| Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s creative partnership began with McQueen (2018), the theatrical feature documentary they wrote and directed about the iconic fashion designer Alexander McQueen. Described as “supremely engrossing and elegant” by Variety, the film was nominated for two BAFTAs (Best British Film and Documentary). Rising Phoenix (2020) told the thrilling story of the Paralympic movement, which rose from the ashes of the Second World War, transforming attitudes toward disability, and it became the world’s third biggest sporting event. Released globally by Netflix, the film won two Emmys. Before embarking on their latest film, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, Peter, and Ian also created, and executive produced Kingdom of Dreams, the hit four-part docuseries about the seductive but sinister world of luxury fashion for Sky and Fremantle.
Prior to working with Peter, Bonhôte co-founded Pulse Films in 2005 alongside Thomas Benski and Marisa Clifford, directing music videos and commercials for clients such as Puma, Nike, Pepsi, Mumford & Sons, Tom Jones, and fashion designers Matthew Williamson and Hussein Chalayan. After 13 years at Pulse, the company was sold to Vice Media, and Ian left to set up Misfits Entertainment with Andee Ryder. He made his feature film directorial debut with Alleycats (2016), a London-based thriller that was distributed internationally by Universal Pictures in over 25 territories. Apart from Bonhôte’s non-fiction collaborations with Ettedgui, Misfits has also produced the scripted action adventure film Viking Destiny (2019), starring Terence Stamp, and The Contestant (2023), set in the world of 1990s Japanese reality TV, which TIFF’s Thom Powers described as “the most WTF story in this year’s documentary selection.”
Ettedgui began his career as a screenwriter, whose screenplays include the BAFTA-nominated Onegin (1998, directed by Martha Fiennes), an adaptation of Pushkin’s classic tale of unrequited love, starring Ralph Fiennes and Liv Tyler. He went on to produce films such as Kinky Boots (2005, directed by Julian Jarrold), starring Joel Edgerton and Chiwetel Ejiofor, which subsequently became a Tony-winning Broadway musical, and Unmade Beds (2009, directed by Alexis Dos Santos) – both of which received their world premieres at Sundance. Listen to Me, Marlon (2015, directed by Stevan Riley) – a biography of Marlon Brando told through the actor’s personal audio archives – also premiered at Sundance and was Peter’s introduction to the world of non-fiction film-making, for which he received a Peabody Award and an Independent Documentary Award for best writing in a documentary. |
