Sir Sydney H. Wylie Samuelson CBE was a British film director and cinematographer who lived from 7 December 1925 to 14 December 2022.
He was appointed as the first British Film Commissioner by the UK government in 1991. Samuelson got his start in the film industry as a rewind boy at the Luxor cinema in Lancing, West Sussex. After working as a relief operator for the ABC circuit in several Midlands cinemas, he got a job as a trainee film editor with Gaumont British, which was then based at Lime Grove in London.
He worked as a trainee cameraman with the Colonial Film Unit after serving in the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1947. He then went on to work for Rayant Pictures, for whom he filmed Elizabeth II’s Coronation in 1953. In 1954, he established Samuelson Film Service, which rented out film equipment. He later became the first British Film Commissioner, a position he held for six years. In 1976, he was appointed chairman of BAFTA’s management board and became a permanent trustee.
In 1985, he received the Michael Balcon Award, and in 1993, he was awarded a Fellowship of BAFTA, the Academy’s highest honor. Samuelson was appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1978 Birthday Honours for services to BAFTA, and knighted in the 1995 Birthday Honours for services to the film industry. Samuelson wrote the foreword to David A. Ellis’ book In Conversation with Cinematographers, published by Rowman & Littlefield in the United States. He was the first President of the UK Jewish Film Festival. He remained in the role until 2005, and as of 2010 was the UKJFF Honorary Lifetime Patron.
Samuelson children: Peter Samuelson, Marc Samuelson, Jonathan Samuelson
Peter Samuelson, Marc Samuelson, and Jonathan Samuelson are Samuelson’s children. There isn’t much information available about them.
