Simon Field, Rotterdam festival force and ICA cinema chief, dies at 80
The influential programmer, producer and longtime Apichatpong Weerasethakul collaborator died July 16, according to Geoff Andrew and Rotterdam festival tributes.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Simon Field, the British film programmer and producer whose career ran from radical film publishing to the top job at the Rotterdam Film Festival, has died at 80.
Veteran film critic Geoff Andrew confirmed Field’s death in an obituary on his blog, and the International Film Festival Rotterdam later posted its own tribute over the weekend. Field died on July 16.
Field led Rotterdam as festival director and co-director from 1996 to 2004, a run that put him at the center of one of world cinema’s key launchpads for new voices. During his time there, the festival’s Tiger Competition recognized filmmakers including Lou Ye, Christopher Nolan, Hong Sang Soo and Pablo Trapero.
His reach went well beyond Rotterdam. Field was known as a supporter of filmmakers including Wang Bing, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Nolan, and his career linked programming, criticism, education and producing.
From film journals to the ICA
Before taking over at Rotterdam, Field worked as a film studies writer and lecturer. He was also the founding editor of Afterimage, a radical film journal.
In 1988, he became director of cinema at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts, a role he held until he moved to Rotterdam in 1996. The ICA post placed him at one of London’s most influential venues for experimental and international cinema.
After leaving Rotterdam, Field joined Keith Griffiths’ Illumination Films. There, he produced work by directors including Tsai Ming-liang, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Garin Nugroho.
His collaboration with Weerasethakul became one of his defining creative partnerships. Field produced Weerasethakul’s Palme d’Or-winning Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, released in 2010, and also worked on Memoria, identified in reports as the filmmaker’s most recent title.
Weerasethakul remembers a trusted partner
Weerasethakul paid tribute to Field on Instagram, writing that he had lost “an important companion” with whom he had made films “together with love, over many years.”
“I cannot dream of a more caring and supportive producer, and a kind gentleman,” Weerasethakul wrote. “We were up against changing practices in filmmaking and film funding. But Simon never gave up, nor compromised.”
The filmmaker called Field “my guardian of conscience” and described him as a central presence in a creative circle that began with Field, Keith Griffiths, Weerasethakul and Charles.
Weerasethakul also wrote that Field had continued engaging with film work in recent months, reviewing footage and responding to images sent from the filmmaker’s home. In one of Field’s late messages, according to the post, he wrote: “It’s been a wonderful journey and it’s not finished yet.”
The tribute closed with Weerasethakul saying he would carry Field “in gratitude” and in unfinished work, adding that their connection through images would continue.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.