Rob Heydon
Encyclopedia
Rob Heydon is an award winning Canadian film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 who has shot music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

s, feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

s and documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

.

Heydon was born in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He honed his producing sensibility at the renowned Norman Jewison
Norman Jewison
Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...

 Canadian Film Centre
Canadian Film Centre
The Canadian Film Centre is an advanced training institution for film, television and new media. Based in Toronto, Canada, CFC offers residents education, industry partnerships and production experience...

 for Advanced Film Studies working as a PM and producer. Heydon produced and directed Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy, based on the #1 bestselling novel by Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting. His work is characterised by raw Scottish dialect, and brutal depiction of the realities of Edinburgh life...

. Recently, he won a Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...

 for Best Music Video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 for Edwin
Edwin (musician)
Edwin is a Canadian alternative rock singer and solo artist from Toronto, and former lead vocalist for I Mother Earth. He was on the band's first two albums, and was also on the majority of the songs on Victor, a 1996 side project from Alex Lifeson of Rush. He went solo in late 1997 and released...

's "Alive", which also won People's Choice Award at Much Music Video Awards.

One of Heydon’s first positions in film was assisting Allen Yamashita in a number of ride-film projects and installations. Yamashita was the assistant to Special Effects maestros Doug Trumbull and Richard Yuricich on Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...

. Heydon has over 20 years proven creative business experience in film as Executive Producer, Producer, Writer, Director, Co-Producer, Editor and Production Manager.

After directing and producing over 100 music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

s and commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...

s, Heydon went on to shoot the new film Go Further
Go Further
Go Further is a documentary film by Ron Mann starring Woody Harrelson and a group of other environmental activists riding around in a large, bio-fueled bus. The tour was called the Simple Organic Living Tour and it was produced by cause-related marketers The Spitfire Agency...

, starring Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...

 (Audience Award runner up prize at Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

). He went to produce and direct Rippin, a documentary on professional snowboarders which aired on Movie TV and City TV, as well as Pleasure Force on the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 dance scene.

Furthermore, he directed the City TV/Space Network television series, Electric Playground. The Magic, his short film premiered at Taos Talking Pictures Film Festival, Taos, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

 and showcased on Head F*!K on Sci-Fi Network in UK, Viva in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

, M2, Much Music and VOLT on TVO in Ontario. Recently, was invited to attend the first Producer's Network during the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

 in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Ecstasy Film Inc. is in post production on the feature documentary on legendary Producer’s Rep - Jeff “The Dude” Dowd the inspiration for the Coen Brothers’ film The Big Lebowski
The Big Lebowski
The Big Lebowski is a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges stars as Jeff Lebowski, an unemployed Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler, who is referred to as "The Dude". After a case of mistaken identity, The Dude is introduced to a millionaire also named...

and he has sold and marketed some of the biggest independent films ever, such as The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur footage. The film was produced by the Haxan Films production company. The film relates the story of three student filmmakers The Blair Witch Project is a 1999 American horror film pieced together from amateur...

, Blood Simple
Blood Simple
Blood Simple is a 1984 neo-noir crime film. It was the directorial debut of Joel Coen and the first major film of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, who later became a noted director...

, Gandhi
Gandhi (film)
Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...

, The Black Stallion
The Black Stallion (film)
The Black Stallion is a 1979 American film based on the 1941 classic children's novel The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. It tells the story of Alec Ramsey, who is shipwrecked on a desert island, together with a wild Arabian stallion whom he befriends...

, Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....

.

He directed Hairdo, the opening of the television pilot for F/X Vision Productions.
He helped to produce Save My Lost Nigga Soul which won Best Canadian Short Film at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

. Heydon directed and produced Men will be Boys, a 20 minute short film that won 2nd Best Comedy Film and Best Film runner up at the Canadian International Film and Video Festival. Finally, Heydon directed and produced The Silent Pickup Line, a 7 minute short film, Honourable Mention, McGill Film Festival, Montreal and produced The Domestic Jungle, a 5 minute short film directed by Jamie Wilson.

Heydon attended workshops including: Film Marketing and PR at SXSW, Co-Productions at The Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

, HOT DOCS, HBO Doc PITCH session at Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

. In 2003, he participated in Strategic Partners at the Atlantic Film Festival
Atlantic Film Festival
The Atlantic Film Festival is an international film festival held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Held annually, the ten-day celebration of film and video from Atlantic Canada and around the world is committed to screening an inspiring and engaging collection of films and videos from Canada and the...

 and Mannheim Meetings in Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. In 2004, he participated at Producer’s Network at Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

.

Heydon's work as a director and producer was featured on Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune is a London-based independent record label started by DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More, better known as Coldcut and managed by Peter Quicke. The label has a strong leaning towards mostly Electronic Music...

 Recordings Zen TV, a DVD compilation of music videos. Heydon has also been featured on Volt (TV series on TVO
TVOntario
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...

) in the episode "Spotlight on Canadian Directors, Movie Television" (TV Series on CityTV
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...

 and broadcast around the world), The Annual Juno Awards and The Much Music Video Awards.

Ecstasy
Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance
Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance is a collection of three novellas by Irvine Welsh.-Lorraine Goes To Livingston:After suffering a stroke, Rebecca Navarro, a best-selling romance novelist, discovers the truth about her corrupt, pornography-loving husband...

(a collection of three short stories) was published in 1996. The last short story, The Undefeated, was adapted into the play Ecstasy (by Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

-based Keith Wyatt) that performed to sold-out audiences and critical acclaim across Canada and at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

. After seeing the play, Irvine called it the “best adaptation" of his work. In August 2001 he met with Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting. His work is characterised by raw Scottish dialect, and brutal depiction of the realities of Edinburgh life...

 to discuss optioning the book in order to create the Ecstasy screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...

 and adapt it into a film. Ecstasy was produced and directed by Rob Heydon in 2011 and Irvine Welsh has a cameo.

Ecstasy was awarded Script Development Financing for the third draft from The Movie Network
The Movie Network
The Movie Network is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service, owned by Astral Media. The service is licensed to operate east of the Ontario-Manitoba border, excluding the territories...

’s Harold Greenburg Fund. Also, Heydon attended the first annual Producer’s Network conference at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...

 2004 in Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and was invited to participate in the L’attelier program for International Co-productions. Also, Heydon spends a great deal of time meeting with producers, distributors and sales agents.

Heydon is also developing a slate of films for international co-productions.

Feature films

  • 2011 Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy, Director, Producer, Writer. Based on the #1 Bestselling book by Irvine Welsh
    Irvine Welsh
    Irvine Welsh is a contemporary Scottish novelist, best known for his novel Trainspotting. His work is characterised by raw Scottish dialect, and brutal depiction of the realities of Edinburgh life...


Documentaries

  • 2003 Go Further
    Go Further
    Go Further is a documentary film by Ron Mann starring Woody Harrelson and a group of other environmental activists riding around in a large, bio-fueled bus. The tour was called the Simple Organic Living Tour and it was produced by cause-related marketers The Spitfire Agency...

    , Director: Ron Mann
    Ron Mann
    Ronald "Ron" Mann is a Canadian documentary film director focusing primarily on aspects of Canadian and American popular culture. He does most of his work through his company Sphinx Productions, while also running a film distribution company on the side called 'FilmsWeLike'. Mann has also put...

     as Cinematographer
  • 1997 Rippin, Director, Producer
  • 1996 NYE - Pleasure Force, Director, Producer
  • 1995 Jokers High - Pleasure Force, Director, Producer

Music videos

  • 2000 Beautiful Strange, Bedrock
    Bedrock
    In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...

  • 2000 I Understand, McMaster and James, BMG Records
  • 2000 Never Too Late, Damhnait Doyle
    Damhnait Doyle
    Damhnait Doyle [DAV-net] is a Canadian pop singer. The phonetic spelling of her first name also serves as the title of her 2003 album. Her most recent album, Lights Down Low, is a collection of covers...

    , EMI
    EMI
    The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

  • 1999 Alive, Edwin
    Edwin (musician)
    Edwin is a Canadian alternative rock singer and solo artist from Toronto, and former lead vocalist for I Mother Earth. He was on the band's first two albums, and was also on the majority of the songs on Victor, a 1996 side project from Alex Lifeson of Rush. He went solo in late 1997 and released...

    , Sony Music
  • 1999 Skizofrenik, Plastikman, Plus 8 Records / Sony Music Publishing
  • 1999 Packard, Plastikman, Plus 8 Records / Sony Music Publishing
  • 1999 It's Obvious, DJ Vadim
    DJ Vadim
    DJ Vadim is a prolific DJ and producer, born in Leningrad, USSR , raised in London and currently residing in both New York and Berlin, whose music combines hip hop, soul, reggae and electronica...

    , Ninja Tune Records
  • 1999 Road with Many Signs, The Herbaliser
    The Herbaliser
    The Herbaliser is a jazz rap band formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba London, England during the early 1990s. Although currently signed to !K7 Records, they were one of the best-known acts from the Ninja Tune independent record label...

     with Dream Warriors
    Dream Warriors
    Dream Warriors were a Canadian hip hop duo from Toronto, Ontario, comprising King Lou and Capital Q. Described as "a pair of deft, intelligent rappers" by Allmusic, they were major contributors to the jazz rap movement of the early 1990s. Their 1991 debut album, And Now the Legacy Begins, is...

    , Ninja Tune Records
  • 1998 Converge, Plastikman, Plus 8 Records / Sony Music Publishing

Awards

  • 2000 Juno Awards
    Juno Awards of 2000
    The Juno Awards of 2000 were held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the weekend of 11-12 March 2000.The primary ceremonies were hosted by The Moffatts at the SkyDome on 12 March 2000 and broadcast on CBC Television...

    , Canada - Best Music Video, for "Alive" (Edwin
    Edwin (musician)
    Edwin is a Canadian alternative rock singer and solo artist from Toronto, and former lead vocalist for I Mother Earth. He was on the band's first two albums, and was also on the majority of the songs on Victor, a 1996 side project from Alex Lifeson of Rush. He went solo in late 1997 and released...

    )

  • 2000 MuchMusic
    MuchMusic
    MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...

     Video Awards of 2000, Canada - People's Choice Best Music Video, for "Alive" (Edwin
    Edwin (musician)
    Edwin is a Canadian alternative rock singer and solo artist from Toronto, and former lead vocalist for I Mother Earth. He was on the band's first two albums, and was also on the majority of the songs on Victor, a 1996 side project from Alex Lifeson of Rush. He went solo in late 1997 and released...

    )

  • 2000 Much Music Video Awards, Best Cinematography, 2000, McMaster and James's "I Understand" music video

  • 2000 East Coast Music Awards, Nomination for Best Video: Never Too Late (Damhnait Doyle
    Damhnait Doyle
    Damhnait Doyle [DAV-net] is a Canadian pop singer. The phonetic spelling of her first name also serves as the title of her 2003 album. Her most recent album, Lights Down Low, is a collection of covers...

    )

  • 1999 Music Video Production Association
    Music Video Production Association
    The Music Video Production Association is a music industry trade organization, based in Los Angeles, that is made up of producers, directors, and other professionals involved in the creation of music videos....

     MVPA Awards, U.S. - Nomination for Best Electronic Video: Converge (Plastikman)

  • 1995 The Canadian International Film and Video Festival., Best Comedy Film and Best Film , "Men will be Boys"

  • 1993 McGill Film Festival, Montreal
    Montreal
    Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

    , Nominated Best Film, "The Silent Pickup Line"

External links

  • Ecstasy the Film (2011) Ecstasy Film
    Ecstasy Film
    Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy is a 2011 Canadian dark romantic comedy film adaptation of the short story The Undefeated from the #1 best-selling book Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh. Directed by Rob Heydon, the film stars Adam Sinclair as Lloyd Buist, a drug addict who smuggles ecstasy from Amsterdam...

    production company website
  • Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy (2011) Film [Facebook] website
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