Filmmaker’s Biography

Sam Hobkinson has written and directed a broad range of documentary and drama for the small and big screen. His most recent project was FEAR CITY a Netflix Original Documentary series about the struggle between the Mafia and the FBI in 1980s New York. It became the #1 Netflix show in the US, the UK, Ireland, and Canada. His feature film with conceptual artist Damien Hirst: TREASURES FROM THE WRECK OF THE UNBELIEVABLE — in common with MISHA AND THE WOLVES — explored how and why we believe the stories we are told. Among other accolades, he has twice been recipient of the Grierson British Documentary Award: in 2007 for WHO CARES ABOUT ART, a film about the life changing effects that works of art have on those who spend most time around them — the gallery guards, cleaners, and caretakers; and in 2012 for THE LOVE OF BOOKS: A SARAJEVO STORY — the dramatic and moving tale of a group of book lovers who risked their lives to save a priceless collection of Islamic manuscripts during the Siege of Sarajevo. He was the writer and director of experimental BBC period dramas MR LOVEDAY’S LITTLE OUTING and WHO KILLED MRS DE ROPP. His documentary work has varied from landmark arts series such as VENICE for the BBC, to war-zone documentaries and testimony-led films such as the feature length film THE HUNT FOR THE BOSTON BOMBERS, which won the RealScreen Award.