles
Martin Bell is an American film director best known for films such as Streetwise and American Heart.
Known for
6.4An ex-convict is tracked down by his estranged teenage son, and the pair try to build a relationship and life together in Seattle.
American Heart
1992
3.5Set against the backdrop of the true story of the largest cash robbery in the history of the USA.
Brotherhood of Murder
1999
7.7This documentary about teenagers living on the streets in Seattle began as a magazine article. The film follows nine teenagers who discuss how they live by panhandling, prostitution, and petty theft.
Streetwise
1984
6.0Director Martin Bell revisits Erin Blackwell, one of the subjects of his 1984 documentary STREETWISE.
Erin
2005
6.9Recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, 17th and 18th of April 1983. Originally, the video was released along with a video EP of the 'missing tracks'. The remastered DVD puts the entire show back together again. DVD extras were recorded at the Marquee club in London, in December 1982.
Marillion: Recital of the Script
1983
7.0Filmmaker Martin Bell chronicles the life of Erin Blackwell, mother of 10 children, from the time she was a 14-year-old prostitute through her battle with drug addiction, poverty and parenting.
Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell
2016
Behind the camera
6.4An ex-convict is tracked down by his estranged teenage son, and the pair try to build a relationship and life together in Seattle.
American Heart
1992
3.5Set against the backdrop of the true story of the largest cash robbery in the history of the USA.
Brotherhood of Murder
1999
7.7This documentary about teenagers living on the streets in Seattle began as a magazine article. The film follows nine teenagers who discuss how they live by panhandling, prostitution, and petty theft.
Streetwise
1984
6.0Director Martin Bell revisits Erin Blackwell, one of the subjects of his 1984 documentary STREETWISE.
Erin
2005
6.9Recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, 17th and 18th of April 1983. Originally, the video was released along with a video EP of the 'missing tracks'. The remastered DVD puts the entire show back together again. DVD extras were recorded at the Marquee club in London, in December 1982.
Marillion: Recital of the Script
1983
7.0Filmmaker Martin Bell chronicles the life of Erin Blackwell, mother of 10 children, from the time she was a 14-year-old prostitute through her battle with drug addiction, poverty and parenting.
Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell
2016
5.1Story of a man whose pride in being the head of his family won't let him accept help from his sick daughters doctor. He has to prove to his kids that even with the death of his wife and the loss of his job that they can and will survive. After hitting brick wall after brick wall comes a glimmer of hope.
Hidden in America
1996
NRThis special documentary chronicles Billy Joel's 1987 concert tour in the Soviet Union. The program features concert footage and clips of Joel and his band interacting with different groups of Soviet people.
A Matter of Trust: Billy Joel in the USSR
1988
8.0Contains the following music videos: All I Wanna Do Soak Up The Sun My Favorite Mistake The First Cut Is The Deepest Everyday Is A Winding Road Leaving Las Vegas Strong Enough If It Makes You Happy Run, Baby, Run Steve McQueen A Change Would Do You Good Home There Goes The Neighborhood Anything But Down The First Cut Is The Deepest (live) *todo fix order
The Very Best of Sheryl Crow: The Videos
2004
NRProm is an American tradition—a rite of passage and one of the most important rituals of American youth; a day that is never forgotten—a day full of hopes and dreams for the future. For four years, from 2006-2009, filmmaker Martin Bell and photographer Mary Ellen Mark travelled around the country and documented proms. They went to twelve high schools in 10 cities, covering a wide range of ethnic and economic groups. While Mary Ellen Mark made portraits of the Prom-goers with the 20x24 Polaroid camera, Martin Bell interviewed the students in an adjacent studio. When the project finally came to a close, Bell had interviewed over three hundred students.
Prom
2010
NRProm is an American tradition—a rite of passage and one of the most important rituals of American youth; a day that is never forgotten—a day full of hopes and dreams for the future. For four years, from 2006-2009, filmmaker Martin Bell and photographer Mary Ellen Mark travelled around the country and documented proms. They went to twelve high schools in 10 cities, covering a wide range of ethnic and economic groups. While Mary Ellen Mark made portraits of the Prom-goers with the 20x24 Polaroid camera, Martin Bell interviewed the students in an adjacent studio. When the project finally came to a close, Bell had interviewed over three hundred students.
Prom
2010
6.0Filmmaker Martin Bell reconnects with Rat, one of the subjects of his 1984 documentary STREETWISE.
Streetwise Revisited: Rat
2021
6.0Filmmaker Martin Bell reconnects with Rat, one of the subjects of his 1984 documentary STREETWISE.
Streetwise Revisited: Rat
2021
NRBetween 1989 and 1990, photographer Mary Ellen Mark went to India to document the lives of circus performers—a journey that resulted in her book “Indian Circus,” published in 1993. In 1992, Mark and director Martin Bell returned to India to film many of the same performers. The resulting short, THE AMAZING PLASTIC LADY (1995), focuses on Pinky, a ten-year-old acrobat who, like the children in STREETWISE, lives on society’s margins. The film also continued Bell’s work with editor Nancy Baker.
The Amazing Plastic Lady
1995
NRBetween 1989 and 1990, photographer Mary Ellen Mark went to India to document the lives of circus performers—a journey that resulted in her book “Indian Circus,” published in 1993. In 1992, Mark and director Martin Bell returned to India to film many of the same performers. The resulting short, THE AMAZING PLASTIC LADY (1995), focuses on Pinky, a ten-year-old acrobat who, like the children in STREETWISE, lives on society’s margins. The film also continued Bell’s work with editor Nancy Baker.
The Amazing Plastic Lady
1995
6.0Director Martin Bell revisits Erin Blackwell, one of the subjects of this documentary STREETWISE.
Tiny at 20
1993
Circus of Dreams follows the life of 11-year-old Pinky as she practices under the supervision of her trainer, Pratap Singh
Circus of Dreams
1993
Circus of Dreams follows the life of 11-year-old Pinky as she practices under the supervision of her trainer, Pratap Singh
Circus of Dreams
1993
NRA story about an extraordinary 11 year old boy and his community.
Alexander
2006
NRThere are few things in life that engage the eye or are more mesmerising than identical twins. Every aspect of their appearance is remarkable from the exact duplication of their features right down to the exact position of their freckles. Each year in August, Twinsburg, Ohio, is host to a festival that attracts almost 2000 twins, triplets and quadruplets. It is an extraordinary gathering that Mary Ellen Mark and Martin Bell visited in the summer of 2001-2002 . Martin Bell made Twins in the summer of 2002, while Mary Ellen Mark was completing the photography for her book Twins. Mark’s studio was a tent, pitched on a volleyball court, at the Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio. When Mark finished photographing a set of twins, they were directed to a small studio behind the backdrop. The twins were interviewed in front of two cameras. The interviews were guided by a set of twenty questions, which Mark and Bell developed to provide a structure for the film.
Twins
2002
