FILMOGRAPHY

BIOGRAPHY

Paul A. Kaufman is a British born filmmaker. He has also won multiple Emmy Awards for his television directing and producing.

His latest independent film, BUTTER, which he also wrote, won critical acclaim at many top film festivals and was released theatrically nationwide in February of 2022. It was about a morbidly obese bullied teenager, named Butter, played by Alex Kersting, who announces he will eat himself to death on New Years Eve, live on the internet. It also stars Academy Award winner, Mira Sorvino. Select reviews say - THE NEW YORK TIMES - “The movie is a good-hearted dramatic comedy about the bedeviling issues of bullying, and the hazards of social media. Kersting, a newcomer, gives an all-in performance.” NYC MOVIE GURU - “Butter is a heartfelt, honest and inspirational journey. Writer/director Paul A Kaufman deserves praise for tackling the tough issues of bullying, suicide and depression, and also for making it more palatable with some humor which provides much needed levity to counterbalance the heavy topics. THE WASHINGTON POST - “BUTTER, a movie about a bullied teen is, like its hero, sweet and likable.”

Kaufman made his directorial debut on his long cherished project, RUN THE WILD FIELDS for Showtime, which earned numerous critical honors, including an Emmy Award for Best Director. The WWII dramatic story follows a North Carolina woman and her daughter who take in a mysterious drifter to work their farm while her husband is missing in action. The movie stars Joanne Whalley, Sean Patrick Flanery and Alexa Vega.

Paul has since directed and produced 18 films including the powerful drama, SINS OF THE MOTHER, starring Nichole Beharie (“Miss Juneteenth”, “Black Mirror”) which won the NAACP Award for Outstanding Movie or Miniseries. His biopic MAGIC BEYOND WORDS: THE JK ROWLING STORY, starring Poppy Montgomery, earned Paul a DGC Award nomination for Outstanding Direction along with winning the prestigious Canadian Screen Award for Outstanding Movie or Miniseries.

On the lighter side, Paul has directed many comedies, including the film HONEYMOON WITH MOM starring Shelley Long and SURVIVING GILLIGAN'S ISLAND starring Bob Denver, Dawn Wells and the rest and RETURN TO THE BATCAVE with Adam West, Burt Ward, Betty White, Frank Gorshim plus several romantic comedies.

Paul also directed multiple episodes of the the acclaimed thriller TV series, ROGUE, a UK series, starring Thandiwe Newton (“Westworld”) and Cole Hauser (“Yellowstone”) and also the UK thriller series RANSOM, starring Sarah Greene (“Dublin Murders”, “Bad Sisters”) and Luke Roberts (“Game of Thrones”) for Showrunner, Frank Spotnitz (“X-Files”, “Medici”). Other select episodic credits include; GRIMM, THE BRIDGE, NCIS: LOS ANGELES, THE MENTALIST, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, KING AND MAXWEL, THE MESSENGERS and FLASHPOINT.

Paul’s love for a good taught thriller put him in search of his next project where he found and optioned the Best Selling Novel THE BOY IN THE PHOTO. Paul recently adapted the screenplay to this gripping psychological thriller and plans to film it this coming winter with producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin ("Prey", "Predator", “Die Hard”, “Hell Boy”, “Da 5 Bloods”, “Boogie Nights”).

He served two terms on the Board of Governors at The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences where he also was appointed as the Chairman of The Primetime Emmy Awards, where he supervised and oversaw the awards show and telecast. He has also served on the Television Committee at BAFTA and been a guest speaker at AFI, UCLA, USC and other colleges. He is a member of The Directors Guild of America, BAFTA, The Writers Guild of America, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, The Directors Guild of Canada and The Producers Guild of America. He is a citizen of The United Kingdom, The United States and Canada.

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