Mike Figgis

Figgis was born in Carlisle, Cumberland, and grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, until he was eight. The rest of his childhood was spent in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he was educated at Kenton Comprehensive School (the musicians Ian Carr and John Walters were among his teachers there). He studied music at Trent Park College, then part of the Institute of Education, University of London, where he "lived a lie" for three years – he had, in his words, "bluffed [his] way into the music course without being able to read music", although he later learned how to study harmony, counterpoint and composition. == Career ==

Figgis's early interest was in music. He played trumpet and guitar on their first record (produced by Charlie Watts) in 1968. He also played keyboards for Bryan Ferry's first band, The Gas Board. In 1983, he directed a theatre play, produced in Theatre Gerard-Philipe (Saint-Denis, Paris). This play performed with great success at Festival de Grenada and in Theater der Welt (Munich). After working in theatre (he was a musician and performer in the experimental group People Show) To promote a new camera phone, Sony Ericsson commissioned Figgis to create Life Captured, a short film made out of mobile phone snapshots taken by 14 people from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, who were selected to submit a series of photos after winning the global competition. ==Educational career==

Figgis, since 2008, has been professor of film studies at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where he conducts intensive summer seminars. Figgis was made an Honorary Associate of London Film School. ==Filmography==

Film Documentary film Television TV movies TV series ==Bibliography==