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Phil Grabsky

Phil Grabsky

Director, producer, writer and cinematographer · Born January 1, 1964 (62)

BAFTA Award winner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Phil Grabsky is a British documentary film-maker based in Brighton, East Sussex. His company Seventh Art Productions has produced documentaries for television and cinema. Grabsky’s work such as I, Caesar, Spain - In the Shadow on the Sun, The Great Commanders and the Tim Marlow on... series, has been broadcast on various U.K. channels such as BBC, Channel 4, Five and Sky Arts, and internationally around the world. His film The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan was released in cinemas in 2003 and tells the story of 8-year-old Mir and his family living in post-Taliban Afghanistan. The film has been shown across the globe and won 13 awards including the Gold Hugo in Chicago for Best Film and first prize at the Valladolid International Film Festival. Phil is continuing to film Mir and his family in Afghanistan. 2006 saw the completion of In Search of Mozart. The film illustrates the life and work of the composer through interviews and live performance. The film premiered at London’s Barbican concert hall. Subsequently it has gone on to become one of the top 100 grossing documentaries in Australia. Heavy Water: A Film for Chernobyl (2006) explores the Chernobyl nuclear disaster through Mario Petrucci’s poetry. Phil worked in conjunction with director David Bickerstaff for this project which went on to win Best Short Documentary at the Cinequest International Film Festival. In 2007 Grabsky completed Escape from Luanda which tells the tale of three students at Angola’s only music school. Phil Grabsky's most recent film In Search of Beethoven, focusing on the life and work of the German composer was released in 2009. In addition to making films, Phil has released four books and often serves as a judge for various awards including BAFTA, Emmys, RTS and the One World awards. Description above from the Wikipedia article Phil Grabsky, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1964 (62)
Works as
Director, producer, writer and cinematographer
Titles
18 on MovieCove · 59 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 28% in 30 days

What are Phil Grabsky's films like?

Across their 18 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Ideas and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Ideas
52%
Society
30%
Self
16%
Power
2%
Art13 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy10 titles, browse their movies with this themeTruth7 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity3 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 15 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 13 · Serious 2 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 10 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 0

Gentle: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their gentle movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 13 · Charged 2 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 15 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 13 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 1

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 13 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 7 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 1

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 11 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
17
Warm
7
Hopeful
4
Joyful
3
Elegiac
3
Other
9

How their films linger

Thought-provoking10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy3
  • Bittersweet8
  • Ambiguous5
  • Cyclical2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Phil Grabsky's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Phil Grabsky's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

59 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page.

  • James McNeill Whistler (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Producer

  • Turner & Constable (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Producer

  • Caravaggio(2025)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Exhibition on Screen: The Dawn of Impressionism - Paris, 1874(2025)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers(2024)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • My National Gallery(2024)

    Director · Executive Producer · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • John Singer Sargent: Fashion and Swagger (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Producer

  • Klimt & The Kiss (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Producer

  • Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition(2023)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • Exhibition on Screen: Hopper - An American Love Story(2022)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Pissarro: Father of Impressionism (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)

    Director

  • Raphael Revealed (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Director

  • My Childhood, My Country: 20 Years in Afghanistan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Director · Producer

  • Easter in Art (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Director

  • Lucian Freud: A Self Portrait (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Producer

  • Leonardo: The Works (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director · Executive Producer · Writer

  • Young Picasso (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)

    Director

  • Rembrandt: From the National Gallery, London and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Producer · Writer

  • Cézanne: Portraits of a Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director · Writer

  • David Hockney at the Royal Academy of Arts (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director

  • The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director

  • El fascinante mundo de El Bosco (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director

  • I, Claude Monet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

  • The Curious World of Hieronymus Bosch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • Renoir: Revered and Reviled(2016)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Executive Producer · Producer

  • Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Writer

  • Concerto: A Beethoven Journey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • The Impressionists: And the Man Who Made Them (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • Vincent Van Gogh: A New Way of Seeing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • Girl with a Pearl Earring: And Other Treasures from the Mauritshuis(2015)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Matisse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director

  • In Search of Chopin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Director · Writer

  • Rembrandt: From the National Gallery, London and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam(2014)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Vermeer and Music (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Director

  • Munch 150 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Executive Producer

  • Manet: Portraying Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Director

  • Leonardo: From the National Gallery, London (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director · Writer

  • In Search of Haydn(2012)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Exhibition on Screen: History's Greatest Painters(2012)

    Show Director · Writer

  • The Boy Mir (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Director

  • Making War Horse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Director · Producer

  • In Search of Beethoven(2009)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Escape from Luanda (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director

  • Heavy Water: A Film for Chernobyl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Writer

  • In Search of Mozart(2006)

    Director · Cinematographer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • The Boy who plays On The Buddhas Of Bamiyan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Cinematographer

  • The Great Commanders (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Show Creator

  • The Surprising History of Sex and Love(2002)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • The Hidden History of Rome (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director

  • The Surprising History of Egypt(2002)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Director

  • Nero's Golden House(2001)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Ancient Inventions(1998)

    Show 3 episodes · Director · Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all shows

  • The Impressionists with Tim Marlow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Show 8 episodes · Director · Producer

  • In Nelson's Footsteps(1997)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Julius Caesar: Master of the Roman World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • American Masters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Cinematographer · Writer

  • Manet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Cinematographer

Career shape

A full career of 56 titles, 55 of them dated from 1986 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers (2024)

$525K worldwide

Most popular right now

Ancient Inventions (1998)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing40 of 56: 21 only directing, 19 with another role · typical Midcredits score84thWriting16 of 56: 2 only writing, 14 with another role · typical Midcredits score86thProducing22 of 56: 11 only producing, 11 with another role · typical Midcredits score88thCinematography8 of 56: 1 only cinematography, 7 with another roleOther crew1 of 56: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

56 titles, 20 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 10 of them.

By decade

1980s1 · crew1990s3 · crew2000s12 · crew2010s25 · crew2020s14 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

a BAFTA Award from 2 major nominations, 2022.

WinNomination
  1. 2022
    • BAFTA Award, won · Single Documentary
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Photography, Factual

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Phil Grabsky's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 87th percentile, the median of all 15; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 83rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

83rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Approval · how many liked their films

82ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Reach · how many have seen their films

23rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 15

Midcredits score across 17 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up14
  • 50th to 74th3

Shape of the crowd

10 of their 17 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser10
  • Mixed4

Most divisive · producer

Rembrandt: From the National Gallery, London and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (2014)

82nd percentile spread · 17% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

Girl with a Pearl Earring: And Other Treasures from the Mauritshuis (2015)

Midcredits 91st · 84% liked

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Phil Grabsky work with?

People who share at least 2 of Phil Grabsky's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Amanda Wilkie shares the most, 8.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers

  • Amanda Wilkie8 titles    See all 8 shared titles with Amanda Wilkie