Patrick McGrady

Patrick McGrady is a BAFTA-nominated TV and film producer/director and Senior Lecturer in Film at Norwich University of the Arts. Before joining Norwich in 2022, he taught at UEA and London College of Communication (UAL) where he was acting Course Leader on the BA in Film & TV. As MD of award-winning production company Wavelength Films, he has directed films for BBC, Sky, History and ITV, and an award-winning feature documentary, ‘Wagner & Me,’ released in cinemas worldwide.

Alongside my work as a teacher and researcher, I’m an RTS award-winning producer and director of documentaries.

I trained as a producer at the BBC (‘The Late Show,’ ‘Taking Liberties’) before working as a freelancer for leading independents including Diverse and Planet 24. In 2004 I established Wavelength Films, working as Executive Producer, Producer or Director on all the company’s output and securing commissions from broadcasters including BBC, Sky, ITV and HISTORY and non-broadcast clients such as the Arts Council and UNESCO. I also managed all other aspects of running a creative company: strategic planning, funding and controlling budgets, building and managing creative teams, nurturing relationships with broadcasters and on-screen talent, marketing, online activity and maximising the value of our IP across different platforms. I have extensive experience of writing successful grant applications and funding bids, securing funding for projects from organisations including the Arts Council, Creative England, EU Media Fund, UNESCO and BFI.

Building on my professional experience as a BAFTA-nominated Producer and Director of history and arts documentaries, my current research and creative practice investigates alternative approaches to documentary film narrative, testing linear, non-linear and interactive approaches to the presentation of historical documentary material.

Practice

Current

• ‘The Brothers Wittgenstein’ (Producer / Director): feature documentary and installation
• ‘The Road Not Taken’ (Writer): screenplay

Filmography

• ‘The Man Who Shot Tutankhamun’ (Producer / Director): 1 x 60’ documentary, BBC
• ‘Sean Bean on Waterloo’(Producer / Director): 2 x 60’ documentary series, History Channel
• ‘Wagner & Me’ (Producer / Director): 1 x 90’ feature documentary, theatrical release in UK, USA, Europe, Australia; Audience Choice Award at Rhode Island International Film Festival and Returning Festival Favourite at Vancouver Film Festival.
• ‘Blood, Sweat and Oils,’ (Executive Producer): 1 x 60’ documentary, BBC4
• ‘Stephen Fry & the Gutenberg Press’ (Producer / Director): 1 x 60’ BAFTA-nominated documentary, BBC
• ‘Felicity Kendal’s Indian Shakespeare Quest’ (Producer / Director): 1 x 60’ documentary, BBC4
• ‘Suggs’ Italian Job’ (Executive Producer): 8 x 30’ series, Sky Arts HD
• ‘Disappearing London,’ (Executive Producer): RTS award-winning series, ITV / Sky
• ‘Time Team,’ (Producer / Director): Channel 4

Other Research Outputs:

• Kubrick’s Lost Prologue (Practice-based Research project)
• Exhibited as part of the LCC ‘Beyond 2001’ Exhibition in January 2018.
• ‘Suggs and the City,’ (co-Author): Headline Books, 2009

Other academic activities

• Current: External Examiner, UEA
• 2019: ‘Amateur, DIY and Imperfect Film,’ (Convenor):Screening & Public Panel, LCC
• 2018: ‘A-Z of a Stand-Out Short,’ (Panel Chair): Screening & Public Panel, Aesthetica Film Festival
• PG Cert, Academic Practice in Arts, Design & Communication
• Awarded Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy

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