Rupert Clague
Rupert Clague (born 23 October 1990) is a Canadian-British filmmaker and writer. He directs, produces, self-shoots, edits, and currently runs production company Handsome Beast which he founded in 2015. In recent years his film career has taken him into the Amazon rainforest with Director Werner Herzog; on the road with Formula E; in search of shaman performances in South East Asia; on ride alongs with homicide detectives in the Southern United States; into secretive Amish communities in Pennsylvania; into the sanctum of Sunderland A.F.C.; train hopping across the United States; and down a waterslide with Jeff Goldblum.[1][2]
Rupert Clague | |
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![]() Clague filming in the Amazon jungle | |
Born | Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada | 23 October 1990
Occupation | Director, producer, writer |
Website | handsomebeast |
Early life
Rupert Clague was born on 23 October 1990 in Thunder Bay, Canada and raised in both Dundas, Ontario, Canada and the Isle of Man.[2]
He graduated from King William's College in the Isle of Man in 2009 and was educated at both the University of California, Berkeley and King's College London.[3]
Career
TV work
Clague has worked on documentaries all over the world, including Emmy nominated The World According to Jeff Goldblum (Disney+), Stories of a Generation with Pope Francis (Netflix) for which he interviewed anthropologist Jane Goodall, Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father (Netflix), Sunderland 'Til I Die (Netflix), The Culture Show (BBC), and The Secret Life of Books (BBC).[4][5]
In 2021, Clague Series Directed Change Accelerated, a twelve part series exploring the world surrounding Formula E for the BBC.[6][7]
Film work
In May 2018, Clague joined Director Werner Herzog in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest for a filmmaking expedition with Black Factory Cinema. Under Herzog's guidance, Rupert produced, directed, shot, and edited Jacob's Ladder in the jungle.[8][9]
In November 2018, with support from Shure, Rupert directed Sounds of the Sunset with adventurer Leon McCarron, a film about the Sunset Limited train that runs from New Orleans, Louisiana to Los Angeles, California in the United States.[10]
In April 2020, he launched Tell Me in collaboration with a group of international filmmakers. Setting up a series of voicemail boxes around the world, the collective encouraged people to call and leave messages with thoughts they were having during the COVID-19 pandemic. These calls were brought together as a documentary film to create a unique portrait of humanity in isolation. The film had a successful festival run in 2021.[11]
Clague co-wrote and co-directed Pawsea (or: The Melancholy Ruminations of a Solitary French Bulldog) with Tom Gentle, an adaptation of Jean-Paul Sartre's La Nausée (Nausea) from the perspective of a dog. The film premiered at Flickerfest and played at festivals around the world, including Riverrun.[12][13] Clague previously collaborated with Gentle on an adaptation of Canadian author Alistair MacLeod's In the Fall from Island: The Collected Stories.[3][14][15]
At present, Clague is directing his next feature film, Cathedral of the Hands about the pianist and pioneer of Continuous Music Lubomyr Melnyk.[16]
Clague currently runs the production company Handsome Beast.[1]
Writing
He is the author of 'For a single moment my voice is everything: David Berman's Actual Air and the experience of time stopping', a long form essay exploring the poetry of Silver Jews founder and poet David Berman. All proceeds were donated to MusiCares.[17]
His work has also appeared in No Film School and The Guardian.[18]
References
- "Handsome Beast". www.handsomebeast.tv. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- "Rupert Clague – Battle of Ideas 2018".
- "Rupert looks for funds to make movie | News | Isle of Man". iomtoday.co.im. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- "Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father (TV Series 2017– )". IMDb. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- "IMDB". IMDb.
- "Change Accelerated".
- "Change Accelerated Behind the Scenes".
- "Filmando en Perú con Werner Herzog – 5º taller práctico de autores en las selvas del amazonas peruano". blackfactorycinema.com. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- "Wooden Camera". 16 January 2019.
- "In tumultuous times, the oldest railroad in America still brings people together". Adventure.com. 1 March 2019.
- Galton, Bridget (21 April 2020). "Call the 'voicemail confessional' and say how you feel about pandemic". Hampstead Highgate Express.
- "Flickerfest | Pawsea (Or: The Melancholy Ruminations Of A Solitary French Bulldog".
- "Pawsea".
- "Alistair MacLeod short story to be filmed in Scotland | CBC News". cbc.ca. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- "Glasgow-based filmmakers wrap shooting in Hoy - The Orcadian Online". orcadian.co.uk. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- "Cathedral of the Hands".
- "For a Single Moment — Rupert Clague - Handsome Beast".
- Clague, Rupert (3 July 2020). "Wanted dead or archive: how film-makers repurpose old footage". the Guardian.