Biography

Gareth Jones was born London 1951, son of BBC Foreign Correspondent Ivor Jones with whom he travelled to Germany, India and Lebanon. He studied at Westminster School, London, St John's College Cambridge and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, before training as a theatre director with Prospect Theatre Company in the 70s, where he directed Shakespeare, Brecht, Strindberg and Chekov.

He was Director of Productions at bilingual Welsh/English touring company Theatr yr Ymylon and freelanced at the Royal Court Theatre, London, Swan Theatre Worcester and Theatr Clwyd, Mold, where he directed his own plays My People (based on the short stories of Caradoc Evans) and Solidarity.

He published two historical novels Lord Of Misrule (Gollancz/Penguin, serialized on BBC Radio 4) and Noble Savage (Weidenfeld/Sphere) both set in Wales near his family home.

He trained as a television director in 1980 with HTV Wales, moving later to Granada TV where he directed Coronation Street and award-winning comedy drama Brass (BPG Best comedy 1983), which he also produced. He was also the initiating producer of Granada twice-weekly series Albion Market.

From 1984-7 he wrote original television miniseries Fighting Back (BBC2) directed by Paul Seed, and award-winning Shalom Salaam (BBC 2) which he also directed. (Cannes FIPA Best Actress/SACD Best Screenplay 1988)

Other directing for the BBC/C4 includes The Trial Of Klaus Barbie (screened FIPA 1987) Watch With Mother, Seeing In The Dark, Seduction.

In 1990/1 he shot and co-wrote 3-hour documentary Au Nom Du Meme Pere/Born Of The One Father for C4 and TF1.

He has worked extensively as a screenwriter in Europe, credits include Verbotene Zone, Sonntags Geoeffnet, Un Cadeau La Vie, the award-winning Bonhoeffer - Agent Of Grace, Nicht Ohne Dich, Joseph, Mary Magdalen, Thomas and Saul Of Tarsus.

His feature film Desire (2009), nominated Best UK Feature at Raindance 2009, was the first of the D-trilogy of feature films produced by his own company Scenario Films. Delight (2013) premièred in competition at the Moscow International Film Festival in 2013 where it was nominated for Best Feature. Delirium (2017) also premièred in the official selection at Moscow IFF.
- IMDb mini biography by: F Howe