Steve McQueen (director) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sir Steve McQueen CBE
McQueen at the 2024 New York Film Festival
Born	(1969-10-09) 9 October 1969 (age 55) London, England, UK
Alma mater	Goldsmiths, University of London (BFA)
Occupation	Film director film producer screenwriter video artist
Years active	1993–present
Style	Neo-noir experimental social realism
Spouse(s)	Bianca Stigter
Children	2
Awards	Full list

Sir Steve Rodney McQueen (born 9 October 1969) is a famous British film director, producer, and artist. He is known for making movies that explore important and sometimes difficult topics. Sir Steve has won many major awards, including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.

In 2016, he received the BFI Fellowship, a special honor for his work in film. Queen Elizabeth II made him a knight in 2020 for his contributions to art and film. In 2014, Time magazine recognized him as one of the "most influential people in the world."

McQueen first studied painting in London. He then became interested in film at Goldsmiths College and briefly at New York University. He was inspired by filmmakers like Jean Vigo and artists like Andy Warhol. In 1999, he won the Turner Prize for his powerful and emotionally deep artwork.

He directed his first full-length movie, Hunger, in 2008. This historical drama was about the 1981 Irish hunger strike. His next film was Shame (2011), which looked at complex personal struggles. In 2013, he directed 12 Years a Slave, a historical drama that won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He also directed the crime thriller Widows (2018) and the World War II drama Blitz (2024).

For television, he created Small Axe (2020). This series of five films tells stories about London's West Indian community from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. He also directed the BBC documentary series Uprising (2021) and the documentary film Occupied City (2023).

Early Life and Education

Steve McQueen was born in London on 9 October 1969. His parents came to England from Grenada and Trinidad. He grew up in Ealing, West London, and attended Drayton Manor High School.

In an interview, McQueen shared that his school experience was not easy. He was placed in a class for students expected to do manual jobs like plumbing. He later learned that the school's head believed there was institutional racism at that time. McQueen also mentioned he is dyslexic and had a lazy eye, which might have led to him being overlooked.

He loved playing football and played for a youth team called St. George's Colts. He studied art at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, then at Chelsea College of Arts. He continued his art studies at Goldsmiths College, University of London, where he first became interested in filmmaking. He briefly studied at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts but found it too strict. He wanted to experiment more with cameras. His artistic inspirations include Andy Warhol, Buster Keaton, and Jean Vigo.

Filmmaking Career

Early Short Films and Art Projects (1990–2007)

McQueen has mentioned Andy Warhol as an influence on his work.

McQueen's early films were often shown in art galleries. They were usually projected onto walls in a room. Many of these films were in black-and-white and had a simple style. He was influenced by French nouvelle vague films and the works of Andy Warhol. McQueen often appeared in his own films. He met art curator Okwui Enwezor in 1995, who became a mentor and friend.

His first important work was Bear (1993). This film showed two men interacting in a way that could seem playful or serious. Deadpan (1997) recreated a famous stunt by Buster Keaton. In this film, a house collapses around McQueen, but he remains safe because he is standing where a window should be.

Both Bear and Deadpan were silent and in black-and-white. McQueen's first film with sound was Drumroll (1998). For this film, he attached three cameras to an oil drum and rolled it through the streets of Manhattan. The resulting films were projected onto three walls. McQueen also created sculptures and photographs.

He won the Turner Prize in 1999, a major award for British artists. In 2006, he went to Iraq as an official war artist. The next year, he created Queen and Country. This art piece honored British soldiers who died in the Iraq War by showing their portraits on sheets of stamps. He suggested the stamps be used, but the Royal Mail did not agree.

His 2007 short film Gravesend showed how coltan (a metal used in electronics) is processed. It was first shown at The Renaissance Society in the United States.

Breakthrough as a Feature Filmmaker (2008–2018)

McQueen and Michael Fassbender (pictured in 2013) have worked together on several films, starting with Hunger (2008).

In 2008, McQueen's first full-length film, Hunger, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. It was about the 1981 Irish hunger strike. McQueen won the Caméra d'Or award for best first-time director at Cannes. He was the first British director to win this award. The film also won awards at the Sydney Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.

McQueen represented Britain at the 2009 Venice Biennale, an important art exhibition. In 2009, he was set to direct a movie about Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. However, this project later changed, and he remained a writer but not the director.

McQueen at a Q&A for his film Shame at the TIFF in 2011.

In 2011, McQueen's second major film, Shame, was released. It takes place in New York City and stars Michael Fassbender. The film received strong praise from critics. Roger Ebert called it "a powerful film" and "courageous and truthful."

McQueen's next film was 12 Years a Slave (2013). This movie was based on the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery. He worked on plantations in Louisiana for twelve years before being freed. In March 2014, the film won the Academy Award for Best Picture. This made McQueen the first black director or producer to win this top award. Lupita Nyong'o also won an Oscar for her role in the film. Actor and producer Brad Pitt noted that McQueen was the first to ask why there hadn't been more films about American slavery.

McQueen holding his Academy Award for Best Picture in March 2014.

In 2012, McQueen showed a new art installation called "End Credits." It focused on the unfair treatment of Paul Robeson, a famous singer and activist. The installation included over 10 hours of video and audio recordings. It has been shown in many museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2014, McQueen announced plans for a feature film about Robeson.

In 2015, McQueen directed the music video for Kanye West's song "All Day." The video was shown in Paris and later in Los Angeles.

In 2018, McQueen directed Widows. He co-wrote the film with Gillian Flynn. It was based on a 1983 British TV series. Viola Davis starred in this thriller about four armed robbers who are killed. Their widows then decide to finish the job. He also directed a commercial for Chanel's men's fragrance.

Recent Projects (2019–Present)

McQueen at the Middleburg Film Festival in 2024.

In 2019, it was announced that Small Axe, a series of five films created and directed by McQueen, would be released. This series had been in development since 2012. It focuses on "five stories set within London's West Indian community from the late 1960s to the early '80s." Three films from the series premiered at the 2020 New York Film Festival and received great reviews. The series was released weekly starting in November 2020.

Small Axe was a very personal project for McQueen. It showed the community he grew up in. He felt these films should have been made much earlier. He said he didn't have the maturity or strength to make them at the start of his career. The final film in the series, Education, was based on a story from his own life.

The Small Axe films, especially Mangrove and Lovers Rock, received many awards and appeared on critics' top ten lists. Lovers Rock was named the best film of 2020 by Sight and Sound magazine. Both Mangrove and Lovers Rock were chosen for Cannes in 2020. If the festival hadn't been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McQueen would have been the first director to have two films in competition at Cannes in the same year.

In 2023, McQueen directed a World War II documentary called Occupied City. It explores the occupation of Amsterdam by German forces from 1940 to 1945. It premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

He returned to making feature films with Blitz. This movie tells a story about Londoners during "The Blitz" of World War II. McQueen wrote, directed, and produced it. It was the opening film at the BFI London Film Festival on October 9, 2024. It was released in select cinemas in the UK and US on November 1, 2024, and on Apple TV+ on November 22, 2024.

In 2024, McQueen opened an exhibition of light and sound called Bass at the Dia Beacon. It will move to the Schaulager in 2025.

Experimental and Short Films

Bear (1993) was McQueen's first major film. It was shown at the Royal College of Art in London. The film shows two men in a wrestling match, exploring human interaction. Like his other early works, Bear was in black-and-white and shot on 16-millimetre film. It was part of an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

Five Easy Pieces (1995) is a short film by McQueen. It shows a woman walking across a tightrope. McQueen said a tightrope walker represents a mix of being vulnerable and strong.

Just Above My Head (1996) is a short film that also features walking. A man, played by McQueen, is filmed so only his head is visible. It moves up and down with his steps. This film explores the idea of fragility and persistence.

Deadpan (1997) is a four-minute black-and-white short film. Directed by and starring McQueen, it recreates a stunt from Buster Keaton's Steamboat Bill, Jr. The film uses a 1920s film style without simply copying it. It was shown at the Museum of Modern Art for several years.

Exodus (1997) is a 65-second color video. It was inspired by a song by Bob Marley. The film shows two black men carrying potted plants down a London street. They then get on a bus and leave.

Caribs' Leap/Western Deep (2002) are two short films made for documenta 11. Carib's Leap tells the story of the last Carib community on the island of Grenada. In 1651, they chose to jump to their deaths rather than surrender to French colonists. Western Deep explores the experience of working in the TauTona Gold Mine in South Africa. It shows workers in dark, small spaces with very loud drilling noises.

Pursuit (Version 2) (2005) is a 14-minute film. It is a video installation with mirrored walls. The images are hard to see clearly in the low light, creating a confusing and colorful effect.

Running Thunder (2007) is an 11-minute short film showing a dead horse in a field. The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam bought it in 2014.

Ashes (2002–2015) is a two-channel video installation. It uses footage McQueen filmed over ten years on the Caribbean island of Grenada. He first filmed a young man named Ashes in 2002. In 2013, McQueen learned that Ashes had been murdered. He returned to Grenada to film his burial. The installation shows vibrant footage of Ashes' life next to scenes of his death. The sounds of water and tomb construction play at the same time, along with a friend explaining why Ashes was murdered. McQueen said, "Life and death have always lived side by side."

Personal Life

Steve McQueen is married to Bianca Stigter, a Dutch cultural critic. They have a daughter and a son, Alex and Dexter. Since 1997, the McQueens have had homes in Amsterdam and London.

He received several honors for his work. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002. In 2011, he became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his contributions to visual arts. In 2020, Queen Elizabeth II made him a knight for his services to film. He received his knighthood at Windsor Castle in March 2022.

In 2024, he was awarded the Rolf Schock Prize. In October 2024, he and his wife, Bianca Stigter, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Amsterdam. This was for bringing important social, political, and historical topics to a wide audience.

McQueen used to be a fan of the English football club Tottenham Hotspur. However, he said in 2014 that he stopped following football because it affected his day too much.

Views on Society and Film

In 2014, McQueen spoke about how the film industry had not focused enough on American slavery and the Atlantic slave trade. He pointed out that World War II lasted five years, and there are hundreds of films about it and the Holocaust. But slavery lasted 400 years, and there are fewer than 20 films about it.

In June 2020, McQueen stated that the film and television industry in the United Kingdom had issues with racism and a lack of racial diversity. He wrote an article for the Guardian newspaper about the "blatant racism" in the British film industry. He described visiting a film set in London that felt completely different from the diverse city he lived in. He said there were not enough opportunities for black actors in the UK film industry.

In October 2020, he shared that he experienced racism "every day." He also supported the George Floyd protests.

Filmography

Short Films

• Bear (1993)
• Five Easy Pieces (1995)
• Just Above My Head (1996)
• Stage (1996)
• Exodus (1997)
• Deadpan (1997)
• Girls, Tricky (2001)
• Illuminer (2002)
• Western Deep (2002)
• Charlotte (2004)
• Gravesend (2007)
• Giardini (2009)
• Static (2009)
• Ashes (2015)
• Grenfell (2023)

Feature Films

Documentary Film

Television Projects

Awards and Honors

For 12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He also won the BAFTA Award for Best Film and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. McQueen is the first black filmmaker to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. He is also the first person to win both an Academy Award and the Turner Prize.

He received the Award for Cinematic Production from the Royal Photographic Society. He also won the Cologne Film Prize for his life's work. Queen Elizabeth II made McQueen a knight in 2020. He officially received his knighthood at Windsor Castle in March 2022. In 2024, he was awarded the Rolf Schock Prize. In October 2024, he and his wife, Bianca Stigter, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Amsterdam. This honor recognized their work in bringing important social and historical topics to a large audience.

See also

In Spanish: Steve McQueen (director) para niños