Passionate about all things film, I have spent my life watching movies, making movies and helping others make their movies too.
Right now I am directing Splinter Unit on Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning, parts 1 and 2 for Paramount. I am also the Exec Producer on an Apple TV+ five part docu-drama that is in post production.
Deeper into my past my early major projects include action thriller ‘The Runner’, serial killer thriller ‘White Angel’ and paranormal horror ‘Urban Ghost Story’.
I co-created and authored The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook series, published by Blomsbury. There are now eight books in the series.
More recently I have run a series of London based festivals, kicking off with the London Screenwriters Festival which attracts over 1,000 professional screenwriters from around the globe annually. I also setup and run TEDxEaling, an annual TEDx conference on storytelling and human communication.
In 2009, I made the multi-award winning and Oscars shortlisted ‘Gone Fishing’, the whole process being heavily documented on my blog.
In 2014 I completed my fourth feature film, the crowd created 50 Kisses which entered the Guinness Book Of Records for most screenwriters on a feature film. Following this success, I founded Create50 to continue the idea of crowd created projects. Twisted50, our first book was publishing on Halloween 2016 and immediately toppled Stephen King from the top spot on Amazon. Four books have followed in the Twisted50 series.
During the summer of 2016 I trained to become a master Firewalk instructor and now regularly take people across the hot coals for charity.
Late 2017 I directed the short film ‘Seeing Him‘ which collected a ton of awards too. Over the following years I continued to make award winning shorts, such as Meet The Nativity and Never Too Late.
In the Summer of 2022 I premiered Impact 50, the second feature length move out of Create50. This time I directed the segment at the start of the film, with Olivia Williams as the President, and written by Joe Eszterhas.
Summer 2022 and I also joined the Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 productions as Splinter Unit director.
Halloween 2023, and the ApplTV+ show which I co-exec produced, ‘The Enfield Poltergeist’ premieres.
I run regular film making workshops for filmmakers both online and in person.
Some people ask how I began making films? Like most filmmakers of my generation, it was with a Super 8mm camera, summertime and school friends, usually after watching a Behind The Scenes TV program on a Hollywood movie like Star Wars. My first film was a Zombie horror called Necronomicon, heavily influenced by John Carpenters The Fog. And I was hooked for life.
Contact me at Ealing Film Studios, Ealing Green, London, W5 5EP, UK
chris@jonesfilm.co.uk
IMDb HERE
My timeline
2023
Jan 1st
Firewalk Experience
The Firewalk Experience launches. Join Chris Jones on Firewalks.
October 28th
The Enfield Poltergeist
The four part docuseries that was co-exec produced by Chris premieres on AppleTV+
2022
June 1st
Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1
Chris Jones joins Mission: Impossible 7 as splinter unit director.
May 31st 2022
Impact50 Premiere
The Impact50 premieres at the Genesis cinema in London.
2020
April 10th 2020
LSF365
The first month online festival is launched.
2019
November 2nd 2019
LSF Accelerate
The first two day hyper focused screenwriting event from LondonSWF
October 12th 2019
Firewalk for School
The team raises £6000 for a local school in need of support by running a firewalk.
March 16th 2019
Twisted50 Vol 2 Launch
The second volume in the Twisted series is released.
2018
December 4th 2018
Never Too Late Released
What would happen if Father Christmas needed physio?
November 15th 2018
Meet the Nativity Wins Jerusalem Awards
Winner of best film at BAFTA
September 8th 2018
British Screenwriters’ Awards 2018
The Fifth British Screenwriters Festival awards the best in screenwriting.
September 7th 2018
LondonSWF’18 Runs
The ninth London Screenwriters Festival runs at Regents University with Robocop headlining.
June 12th 2018
The President Speaks
With Olivia Williams, shooting at the Oval Office set.
Apr 16th 2018 – Nov 6th 2018
Impact50 Trailer Launches
Watch the trailer here…
2017
December 7th 2017
Meet the Nativity Launches
The new time traveling Christmas rom com launches and gains a million views on Social Media.
October 25th 2017
Rehab Matters Launched
Short film we made goes viral with 100k views on first day on Facebook #RehabMatters.
September 15th 2017
LondonSWF’17
The Eight London Screenwriters Festival was launched to a capacity audience.
June 17th 2017
Seeing Him Premiere
Seeing Him premieres in central London to great acclaim
January 28th 2017
Twisted50 Book Launch
The launch and awards for Twisted50 were an unforgettable night.
January 28th 2017
Evil Little Sister Launched
Twisted’s Evil Little Sister book launched. Get involved at www.Twisted50.com
2016
October 31st 2016
Stephen King Toppled by Twisted50
Twisted50 becomes an Amazon Best Seller knocking Stephen King from the Horror top spot.
October 16th 2016
Launch of Twisted50 Book and Website
First edition of Twisted50 is released alongside the website in time for Halloween.
Sep 25th 2016 – Nov 25th 2016
Seeing Him Shoot
Short film Seeing Him was shot.
Sept 2nd 2016 – Sept 4th 2016
LondonSWF 2016
The seventh London Screenwriters’ Festival with Fight Club’s Jim Uhls and Point Break’s Peter Ilif.
May 17th 2016
Impact50 Script Winners Announced
The 50 scripts for The Impact50 are announced.
April 15th 2016
Twisted50 Winners Announced
The 50 winning stories for Twisted50 Announced.
January 10th 2016
Singularity50 the Scifi Book Launches
Create50 launches the Singularity 50, exploring the future history of humanity and technology.
January 1st 2016
Twisted50 Vol 1 Closes
The first book from Create50 closes for entries. 50 Twisted tales of More at www.Create50.com
2015
27th November 27th 2015
LondonSWF 2015
The sixth LondonSWF and biggest yet. with Joel Shumacher and Ted Tally and the launch of the first London Screenwriters’ Awards
July 25th 2015
Guerilla Masterclass 2015
400 filmmakers join Chris Jones for an evolution / revolution masterclass on indie filmmaking.
July 2nd 2015
The First Film Premiere
The First Film, co-produced by Chris Jones premieres
May 21st 2015
The Impact 50 Opens…
The Impact50 opens for script submissions
2014
December 25th 2014
’50 Kisses’ Released Online
Our crowd created feature film 50 Kisses debuts online on Xmas day.
Oct 23rd 2014 – Oct 26th 2014
LondonSWF 2014
The fifth LondonSWF and biggest yet. with Joel Shumacher and Ted Tally and the launch of the first London Screenwriters’ Awards.
April 3rd 2014
50 Kisses Enters Guinness Book of Records
The 51 screenwriters of 50 Kisses enter the Guinness Book Of Records for most co-writers on a feature film.
February 13th 2014
The 50 Kisses World Premiere
50 Kisses receives its world premiere, theatrical release and awards ceremony.
2013
Oct 25th 2013 – Oct 27th 2013
LSF 2013
The fourth London Screenwriters’ Festival was the best and biggest yet, with over 800 delegates, 150 speakers, a new Marquee and Joe Eszterhas!
October 3rd 2013
RadioLSF Launches!
Live Radio show for Screenwriters launches to accompany the London Screenwriters Festival. Listent o past shows online
Jun 15th 2013 – Jun 16th 2013
Guerilla masterclass 2013
Two day intensive annual masterclass for filmmakers. ‘This course has more useful information than the internet on crack!’ Robert Emmanuel, Writer & Director ‘Brilliant, awesome, just an inspiring weekend that has given me the confidence to finish my first feature film! Thanks Chris’ Bryony Disbury, @brytinndisbury ‘The film world can seem impenetrable, Chris cuts through the BS and gives you the tools to turn the dream into reality’ Robert Hull, Filmmaker
February 18th 2013
Hollywood Pocketbook
Want to work in LA? All new pocketbook released. Every year, screenwriters, filmmakers, actors, producers… all take the plunge, get on a plane and head over to Hollywood to ‘make it happen’. While some succeed, many fail simply because they just ‘didn’t know what they didn’t know’. Don’t fall into the same trap. Get yourself street smart before you hit the tarmac at LAX. Los Angeles remains the biggest, brightest, sexiest epicenter of western filmmaking, and the ONLY place where you really can walk in with a killer project and find yourself on the set of a multi million dollar studio picture.
2012
December 1st 2012
50 Kisses Competition Closes
50 Kisses closes, after 1,950 screenplays submitted and 130 films produced, from every continent in the world. The feature enters post production.
October 26th 2012
LSF 2012
The third London Screenwriters’ Festival was the best and biggest yet, with over 500 delegates, 130 speakers and the launch of the Great British Pitchfest!
September 21st 2012
TED X Ealing Story
You are a storyteller. Story is a vital part of what makes us human. It’s how we connect to one another. Through story we can experience things that may never occur in our day to day lives. Story stretches beyond culture, age and language. When a group of individuals gather and share the experience of a story, they become a tribe and in that moment become one. TEDxEaling will conjure that connection for the audience and explore the power of story through the arts and sciences. We are bringing together a group of thought leaders from a wide array of disciplines; the common thread being their expertise and passion for storytelling and the powerful human communication that takes place when we share these tales.
June 12th 2012
THE Documentary Film Maker’s Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Documentary Filmmaking
The second edition of the documentary handbook launches in shops.
February 18th 2012
Guerilla Masterclass 2012
‘Delivered in short bursts of rocket fuel for the soul’ Luke Campbell, Film maker @LukeTV ‘the masterclass has changed my life…thank you’ Karine Bedrossian, Film Maker ‘More than a masterclass on filmmaking, it’s a masterclass on attitude, courage, vision – on living the dream’ Adelle Kirby, Screenwriter www.adelekirby.com
2011
December 3rd 2011
London Doc Summit 2011
The first Documentary Summit, held in London
October 28th 2011
LSF 2011
The London Screenwriters’ Festival is a three-day gathering of over 500 screenwriters, producers, directors, commissioners and other creative people. With over 100 speakers and 70 sessions that cover all aspects of professional screenwriting, the festival offers unparalleled access to both industry players as well as cutting edge training. Come and spend three days, from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th of October, meeting new friends and collaborators, learning from experts, expanding your professional network and revelling in the one thing we all love… storytelling.
July 30th 2011
Summer BBQ
The first annual Guerilla Film and London Screenwriters’ Festival BBQ in the gardens at Ealing Studios.
June 4th 2011
Guerilla Masterclass 2011
The Guerilla Film Makers Masterclass 2011 EVENT! Guerilla Film Making in 2011/12 is about creating world class, career launching, marketable and sellable feature films with the resources you have and can get on the way. It’s about taking considered, informed and inspired ACTION today…
May 28th 2011 – Oct 4th 2012
Breakfast Club Launch
The first Breakfast club was with US script guru Linda Seger. The Breakfast Club is monthly initiative to connect creative and business professionals in film and TV. We do this by creating a safe place to network whilst listening to thought leaders, industry gurus and entrepreneurs.
April 9th 2011
London Comedy Writers Festival
From the London Screenwriters’ Festival team comes our Spring Comedy Festival for TV, Film and Radio Professionals.
January 20th 2011
The Production Office 2
Season 2 of the Production Office LIVE starts broadcasting with the highest rated show EVER, with over 250,000 viewer minutes!
2010
October 29th 2010
LSF 2010
The first LSF and Europes biggest screenwriting event.
May 17th 2010
Guerilla Pocketbook
The all new tiny, shiny Guerilla Film Makers Pocketbook is released to amazing reviews and feedback.
April 15th 2010
The Production Office
Living Spirit’s online film makers TV show, with Chris Jones and Judy Goldberg, goes live for a season of 12 episodes in 2010… Watch episode 5, Live From Cannes here…
2009
January 10th 2009
Gone Fishing Oscar Shortlisted
Chris Jones gets an email from the Oscars to inform him that ‘Gone Fishing’ is shortlisted for the 2009 Academy Awards… Here’s the email ** High Priority ** ** Reply Requested by 9/12/2008 (Tuesday) ** Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that your Live Action Short film, Gone Fishing, has advanced to the second round of voting from which the nominees will be determined. At this time, we will need one additional film print to facilitate the remaining rounds of voting. The print is due at the Academy no later than 5 p.m. on Monday, December 29. Please confirm receipt of this e-mail and let us know if you will be able to provide the print by the deadline. Awards Office Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
2008
August 10th 2008
Gone Fishing Wins Rhode Island
Gone Fishing plays and wins at the Rhode Island Film Festival… watch the amazing journey in our video blog.
January 13th 2008
Gone Fishing Premiere
Gone Fishing premieres at BAFTA in an emotional event that will stay with us all forever.
2007
August 10th 2007
Gone Fishing Shoots
Gone Fishing, Chris Jones’ Oscars contender, goes into production in Dorking. The whole experience is documented on Chris’s blog.
March 30th 2007
Chris Jones’ Blog Launched
Chris begins documenting his experiences as a film maker in his blog. Initially conceived as a way to document the ‘Gone Fishing’ journey, the blog has become a detailed resources for all emerging film makers.
2006
October 19th 2006
Warners Buy ‘Angels’
Team Living Spirit in LA, Genevieve Jolliffe and Andrew Zinnes successfully sell their spec script ‘Absolute Angels’ to Warner Brothers. Billed as ‘The Lost Boys’ but with girls.
August 5th 2006
Documentary Book Released
Genevieve co-writes with her husband Andrew Zinnes and completes the all new Documentary Handbook. With Andrew, she also manages to write and sell to Warner Bros., a vampire movie set in a high school, called Absolute Angels. White Angel and Urban Ghost Story are both recovered from distributors and released on a double DVD.
February 6th 2006
Guerilla Film Handbook 3rd Edition
The third edition of the best selling film makers handbooks is released, now weighing in at 720 pages.
2005
April 7th 2005
Hollywood Handbook Launched
Chris Jones researches and writes the first edition of The Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint. Upon publishing, it is an immediate best seller in the non fiction charts.
2003
June 2nd 2003
Movie Blueprint Released
Chris Jones researches and writes the first edition of The Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint. Upon publishing, it is an immediate best seller in the non fiction charts.
2001
August 12th 2001
Urban Ghost Story Released in Cinemas
Urban Ghost Story is successfully released in cinemas and plays for over twelve weeks, screening in over 50 cities. The reviews are uniformly excellent. Later in the year it is released on a feature packed DVD. Genevieve agrees to move to LA to spearhead the new Hollywood Handbook and open the LA office.
2000
August 4th 2000
2nd Guerilla Handbook 2nd Edition
Living Spirit are commissioned to write the second edition of The The Guerrilla Film Makers Handbook, expanding on the success of the first. The book is published and enters the Best Sellers non fiction charts at number 2! Following repeated requests from readers of The Guerrilla Film Makers Handbook, Living Spirit launch the Guerilla Film Makers Masterclass.
1998
October 29th 1998
Urban Ghost Story at BIFA
Urban Ghost Story receives two nominations in the British Independent Film Awards, Best First Time Direction for Genevieve Jolliffe, and Best achievement in Production for Chris Jones. The movie attends many film festivals, including Vancouver, Edinburgh and Copenhagen and begins to collect awards.
1997
August 10th 1997
Urban Ghost Story Shoots
Living Spirit Pictures third feature Urban Ghost Story is produced. It is the story of a little girl who survives a car accident in which her best friend is killed and is haunted by the past and paranormal demons. It stars Jason Connery, Stephanie Buttle, Billy Boyd and introduces Heather Anne Foster. While set in Scotland, it is shot at Ealing Film Studios and West London over the summer of ’97.
Jan 31st 1997 – Jan 17th 2010
Move to Ealing Studios
Living Spirit move into offices at the historic Ealing Studios.
1995
September 1st 1995
First Guerilla Book
Living Spirit’s invaluable experiences making low budget feature films in the UK is committed to paper in the form of the ‘ultimate book for low budget film makers’, The Guerrilla Film Makers Handbook, first edition. A cross between anecdotal experiences and hard factual interviews with industry experts, the book promises to be the definitive guide to UK film production. The book is an immediate hit with new film makers.
1994
April 14th 1994
White Angel UK Release
April ’94 sees the UK theatrical release of White Angel – the film opens across the country in UCI multiplexes and MGM theatres (London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, and the provinces). White Angel is also screened at many international festivals including Montreal, Rome, Sao Paulo and Puerto Rico where it has picked up three prestigious awards.
1993
November 20th 1993
White Angel Premiere
White Angel premieres as the Centrepiece of the 37th London International Film Festival at the Odeon West End, Leicester Square in 1993. The screening was sold out within hours of the box office opening!
1992
February 16th 1992
White Angel Shoots
Living Spirit begin work on their second feature film, a tense psychological thriller called White Angel. It is about a writer who is blackmailed by a serial killer to write his biography. The film stars Oscar nominee Peter Firth as Steckler the mild mannered serial killer, the late great TV star Don Henderson as Inspector Taylor and American actress Harriet Robinson as Ellen Carter, as the writer trapped between the law and a psychopath. It is shot in West London and Gloucester.
1991
October 10th 1991
The Runner Premiere
Armed with a list of awards, Chris and Genevieve approach the Prince’s Youth Business trust and a ‘seed‘ grant is awarded to set up Living Spirit. Six months later, Living Spirit secure the finance to make their maiden project, The Runner – an action thriller starring Terence Ford, the brother of Hollywood superstar, Harrison Ford. Top British Stunt men, technicians, sound studios, labs (from films as diverse as Star Wars, The Killing Fields and the Indiana Jones Movies etc.), all agree to lend their names to the project and the film is shot.
March 4th 1991
The Runner Shoots
Armed with a list of awards, Chris and Genevieve approach the Prince’s Youth Business trust and a ‘seed‘ grant is awarded to set up Living Spirit. Six months later, Living Spirit secure the finance to make their maiden project, The Runner – an action thriller starring Terence Ford, the brother of Hollywood superstar, Harrison Ford. Top British Stunt men, technicians, sound studios, labs (from films as diverse as Star Wars, The Killing Fields and the Indiana Jones Movies etc.), all agree to lend their names to the project and the film is shot.
1990
July 4th 1990
Living Spirit Pictures Incorporated
Living Spirit Pictures Ltd. is founded by its two co-directors, Chris Jones and Genevieve Jolliffe. Their business idea is simple – to run a company solely for the production of commercial independent feature films. Educated in the fine arts of film making and business at the renowned Bournemouth Film School, Chris and Genevieve leave to produce a short film, “The Thing From Beneath The Bed“. This film is an instant success and goes on to win the London International IC Film Festival, The Daily Mail Challnge Trophy, The BBC Showcase, the Algarve and Barcelona Film Festivals…
