Mark Cousins (filmmaker) explained

Mark Cousins
Birth Place:Coventry, England
Nationality:Northern Irish
Occupation:Film director, screenwriter, producer, author
Years Active:1988–present
Notable Works:

Mark Cousins is an English-born, Northern Irish director and writer. A prolific documentarian, among his best-known works is the 15-hour 2011 documentary .

Career

Cousins interviewed famous filmmakers such as David Lynch, Martin Scorsese and Roman Polanski in the TV series Scene by Scene. He presented the BBC cult film series Moviedrome from June 1997 to July 2000. He introduced 66 films for the show, including the little-seen Nicolas Roeg film Eureka.[1]

In the 1990s and 2000s, Cousins interviewed directors, producers, and actors including Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Tom Hanks, Sean Connery, Brian De Palma, Steve Martin, Lauren Bacall, Jane Russell, Paul Schrader, Bernardo Bertolucci, Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Moreau, Terence Stamp, Jack Lemmon, Janet Leigh and Rod Steiger.

In 2009, Cousins and Tilda Swinton co-founded the "8/2 Foundation".[2] Together they also created a project where they mounted a 33.5-tonne portable cinema on a large truck which was physically pulled through the Scottish Highlands. The travelling independent film festival was featured prominently in a documentary called Cinema is Everywhere. The festival was repeated in 2011.[3] [4]

His 2011 film [5] [6] was broadcast on Channel 4 as 15 one-hour television episodes[7] on More4, and later, featured at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.[8] In September 2013, it began to be shown on Turner Classic Movies (TCM).[9] Drawing on its exhaustive film library, TCM complemented each episode with relevant short films and feature films ranging from the familiar to the rarely seen. TCM received a 2013 Peabody Award "for its inclusive, uniquely annotated survey of world cinema history".[10] [11]

Following The Story of Film was a shorter work: What Is This Film Called Love? a self-photographed diary of his three-day walk around Mexico City, accompanied by his imagined conversation with a photo of Sergei Eisenstein and described as "fatuous" by film bible Variety.[12] Another low-budget, quickly-produced documentary, Here Be Dragons, covers a short film-watching trip he made to Albania and was also poorly received as indulgent and "random".[13]

6 Desires: DH Lawrence and Sardinia was based around an imagined letter from Cousins to the author D. H. Lawrence, who wrote about a 1921 visit to Sardinia.[14] Life May Be was a collaboration with Iranian director and actor Mania Akbari, again making use of Cousins' familiar structural devices of letters, travel imagery, and voiceover commentary, judged "self-advertisement".[15]

A Story of Children and Film was critically better-received. Using footage he shot of his niece and nephew at play as a springboard it muses on the representation of children in cinema.[16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

Cousins subsequently wrote and directed I Am Belfast, in which the city is personified by a 10,000-year-old woman. Portions of the film in progress, with a score by Belfast composer David Holmes were screened at the 2014 Belfast Film Festival.[21] He was working on a three-hour addendum to The Story of Film, on the subject of documentaries, entitled Dear John Grierson.[22]

Cousins took an axe to his own film Bigger Than The Shining after screening to a live audience at the 2017 International Rotterdam Film Festival (IFFR), with the intention of never screeining it again since this was the only copy of the film.[23]

Cousins is the co-artistic director of Cinema China, The Ballerina Ballroom Cinema of Dreams, and A Pilgrimage, with Tilda Swinton. Together with Antonia Bird, Robert Carlyle, and Irvine Welsh, Cousins is a director of the production company 4Way Pictures.[24] Between 2001 and 2011, he wrote for Prospect, and now writes for Sight & Sound and Filmkrant.

Cousins was appointed honorary professor of the University of Glasgow in 2013,[25] as well as being awarded honorary doctorates at both the University of Edinburgh in 2007[26] and University of Stirling in 2014.[27]

He is a patron of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and previously acted as both a programmer and director (1996–1997) of the festival.[28]

He also appeared on Mark Kermode's YouTube channel "Kermode Uncut".[29]

Cousins chairs the Belfast Film Festival, and is a board member of Michael Moore's Traverse City Film Festival.[30] He was a member of the Audentia Award jury at the 42nd Göteborg International Film Festival (GIFF) in 2019,[31] as well as member of the Official Competition jury at the 53rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2018.[32]

In 2019, Cousins was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.[33]

In 2021, he was on the jury for that year's BFI London Film Festival.[34]

His film The Story of Film: A New Generation was first screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021.[35]

Personal life

Born in Coventry, England,[36] Cousins was raised in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland (where he attended St Louis Grammar School), and graduated in film, television and art at the University of Stirling.[21] [37] [38] Since 1984, he has been in a long-term personal relationship with Gill Moreton, a psychologist, whom he met at Stirling; they live in Edinburgh.[39] [40]

In December 2023 he was one of 50 filmmakers who signed an open letter to Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.[41] [42] [43]

Filmography

Year Title Role Format Runtime Notes
1989 Dear Mr Gorbachev Associate Director TV 60m Directed with Michael Grigsby, ITV
1990 Gulf War: Scottish Eye Director TV 38 mins
1993 Another Journey by Train Co-Director and producer TV 59 mins Co-Directed by Mark Forrest
1994 I Know Where I'm Going! Revisited Director TV 40 mins
1996 Ian Hamilton Finlay: In a Wee Way Director TV 38 mins Co-Directed by Mark Forrest
1996 I Remember IKWIG Director TV 40m
1997–2001 Scene by Scene Director and presenter TV 24 Episodes x 60 mins Interviews include Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, David Lynch, Jane Russell, Paul Schrader, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Roman Polanski. Shown on BBC.
1997–2000 Moviedrome Presenter TV 66 Episodes x 5 mins Shown on BBC.
2005 Cinema Iran Director and narrator TV 59 mins Shown on Channel 4. Presented by Omid Djalili
2005 On the Road with Kiarostami Writer and director TV 28 mins
2005 Faith Executive Producer TV movie 102 mins Starring Maxine Peake, Clive Russell and Jason Flemyng.
2008 First Impressions Writer and director Short Film 15 mins Shot in Northern Iraq.
2008 The New Ten Commandments: Kenny Richie Co-Director Film Anthology Film Co-Directed with Irvine Welsh. Shown on BBC Two
2008 The New Ten Commandments: 8 1/2 Co-Director Film Anthology Film Co-Directed with Tilda Swinton. Shown on BBC Two
2008 The New Ten Commandments Contributing Director Film 101 mins Co-Directed of two of the ten Chapters. Shown on BBC Two
2009 The First Movie Writer and director Film 81 mins BAFTA Scotland Award Nominee for ‘Best Single Documentary’, Royal Television Society Award Nominee for ‘Best Arts Documentary’.
2011 Writer, director and narrator Film 930 mins Shown on More4 and Turner Classic Movies.
2011 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero Contributing Director Anthology Film 60 mins
2011 Cinema Is Everywhere Self Film 86 mins Centred on a project between Cousins and Tilda Swinton.
2012 What is this Film Called Love? Writer, director and narrator Film 75 mins A personal film about Mexico City and Sergei Eisenstein
2013 Dear Georges Melies Writer and co-Director Short Film 8 ½ mins Co-Directed with 102 children and Tilda Swinton.
2013 Apollo: Prvo ratno kino Co-Writer Short Film 14 mins
2013 Here be Dragons Writer and director Film 76 mins Centred on Albania
2013 A Story of Children and Film Writer, director and narrator Film 101 mins
2014 Homeless Writer and director Short Film 10 mins
2014 The Wind in the Trees Writer and director Short Film 10 mins
2014 The Place Writer and director Short Film 38 mins
2014 The Big Shave Backwards Writer and director Short Film 1 min
2014 Life May Be Co-Writer and co-Director Film 80 mins Cine-letters between Mark Cousins and Mania Akbari
2014 The Oar and the Winnowing Fan Writer and director Short Film 4 Episodes x Various mins
2014 But Then Again, Too Few to Mention Writer and director Short Film 7 mins
2014 The Film That Buys the Cinema Contributing Writer and director Film 77 mins Alongside Nicolas Roeg, Tony Grisoni, Jennifer Abbott and Peter Strickland.
2014 6 Desires: D. H. Lawrence and Sardinia Writer, director and narrator Film 83 mins
2014 The Place Writer and director Short Film 38 mins
2014 Dear John Grierson Writer and director Short Film 30 mins
2015 Your Eyes Flash Solemnly with Hate Writer and director Short Film 10 mins About the killer of Pier Paolo Pasolini
2015 I Am Belfast Writer, director and narrator Film 86 mins Cinematography by Christopher Doyle
2015 Atomic, Living in Dread and Promise Writer and director[44] Film 72 mins Score by Mogwai. Produced by BBC and the British Film Institute.
2016 Antonia Bird: From EastEnders to Hollywood Executive Producer and Self Film 90 mins About Cousin's late friend Antonia Bird
2016 Stockholm, My Love Co-Writer and director Film 88 mins Cinematography by Christopher Doyle, starring Neneh Cherry and co-written by Anita Oxburgh
2016 Bigger than The Shining Director Film 83 mins Cousins' famously axed the film's DCP (Digital Cinema Package) following a screening in front of a live audience at the 2017 International Rotterdam Film Festival (IFFR). This was done with the intention being for it to never be shown again, this was the only copy of the film.
2016 Eisenstein on Lawrence Writer and director Short Film 9 mins Sergei Eisenstein talks about D. H. Lawrence
2017 Storm in My Heart Director Film 100 mins Experimental film about Susan Hayward and Lena Horne.
2017 The Eyes of Orson Welles Writer, director and narrator Film 110 mins Consulted on and featuring Beatrice Welles, Executive Produced by Michael Moore.
2019 Writer, director and narrator[45] Film 840 mins Starring Thandiwe Newton, Jane Fonda, Tilda Swinton, Sharmila Tagore, Adjoa Andoh and Debra Winger.
2020 Alexander's Film Writer and director Short Film 8 mins
2020 40 Days to Learn Film Writer, director and narrator Film 136 mins
2020 This Violation Director Short Film 8 mins
2020 Dear Paul Schrader Writer and director Short Film 11 mins
2021 The Storms of Jeremy Thomas Writer and director Film 90 mins A road movie with the film producer Jeremy Thomas.
2021 The Story of Looking Writer, director and narrator Film 84 mins Based loosely on the book by Cousins of the same name.
2021 The Story of Film: A New Generation Writer, director and narrator[46] Film 160 mins A sequel to .
2021 The Flowers the Fish and the Cockerel Self / Film Subject Film 83 mins A documentary about Mark Cousins.
2022 March on Rome Writer, director and narrator Film 94 mins A documentary about the ascent of fascism in Italy
2024 A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things Writer and director Film 88 mins A documentary about artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham

Bibliography

Year Title Publisher Notes
1996 Imagining Reality: The Faber Book of Documentary Co-Edited by Kevin Macdonald
2002 Scene by Scene Based upon the BBC TV Series of the same name.
2004 The Story of Film: Book re-issued in 2011 and 2021
2008 Widescreen: Watching Real People Elsewhere 
2017 The Story of Looking re-issued in 2021

Awards and nominations

YearNominated WorkAwardsCategoryResult
2009The First MovieBerlin International Film FestivalManfred Salzgeber Award
2010Prix ItaliaBest Arts or Performing Arts Documentary
Royal Television SocietyBest Arts Documentary
Real to Reel Film and Video FestivalChildren's Jury Prize
The New Ten CommandmentsScottish Refugee Film FestivalBest Broadcast Award
DokumentART FestivalJury Award
2011The First MovieBAFTA Scotland AwardBest Single Documentary
2012Palm Springs International Film FestivalBest Documentary Feature
Traverse City Film FestivalStanley Kubrick Award
What is this Film Called Love?Torino Film FestivalBest International Documentary Film
HimselfScreen International Annual AwardsScreen International Award
HimselfLondon Awards for Art and PerformanceAward for Film
2013Peabody AwardsBest Documentary
Here be Dragons]BFI London Film FestivalGrierson Award
Adelaide Film FestivalBest Documentary
2014Life May BeNew Horizons Film FestivalFilms on Art International Competition
Torino Film FestivalBest International Documentary Film
Edinburgh International Film FestivalBest Documentary Feature Film
2015Fribourg International Film FestivalDon Quixote Award
Grand Prix
I Am BelfastKarlovy Vary International Film FestivalBest Documentary
Adelaide Film FestivalBest Documentary
2016Traverse City Film FestivalStanley Kubrick Award
2018Venice Film FestivalVenezia Classici Award
The Eyes of Orson WellesAdelaide Film FestivalInternational Documentary Award
Biografilm FestivalBest Film Unipol Award
Cannes Film FestivalSpecial Mention
L'Œil d'or
Edinburgh International Film FestivalBest Documentary Feature Film
Odesa International Film FestivalBest European Documentary
2019Barcelona-Sant Jordi International Film FestivalCritics Choice Award
HimselfBritish Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS)Outstanding Achievement Award[47]
2020European Film AwardsInnovative Storytelling
Dublin International Film FestivalBest Documentary – Special Mention
2021The Story of LookingSeville European Film FestivalNew Waves Award
The Storms of Jeremy ThomasCannes Film FestivalL'Œil d'or
The Story of Film: A New Generation
Stockholm Film FestivalBronze Horse
2024A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper ThingsKarlovy Vary International Film FestivalCrystal Globe for best feature film

Festivals accolations

Film FestivalFilmNotes
Edinburgh International Film FestivalThe New Ten CommandmentsOfficial Selection
Official Selection[48]
Official Selection
DokumentART FestivalOfficial Selection
Scottish Refugee Film FestivalOfficial Selection
South by Southwest Film FestivalThe First MovieOfficial Selection[49]
Berlin International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Telluride Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Palm Springs International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Real to Reel Film and Video FestivalOfficial Selection
Prix ItaliaOfficial Selection
European Feature Documentary Film Festival – BelgradeOfficial Selection
Karlovy Vary International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Thessaloniki Documentary FestivalOfficial Selection
Berlin International Film FestivalOfficial Selection[50]
Toronto International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Telluride Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Mill Valley Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Istanbul Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Palm Springs International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Traverse City Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival60 Seconds of Solitude in Year ZeroOfficial Selection
Edinburgh International Film FestivalWhat is this Film Called Love?Official Selection[51]
Telluride Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Karlovy Vary International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Berwick Film & Media Arts FestivalOfficial Selection
Copenhagen International Documentary FestivalOfficial Selection
Morelia International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
New Horizons Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Edinburgh International Film FestivalA Story of Children and FilmOfficial Selection[52]
Toronto International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Vancouver International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Cannes Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Karlovy Vary International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Two Riversides Film and Art FestivalOfficial Selection
Reykjavik International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Hawaii International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Stockholm International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Dubai International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Hong Kong International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
BUFF International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
San Francisco International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Sydney Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Thessaloniki Documentary FestivalOfficial Selection
Brighton FestivalOfficial Selection
BFI London Film FestivalHere be DragonsOfficial Selection
Telluride Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Adelaide Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Cinéma du RéelOfficial Selection
Edinburgh International Film FestivalLife May BeOfficial Selection[53]
Torino Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Fribourg International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Karlovy Vary International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Beirut International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
São Paulo International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Brisbane International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Göteborg Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Tempo Documentary FestivalOfficial Selection
Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent CinemaOfficial Selection
New Horizons Film FestivalOfficial Selection
BFI London Film FestivalThe Film That Buys the CinemaOfficial Selection[54]
London Short Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Lichter Filmfest Frankfurt InternationalOfficial Selection
Kyiv International Short Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Kino Climates WeekendOfficial Selection
Leeds International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
BFI London Film Festival6 Desires: D. H. Lawrence and SardiniaOfficial Selection
Sundance Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Sundance Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent CinemaOfficial Selection
Edinburgh International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Belfast Film FestivalI Am BelfastOfficial Selection
Karlovy Vary International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
BFI London Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Adelaide Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Thessaloniki Documentary FestivalOfficial Selection
South by Southwest Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Seattle International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Haifa Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Biografilm FestivalOfficial Selection
Glasgow Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Traverse City Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Göteborg Film FestivalAtomic, Living in Dread and PromiseOfficial Selection
Thessaloniki Documentary FestivalOfficial Selection
Amsterdam International Documentary Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Stockholm International Film FestivalStockholm, My LoveOfficial Selection
Karlovy Vary International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Belfast Film FestivalOfficial Selection[55]
São Paulo International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
International Film Festival RotterdamBigger Than The ShiningOfficial Selection
Edinburgh International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Cannes Film FestivalThe Eyes of Orson WellesOfficial Selection
Biografilm FestivalOfficial Selection
Edinburgh International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Foyle Film FestivalOfficial Selection[56]
Galway Film FleadhOfficial Selection
Odesa International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Traverse City Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Bergen International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Adelaide Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Amsterdam International Documentary Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Barcelona-Sant Jordi International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Göteborg Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Chongqing Youth Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Rio de Janeiro International Film FestivalOfficial Selection[57]
Mumbai Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Golden Horse Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Hong Kong International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Athens International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Hawaii International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Sheffield DocFestOfficial Selection
Karlovy Vary International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Vancouver International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Melbourne International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Telluride Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Istanbul Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Xining FIRST International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Edinburgh International Film FestivalStorm in My HeartOfficial Selection[58]
International Film Festival RotterdamOfficial Selection
Seattle International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Göteborg Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Dublin International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
European Film AwardsOfficial Selection
Venice Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Toronto International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Telluride Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Documentary FortnightlOfficial Selection
New Femininity Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Ghent Film FestivalOfficial Selection[59]
Seville European Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Melbourne International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Melbourne International Documentary FestivalOfficial Selection
Belfast Film FestivalOfficial Selection
BFI London Film FestivalOfficial Selection
It's All True – International Documentary Film Festival40 Days to Learn FilmOfficial Selection[60]
DocuDays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film FestivalAlexander's FilmOfficial Selection
Cannes Classics Selection (Cannes Film Festival)The Storms of Jeremy ThomasOfficial Selection
Vienna International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Belfast Film FestivalOfficial Selection
BFI London Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Sheffield DocFestThe Story of LookingOfficial Selection
Telluride Film FestivalOfficial Selection[61]
Seville European Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Reykjavik International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Doclisboa International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Cannes Film FestivalThe Story of Film: A New GenerationOfficial Selection
BFI London Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Lumière Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Chicago International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Golden Horse Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Stockholm International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Palm Springs International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Seville European Film FestivalOfficial Selection[62]
Bergen International Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Sydney Film FestivalOfficial Selection
Foyle Film FestivalOfficial Selection[63]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mark Cousins Years . Moviedromer .
  2. Web site: Mark Cousins and Tilda Swinton Officially Announce Their 8 1/2 Foundation. 28 June 2010.
  3. Web site: Ebert . Roger . Our gal Tilda and her magical perambulating film festival Interviews . RogerEbert.com .
  4. Web site: Entertainment | Actress Swinton hauls cinema . BBC News . 4 August 2009 . 2 February 2012.
  5. Web site: Staff . The Story of Film: An Odyssey . 2012 . . 5 February 2012.
  6. News: Scott. A. O. . Your Film of Films: A Sweeping History of an Art . 31 January 2012 . . 31 January 2012 .
  7. Web site: Staff . The Story of Film: An Odyssey – Episodes . 2012 . . 5 February 2012.
  8. Web site: Cousins . Mark . The Story of Film: An Odyssey – Real To Reel . 2011 . . 5 February 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120208010215/http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/storyoffilmanodyssey . 8 February 2012 .
  9. Web site: TCM Monthly Schedule – View the Full TCM TV Schedule. www.tcm.com.
  10. Web site: The Peabody Awards, The Story of Film: An Odyssey (TCM) . Grady College of Journalism and Mass Media, University of Georgia . 2018-07-12 .
  11. Web site: Robert Osborne – The Story of Film: An Odyssey – 2013 Peabody Award Acceptance Speech. 5 December 2014 . www.youtube.com.
  12. Guy Lodge, "Review: 'What Is This Film Called Love?, Variety, 2 July 2012. ("Sprite-like Irish film critic, historian and documaker Mark Cousins has done many commendable things to honor the medium he loves so deeply – notably last year's The Story of Film" – but his fatuous vanity project "What Is This Film Called Love?" is not among them."
  13. Stephen Dalton, "Here Be Dragons: London Review", The Hollywood Reporter, 17 October 2013. ("Shot last year during a short working holiday in Albania, this free-associating documentary initially promises to illuminate a mysterious Balkan backwater rarely seen on screen. Instead, it reveals rather too much about its author, his brainy reading habits, his airline meals, and his random thoughts on culture and politics.")
  14. Brian Moylan, "Sundance 2015 review: 6 Desires: DH Lawrence and Sardinia – Mark Cousins is lost somewhere over The Rainbow", The Guardian, 24 January 2015.
  15. Andrew Pulver, " Life May Be: Edinburgh 2014 review – intensely felt passion with a sense of self-advertisement. Mark Cousins' latest essay film is a two-way love letter to Iranian artist-film-maker Mania Akbari, with intriguing results", The Guardian, 21 June 2014.
  16. Peter Bradshaw, "Cannes 2013: A Story of Children and Film – review", The Guardian, 4 April 2013. ("... one of the most beguiling events at Cannes, appropriately presented in the Cannes Classics section. Mark Cousins' personal cine-essay about children on film is entirely distinctive, sometimes eccentric, always brilliant: a mosaic of clips, images and moments chosen with flair and grace, both from familiar sources and from the neglected riches of cinema around the world.")
  17. Peter DeBruge, "Cannes Film Review: 'A Story of Children and Film, Variety, 18 May 2013.
  18. Tim Robey, "A Story of Children and Film, review: A vivid history of children in front of the camera", The Daily Telegraph, 3 April 2014. ("Something about Mark Cousins’ feyly magisterial presenting style fits the material like a glove in his new documentary – it may be the best thing he's ever done."
  19. [Mark Kermode]
  20. Mark Cousins, "Fountain of youth: how a film-maker recaptured his passion for the craft. Burned out after making the epic documentary The Story of Film, Mark Cousins describes how filming kids having fun helped him find his way back – and create a moving portrait of childhood", The Guardian, 2 April 2014.
  21. Una Brankin, "Mark Cousins: A personal odyssey. As he brings his new film to Belfast, director and critic Mark Cousins tells Una Brankin how he's learning to love his home city once more", Belfast Telegraph, 1 April 2014.
  22. Mark Cousins, "Dear John Grierson: A Postscript to The Story of Film (rough cut). All aboard the good train cinephilia, as Mark Cousins conducts us to lesser-visited stations around the documentary globe", Sight & Sound, 14 August 2014.
  23. Web site: Mark Cousins destroys his own film with an axe at IFFR.
  24. News: Antonia Bird obituary. 28 October 2013. The Guardian. Kate . Hardie.
  25. Web site: Filmmaker Mark Cousins appointed Honorary Professor. www.gla.ac.uk.
  26. Web site: Mark Cousins | Edinburgh College of Art. www.eca.ed.ac.uk.
  27. Web site: Mark Cousins | College of Humanities | University of Exeter. humanities.exeter.ac.uk.
  28. Web site: Mark Cousins | Edinburgh International Film Festival. www.edfilmfest.org.uk.
  29. Web site: Kermode Uncut: Mark Cousins. YouTube. 26 August 2016 .
  30. Web site: About the Festival. The Traverse City Film Festival.
  31. Web site: Lucky One Winner of the Audentia Award. Göteborg Film Festival. 2 February 2019.
  32. Web site: KVIFF | We are introducing juries of the 53rd Karlovy Vary IFF. www.kviff.com. 19 June 2018.
  33. Web site: Dr Mark Cousins FRSE. 15 March 2019. The Royal Society of Edinburgh . 2019-03-15 .
  34. Web site: Competition juries announced for the 65th BFI London Film Festival. BFI. 1 October 2021.
  35. Web site: The Story of Film: A New Generation . Festival de Cannes.
  36. Web site: Mogwai gear up for stunning Coventry Cathedral show. James. Rodger. 8 September 2016. CoventryLive.
  37. Henry Hepburn, "Mark Cousins", TESS, 21 September 2012.
  38. http://www.externalrelations.stir.ac.uk/events/honorary-graduates.php "Honorary Graduates of the University of Stirling" (2013)
  39. Teddy Jamieson, "Interview: Mark Cousins on the end of youth", The Herald, 30 September 2012.
  40. Fiona Reed, "Lip service rustles up a real glass act", The Scotsman, 12 June 1999.
  41. News: 28 December 2023. Gaza : des cinéastes du monde entier demandent un cessez-le-feu immédiat. Libération. fr. 24 January 2024.
  42. Web site: Claire Denis, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Christian Petzold, Apichatpong Weerasethakul & More Sign Demand for Ceasefire in Gaza. Newman. Nick. 29 December 2023. The Film Stage. 24 January 2024.
  43. News: 31 December 2023. Directors of cinema sign petition for immediate ceasefire. The Jerusalem Post. 24 January 2024.
  44. Web site: Cousins. Mark. Atomic, Living in Dread and Promise. BBC Four. Storyville.
  45. Web site: Women Making Films: A New Road Movie Through Cinema. Official Site. 1 September 2018.
  46. News: Thompson. Anne. 8 July 2021. How Mark Cousins Connected Cinema, Again, in 'The Story of Film: A New Generation'. IndieWire. 12 August 2021.
  47. Web site: Outstanding Achievement Award BAFTSS . www.baftss.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200922034457/https://www.baftss.org/outstanding-achievement-award . 2020-09-22.
  48. Web site: The New Ten Commandments « Lansdowne Productions .
  49. Web site: The First Movie. mubi.com.
  50. Web site: The Story of Film: An Odyssey. mubi.com.
  51. Web site: What Is This Film Called Love?. mubi.com.
  52. Web site: A Story of Children and Film. mubi.com.
  53. Web site: Life May Be. mubi.com.
  54. Web site: The Film That Buys the Cinema. mubi.com.
  55. Web site: Stockholm My Love. mubi.com.
  56. Web site: The Eyes of Orson Welles. 15 October 2018. Foyle Film Festival.
  57. Web site: The Eyes of Orson Welles (2018) awards & festivals on MUBI. mubi.com.
  58. Web site: Storm in My Heart. mubi.com.
  59. Web site: Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema (2018) awards & festivals on MUBI. mubi.com.
  60. Web site: 40 Days To Learn Film. mubi.com.
  61. Web site: The Story of Looking (2021) awards & festivals on MUBI. mubi.com.
  62. Web site: The Story of Film: A New Generation (2021) awards & festivals on MUBI. mubi.com.
  63. Web site: FFF | 34th Foyle Film Festival 2021. 21 October 2021. Nerve Centre.