Pro Vice-Chancellor

The job of the film producer is one of the mostmysterious andopaque roles in filmmaking. Famed film producer Kathleen Kennedy – who has produced for George Lucas and Steven Spielberg –once said: “The producer, in effect, has to work as a translator,” taking an idea for a film from inception to completion. This afternoon we celebrate two extraordinary and creative film producers: Peter Czernin and Graham Broadbent. 

Pete and Graham both graduated from the University of Bristol in 1987, havingmet on their first day of classes. Pete and Graham were thrown together in a friendship version of the Hollywood “meet-cute,” as they introduced themselves across a table in the office of Dr Antonovic.They were supposed to be learning about Renaissance Florence, but the glamour of Florence was dimmed somewhat by the noxious gas-smell emanating from an ancient heater in the corner of Dr Antonovic’s rooms. 

At this time, Pete had entered Wills Hall with high hopes for a co-ed dorm life. He had visions of a modern university experience,complete with all the trappings of a James Bond movie –a life filled, he imagined, withMartinis and beautiful women. Alas, these hopes were dashed as he discovered life in Wills Hall to be an all-male, monastic affair, with rickety old bicycles surrounding the dorm room, rather than Aston Martin cars. 

It was this sad existence that necessitated a quick move into a shared flat with Graham, where they vividly remember drinking lemonades while watching the sun set over Avon Gorge, longing for the end of exams so they could finally enjoy that Martini. 

Pete and Graham came to film through their studies of history, realising the power of the medium to express human truths. Their knowledge of history has given both Pete and Grahama deep understanding of human struggles, of history’s forgotten stories, and, most importantly, has shown them the need to focus on what they call “authentic human journeys,” ranging from films about Nazi-occupied Guernsey through to the secret world of Oxford’s elite dining societies. 

But first, they had to learn what it is that producers do. On graduating, Pete left for Hollywood and entered the belly of the beast at Warner Brothers, learning the art of production work with the legendary Denise Di Novi at Warner’s Di Novi pictures, and becoming President of that company in 1997.  

Meanwhile, Graham stayed in the UK and took a hands-on approach to production by doing on-the-job training at the now world-famous British production company, Working Title. At Working Title, Graham started as an entry-level runner and quickly worked his way up through the ranks to Associate Director. But, feeling unsatisfied, he quit. And, even though he was on the dole, Graham still found a way to become a film producer. Graham’s powers of persuasion included convincing Michael Winterbottom, another of our esteemed University of Bristol alumni, to direct Graham’sfirst film, Welcome to Sarajevo, in 1997. 

Both had become successful producers by the mid-2000s, and when Pete returned to London in 2005 to set up a new independent production company, he looked up his old university friend, Graham.  

Together they formed Blueprint Pictures.  

Stories with emotional journeyshave been the hallmark of Blueprint Pictures ever since. This philosophy has allowedBlueprint Picturesto create some of most successful independent films of the past two decades garnering  a reputation for making high-quality films with stellar casts, from Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy, to Frances McDormand, Lily James and Colin Firth. Thanks to films like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018), Blueprint Pictures has accrued a reputation for making films not just with top global actors, but also with extremely long titles. 

In making these films, Pete and Graham have also been fostering and promoting new directors, working repeatedly with directors like Martin McDonagh, and also with emerging female directors from Thea Sharrock to Autumn de Wilde. Along with these directors, Pete and Graham’s aim is to make us care about characters, about stories of the marginalised and the truthof their situations, whether they are retired housewives or even conflicted hitmen.  

Pete and Graham’s films have a powerful social consciousness that emerges out of their storytelling, throwing light on forgotten corners of history and disregarded groups of people, all while remaining entertaining and engaging. It is this ability to create films that entertain while challenging us to understand the world anew, that make Pete and Graham’s contributions to cinema so important.  

Peter Czernin and Graham Broadbent have changed the nature and scope of independent film in the UK and beyond. In doing so, they are also changing what it means to be a producer.No longer just creative translators, Pete and Graham are filmmaking pioneers, bringing together hugely talented teams of filmmakers and guiding them towards highly impactful productions that delight audiences the world over. 

Pro Vice-Chancellor, it is my pleasure to present to you Peter Czernin and Graham Broadbent as, respectively and equally, brilliant, world-leading film producers who are entirely worthy of the degree of Doctor of Letters honoris causa.