This week as her special guest from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing award-winning film director Bobby Roth. Over his long career Bobby has directed more than 80 episodes of television, 25 TV movies, and 13 feature films. For his entire career he has alternated between commercial television and independent filmmaking. Bobby’s independent films have been exhibited in over 100 film festivals worldwide, and five of his films have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where he has also been a judge. In the early eighties Bobby had an overall deal to write, produce and direct for Universal, where he created the series ‘The Insiders’ for ABC. His work in commercial TV also includes directing episodes for such TV favourites as Hawaii Five-O, Agents of Shield, Grey’s Anatomy, The Mentalist, Lost, Prison Break, Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, and Beverly Hills 90210 to mention just a few. Bobby was born and raised in Los Angeles. He studied philosophy and creative writing at UC Berkeley before graduating with a BA in Cinema from USC in 1972. He went on to film school at UCLA, where he received his MFA in Motion Picture Production in 1975. Bobby was a founding member of the Independent Feature Project, which champions the future of storytelling by connecting artists with essential resources and during its 35-year history has supported over 8,000 projects and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers. Bobby was also the first Co-Chairman of the Directors Guild of America’s Independent Feature Committee. Using his decades of directing experience, Bobby has recently created A Director Prepares: Bobby Roth’s Master Class, which is an essential teaching and research tool for students in Film and Television Production, Drama, Acting, and Performance Studies, and Film Theory and Media Studies. This 10-part DVD series, which takes viewers on a journey through every stage of film production, is also a fascinating documentary for anyone interested in film and entertainment generally, or collaborative creative practice
Tune in Saturday 9-10 PM to find out more about the life and art of Bobby Roth. For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
