Katinka Blackford Newman,Producer/Director

Katinka Blackford Newman

Producer/Director, Edit Producer

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About Katinka Blackford Newman

I'm an award-winning documentary film director, writer and producer with countless hours of high-end broadcast TV to my name. I have over 25 years of working in television and have made films for major international broadcasters and streamers including Discovery, National Geographic, HBO Max, BBC TV, ITV, and Channel 4

I trained at BBC TV and specialise in true crime and character- driven stories from all over the world

I'm an award-winning documentary film director, writer and producer with countless hours of high-end broadcast TV to my name. I have over 25 years of working in television and have made films for major international broadcasters and streamers including Discovery, National Geographic, HBO Max, BBC TV, ITV, and Channel 4

I trained at BBC TV and specialise in true crime and character- driven stories from all over the world - from one of Channel 4 /Discovery's highest ever rated documentaries on morbid obesity to a mother's painful journey to bring her daughter in law long to justice for murdering her son, to a film about a woman's pathological need to lie that she is dying of cancer.

I have recently finished as writer and director of a feature length documentary for HBO Max, a world exclusive tracing the rise and fall of a well-known pornographer . In production over lockdown, the film features stories from women whose lives have been upturned and are sharing their stories for the first time.

I am an experienced drama/documentary director and have written and directed seven films for the Grierson nominated series Locked Up Abroad for National Geographic. (including the first series). One of my films was nominated for an Emmy (Locked UP Peru).

Other drama/documentary credits in which I've written, directed and edited whole episodes include I Shouldn't Be Alive, Fatal Attraction, The Lake Erie Murders and Autopsy: The Last Hours Of....

I've directed drama crews of over 100 in extreme locations such as Peruvian prisons, jungles in the Philippines and the Atlantic ocean.

My directing experience includes complex shoots - night time underwater shipwreck scenes, fatal animal attacks with real bears , army shoot outs in the Malaysian jungle and murder re-enactments.

As a writer/director I'm an accomplished storyteller and have turned true stories into drama scripts within tight time frames.

With a love of working with people, I'm able to inspire loyalty and bring out excellence in those I work with, from actors and interviewees, to teams of producers, editors
and researchers.




Credits

Tour de France Unchained

( Sep 2023 - Nov 2023 )

Box to Box / Netflix

Edit Producer

Six Nations: Full Contact

( July 2023 - Sep 2023 )

Box to Box / Netflix

Edit Producer

Black Messiah

( Jan 2023 - July 2023 )

Zandland Films / NBC

Development Producer

We Need to talk about Kevin Spacey

( Sep 2022 - Dec 2022 )

Darlow Smithson

Development Producer

The Murder Trail

( May 2022 - Sep 2022 )

BBC Studios

Producer/Director

Girls Gone Wild: Joe Francis Exposed

( May 2021 - Nov 2021 )

Raw TV

Director

Murders at the Boarding House

( Jan 2021 - Feb 2021 )

Monster

Edit Producer

A Mother's Load

( Oct 2020 - Jan 2021 )

Raw

Director

The Lake Erie Murders

( July 2019 - Nov 2019 )

Talos Films

Director

Body Bizarre

( Oct 2018 - Feb 2019 )

Zig Zag

Edit Producer

View more Credits

Equipment

Additional Information

Industries

Film, TV

Programme Types

Current Affairs, Documentary, Docusoap, Drama Reconstruction, Dramatised Documentary, Health, Investigative, Observational Documentary

Specialisms

Crime, Drama, Health, Human Rights, Journalism, Location Filming, Mental Health, Paranormal, Parenting, Programme Development, Psychology, Sex Industry, Social Issues, Womens Issues

Employment History

Experienced, award-winning,observational and drama/doc producer/director.

2021 Director/Writer Rich and Shameless: Girls Gone Wild - Joe Francis Exposed

2020/2021 Director/Writer A Mother's Load (for Locked Up Abroad)

2019/2020 Producer/Director The Lake Erie Murders

2019 Edit Producer Body Bizarre

2018 Producer/Director Autopsy: The Last Hours Of

Experienced, award-winning,observational and drama/doc producer/director.

2021 Director/Writer Rich and Shameless: Girls Gone Wild - Joe Francis Exposed

2020/2021 Director/Writer A Mother's Load (for Locked Up Abroad)

2019/2020 Producer/Director The Lake Erie Murders

2019 Edit Producer Body Bizarre

2018 Producer/Director Autopsy: The Last Hours Of

2017 Edit Producer Raised Human

2016 /2017 Development Producer Panorama 1 hour special, Prescription for Murder, based on research from my book (see below)

2015 Wrote a bestselling book on big pharma corruption and began a campaign on same subject.

2013/2014 Producer/Director "I escaped the Yorkshire Ripper", Britespark.

2012 Producer/director "Fatal Attraction" (Oxford Scientific) , for Animal Planer

2011 Producer/Director "I Shouldn't Be Alive", (Darlow Smithson), for Discovery.

2010 Producer/Director "I'm Alive" (Gurney Productions) Drama/ Doc for Animal Planet.

2009 Producer/Director "Cutting Edge". (Two Four Productions). "Good Will Hunting." Ob doc on a company who traces heirs.

2008 Producer/Director "Kidnapped Abroad"(Raw TV). Nat Geo and C5.
Drama reconstruction shot in Malaysia of the story of hostages captured by a militant group and kept in the jungle.

2008 Producer/Director "Trouble in Paradise" (Raw TV) Sequel to Banged Up Abroad - drama/doc shot in Korea and the Philippines.

2007 Producer/Director "Banged Up Abroad" (Raw TV) C5 and National Geographic. Drama/doc shot in Peru.UK.This series won Grierson award for best documentary series and this film nominated for International Emmy nomination.

2006 Producer/Director "You Don't Know You're Born". ITV (Wall to Wall).Actor Ken Stott discovers what his ancestors did for a living. Reviewed as best in the series.

2006 Producer/Director "One Life" The Woman Who Couldn't Stop Lying, BBC TV. First programme in the series and nominee in Broadcast awards "Best documentary" section. Story of three men re-united with the woman who conned them all that she was dying of cancer. "a superlative documentary" (The Times).

2006: Producer/Director "Banged up Abroad", Channel 5 (Raw TV). One hour drama/documentary shot with actors on location in Hong Kong and Australia. Amazing story of a Watford boy who thought he could make his fortunre in a one off drug deal that nearly cost him his life.

2005:Producer/Director "Bodyshock",
"Half Ton Man" Channel 4/Discovery (Mentorn TV) One hour doc on the super super obese in America.
Got 5 million on C4, and was highest ever rated documentary on Discovery.

2004/2005 Producer/Director "Real Life", ITV. "A Murder In The Family"(Granada)
"An important documentary" - Nancy Banks-Smith
"deeply disturbing and compelling" - The Observer
Documentary following a mother's journey to the Philippines to confront her daughter-in-law for murdering her son.

2004 Neighbourhoods From Hell. ITV
Producer/Director - what it says on the tin!
(Granada)

2003 Development Producer/Director C5 documentary about Genetic Sexual Attraction.
(September Films)

2002 "Under the Knife" Producer/Director prime time ITV one hour documentary on cosmetic surgery
(Granada)

2001 "Money, Money, Money", Director BBC 1 one hour prime time documentary series featuring stories about psychology of money.
(Siguy Films)

2000 "Witness" for Channel 4. Producer /Director one hour documentary -"Surrendered Wives" featuring L.A. women hoping for a more intimate marriage by "surrendering" to their husbands.
- "A joy to watch", Sunday Observer.
-"A wonderful piece of Television", The Guardian.
- "very funny, very moving", Radio Times
(Lion TV)

1999 "Looking for Love," ITV.
Series Producer/Director.8x30min. docu-soap about singles in search of romance
(Meridian)

1998 "Animal E.R." C5: Producer/Director
6 x 30 min. docu-soap.
(United)

1998 "Bombay Bimbo": C5: Producer/Director 30 min. documentary following a woman going to India to help street children.
(Thames TV)

1998 "Wish You Were Here". Director.Working with various celebs in locations around the world
(Pearson TV)

1998 "Was it Good For You" C5. Producer/Director observational travel documentary series.
(Thames TV)

1997 "Network First" "Cut Price Package",ITV. Producer /Director one hour documentary about a group of British women going to Poland for cut price plastic surgery.
- "Grimly fascinating", Sunday Times.
-"My choice of documentary of the week", OK magazine.
(Man Alive Group)

1995 "Bodycounts", BBC. Producer/Director series about poverty and health in Glasgow.
(BBC Scotland)

1993 40 Minutes : BBC "Caraline's Story": Producer 40 min. documentary about 28 year old Caraline's decision to commit a slow suicide through anorexia.
- "often painful, but ultimately enlightening", The Independent.
(BBC Documentary Features.
Winner Mental Health Media Award for best documentary.

1993 "Food File" C4. Film Director food magazine programme
(Stephens Kerr Associates)

1993 "Crime Ltd", BBC. Film Director
(BBC Documentaries)

1994 "Public Eye", BBC. Assistant Producer various current affairs documentaries.
(BBC Current Affairs)

1994 "Here & Now" BBC Assistant Producer on flagship current affairs magazine programme
(BBC Current Affairs)

1994 "Black Bag" C4 Assistant Producer documentary about bogus marriages
(Clark Productions)

1990 "That's Life" BBC Assistant Producer
(BBC Features)

1988-1989 "Hearts Of Gold", BBC Assistant Producer
(BBC Features)

1988 "Kilroy", BBC. Researcher
(BBC Features)

Additional Information

Industries

Film, TV

Programme Types

Current Affairs, Documentary, Docusoap, Drama Reconstruction, Dramatised Documentary, Health, Investigative, Observational Documentary

Specialisms

Crime, Drama, Health, Human Rights, Journalism, Location Filming, Mental Health, Paranormal, Parenting, Programme Development, Psychology, Sex Industry, Social Issues, Womens Issues