Derek Williams

Biography

Derek Williams (20 August 1929 – 2 August 2021) was a British documentary film director and writer who was active from the 1950s until 1990. His films received four British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTAs) and five Oscar nominations (four as director and writer and one as writer only) all in the short documentary classification.

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, he was educated at Newcastle Royal Grammar School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

His first film, Hadrian's Wall, was made while he was at university and was self-financed. On the basis of this film he was able to enter the film industry as a trainee assistant for World Wide Films. His first commercial film, released...