Christopher Lee Ball is a director and producer specialising in short documentary films. His most recent credits include Illuminating Small Dark Places, a documentary about the making of a short drama commissioned as part of a multi-platform project for BBC THREE, Constable 027, a portrait of an ordinary policeman with an extra-ordinary story, and The Zebras of Jack Tizard, the story of five incredible special needs children at the Jack Tizard School in London, made for the 2008 BBC Young Filmmakers Project. Christopher’s influences range from classic literature to contemporary popular culture and everything in between. Amongst his cinematic idols are fiction film directors ranging from Roberto Rossellini to George Romero; documentary filmmakers he holds in high esteem include Jean Rouche, Nick Broomfield, and Eric Black.
Christopher’s style is a mixture of journalistic exposition and observation, although he is keen to explore pure observation in upcoming projects. His visual tastes are predominantly classical and generally formal; he values composition and sound as much as story. His thematic interests are broad but based primarily on the human experience. So far his films have focused on subjects as varied as the filmmaking process, children with profound disabilities, and gay police officers. He is especially intrigued by individuals with non-standard lifestyles who question and challenge the norm. He is also interested in the dialectic of the urban/rural experience, doubtlessly an obsession left over from his transplantation from a conservative area in Western North Carolina to New York City in 1995.
Christopher was born in 1976 in Asheville, North Carolina. At 18 he left the South for the bright lights of New York City. Since 2005 he has lived and worked in London. He has a BA in English Literature and Art History from Columbia University, an MA in Film Theory from University College London, and a certificate in documentary film direction from the National Film and Television School.
Get to know Christopher's work in the Portfolio section and learn more about his thoughts on film, art, and architecture in Musings.
| Christopher Lee Ball on the BBC |