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Jon Blair

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Filmmaker

The Resume

    (1950- )
    Born in South Africa
    Jonathan Roy Blair
    Film writer, documentarian, and producer; works with BBC,Channel-4, and Al-Jazeera
    Won a British Academy Award for Best Documentary for 'Schindler: The Real Story' (1983)
    Won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for 'Anne Frank Remembered' (1995)
    Other credits include 'Bin Laden: The Early Years,' 'Thighs, Lies, and Beauty,' 'The Age of Terror,' 'Reporters at War,' 'Murder Most Foul,' and 'Dancing With the Devil'
    Pictured with the Anne Frank family's 'Secret Annexe' protector, Miep Gies, who accepted the Academy Award alongside him
    Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Birthday Honours 'for services to film' (2015)

Why he might be annoying:

    His first major project was filming a year in the life of the small cow town where Glenn Close's parents lived.
    He gave a platform to Thierry Meyssan and his conspiracy theory about 9/11 being 'a lie' for a documentary he filmed, in 2002.
    His documentary on Anne Frank revealed little that wasn't already known about her life (several lower-scale projects went into greater detail on her time in the camps, for example).
    He was widely criticized for what was misinterpreted as disrespect of Miep Gies at the Academy Awards.
    When he brought Miep forward to introduce her to the audience as the family's protector he could be heard whispering in her ear 'you don't need to speak,' leading some to think he was unnecessarily silencing her.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His documentaries tend to focus on issues pertaining to international human rights abuses.
    He was drafted to serve in the South African army at the age of 16.
    He penned an acclaimed play focusing on the life of South African activist, Stephen Biko, in the early 70s.
    His 'Schindler' documentary provided the basis for Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning 'Schindler's List.'
    He orchestrated an emotional first meeting between Miep and 'Secret Annexe' resident Fritz Pfeffer's son, Werner (who would die months later from cancer).
    'Anne Frank Remembered' ranks among the 30 highest grossing documentaries of the 20th-century.
    He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey 'for his contribution to human rights awareness' (1994).
    He had gone to great lengths to fly Miep out to Hollywood to be present for the ceremony, and she was humbly reluctant to even attend.
    Bringing her forward to the podium, Blair honored her by saying: 'in this city of celluloid heroes, Miep Gies is a true hero' (she received a standing ovation).
    He explained his 'hot mic' moment, in 2015, saying: 'I had been warned that our maximum time at the microphone was 45 seconds. Miep knew this in advance of coming and agreed that I should do the talking but seemed suddenly as if she now wanted to say something. On the spur of the moment ... I was instinctively determined not to see her embarrassed by being drowned by the band mid sentence which I thought would be humiliating and appalling. Did I do the right thing? Who knows - but she certainly showed no resentment towards me afterwards.'
    He is the only documentary director in the UK to win an Oscar (1), an Emmy (2) and a British Academy Award (1).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 73.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying