Christian Cargill is an award-winning director and photographer.
His debut documentary Heart Valley, about an inspirational Welsh shepherd, had its world premiere at Tribeca Festival where he won the award for Best Documentary Short. It won the BAFTA Cymru Award for Short Film and after huge international press, festival screenings across ten countries and multiple more awards, it released with The New Yorker and BBC.
Recomposing Earth, his second film, had its world premiere at London’s Barbican Hall in 2024 and tells the unique story of composer Erland Cooper‘s buried album in Orkney. It qualified for the BIFA, BAFTA & Academy® Awards after an award-winning festival run.
Christian recently completed his third short Howls to the Harbour with The BFI Doc Society and is in post-production on his debut feature documentary WOLF – an intimate and deeply personal film about musician Patrick Wolf. The documentary is narrated and Executive Produced by Tilda Swinton.
He is a BAFTA Cymru Award and Camerimage nominated cinematographer and in 2023 was nominated for a Grierson Award.
Alongside his documentary work, he has directed branded films for clients including Deliveroo, Harrods, MTV and The Wombles. He has also directed music videos and live promos with artists including Laura Marling and Palace.
His photography spans everything from portraits to derelict pubs and has featured in outlets including the BBC, NME, Sky Arts and The Guardian. Christian’s portrait of Sir Don McCullin was winner of the British Journal of Photography’s prestigious Portrait of Britain Award and displayed on digital screens across the UK throughout January 2025.
Christian founded production company Dalmatian Films in 2022 and was selected to join BAFTA as a Connect Member in 2024.
AWARDS
FILM
BAFTA CYMRU AWARD, Best Short Film
TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL, Best Documentary Short
GRIERSON AWARD, Best Documentary Short – Nominee
YOUNG DIRECTOR AWARD x CANNES LIONS, Silver Screen Award
KINSALE SHARK AWARD 2023, Best Documentary Short
KINSALE SHARK AWARD 2025, Best Documentary Short – Nominee
THE SHINY AWARDS, Shiny List
FLICKERFEST FILM FESTIVAL, Best Documentary Short
BRITISH SHORTS BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL, Audience Award
BOLTON FILM FESTIVAL 2024, Best Documentary
BOLTON FILM FESTIVAL 2022, Best Documentary
THIS IS ENGLAND FILM FESTIVAL, Best Documentary
UNRESTRICTED VIEW FILM FESTIVAL, Best Documentary Short
SHORTS MÉXICO FILM FESTIVAL, Best Int’l Documentary
SOUTH LONDON SHORTS, Audience Award
PHOTOGRAPHY
BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY, Portrait of Britain Award 2025 Winner
CINEMATOGRAPHY
CAMERIMAGE FILM FESTIVAL, Best Documentary Short – Nominee
BAFTA CYMRU AWARD, Factual Photography – Nominee
KINSALE SHARK AWARD, Best Cinematography – Nominee
HONOURS
BAFTA CONNECT, Member
BAFTA CYMRU AWARDS 2024, Jury Member
THIS IS ENGLAND FESTIVAL 2025, Jury Member
EXHIBITIONS
“Last Orders”, Sputnik Kino Berlin – 2025
CONTACT
E: christiancargill@icloud.com
