Chris KirkFilmmaker

Director · Editor · Documentary Filmmaker

Stories are still there.
You only have to look.

Chris Kirk is an award-winning British filmmaker creating warm, research-led documentaries about memory, landscape and the histories hiding in plain sight.

Explore selected work Discuss a project
On locationWatercress Line · Researching Tracing the Rails

Profile / 01

History told at human scale.

Chris Kirk smiling on location, wearing headphones
Director, writer, self-shooter & editor

Based in West Sussex, Chris has spent a lifetime making, shaping and supporting stories across film, television, theatre and audio.

His route into filmmaking began with teenage productions and continued through Umatic, Betamax, SVHS and DV into contemporary digital production. Along the way came freelance work for the BBC, support for London drama colleges, practical special-effects work and the co-founding of GenesisFX.

Today his practice brings those disciplines together: directing contributors, researching local history, filming on location, restoring archive images and finding the final story in the edit. He is also studying for an MA in Film & Television at Falmouth University.

“I’ve spent a life telling other people’s stories — it turns out, this one was mine all along.”
Read the full filmmaker biography

Selected work / 02

Across screen and sound.

Selected projects and screen credits from an independent filmmaking practice spanning more than three decades.

Chris Kirk examining a surviving railway line in a wooded landscapeCurrent work

2024—present

Creator · Director · Writer · Self-shooter · Editor · Producer

What began as a local film has grown into a feature-documentary series and wider digital archive. Following the lost Steyning Line through Sussex, it combines first-hand testimony, restored photographs, landscape investigation, humour and companionship to preserve histories at risk of disappearing.

The not-for-profit project extends beyond each film through free YouTube releases, an interactive historical map, behind-the-scenes material and a growing network of community knowledge.

Watch on YouTube Official site Explore the map

02

2008

When all is Said and Done

Editor

Independent screen credit in a career shaped by patient construction, rhythm and the emotional possibilities of the edit.

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03

2004

Griffin

Associate Producer

An early producing credit reflecting a long-standing interest in practical, collaborative filmmaking outside conventional systems.

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04

2001

Seven Swords of Wayland

Camera · Editor · Visual effects

The UK’s first interactive DVD game, starring Brian Blessed, for which Chris worked as a camera operator, editor and visual-effects creator.

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05

2000

Successful Searching

Director · GenesisFX

A feature-length VHS documentary about metal detecting, presented by Stephen Cranford and made through GenesisFX.

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06

1999

Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death

Dalek Operator · Set Builder

Credited Dalek operator on the BBC’s Comic Relief special. Chris and Stephen Cranford also built the TARDIS interior and exterior sets, an important contribution that went uncredited.

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Off screen / Audio

Radio-play productions

Before Tracing the Rails, Chris and Lou Kirk-Partridge ran a radio-play society with blind military veterans at Blind Veterans UK’s Brighton centre—developing collaborative performances, directing and recording productions, and helping those stories reach radio audiences.

Drama · Direction · Recording · Community
Los Angeles Short Film Awards 2026 Best Director Winner, Feature Documentary, Chris Kirk
Stage Script Film Competition winner laurel for Chris Kirk, feature documentary and web series

Recognition / 03

Three directing wins · 2026

Best Director

Tracing the Rails

Three directing awards for an independently produced, community-driven documentary series:

  • Best Director — Feature DocumentaryLos Angeles Short Film Awards · 2026
  • Best First Time Director Feature DocHollywood Stage Script Film Competition · 2026
  • Best Director Web SeriesHollywood Stage Script Film Competition · 2026

Selected experience / 04

A practical life in production.

Broadcast

BBC freelance work

Freelance camera and production assignments for the BBC, filming performers and contributors in studio and on location. The work provided an early grounding in preparation, adaptability and working calmly around established talent.

Chris Kirk beside a performer during BBC location filming Chris Kirk with a guest during BBC freelance work Chris Kirk wearing a BBC shirt beside a guest Chris Kirk with Hugh Grant during BBC freelance work

Production

GenesisFX co-founder

A special-effects and editing company co-founded with friend Simon Lawrence. GenesisFX brought practical ingenuity and post-production craft together across independent, commercial and factual projects.

GenesisFX film and post-production services logo
Cast and crew during a GenesisFX location production The GenesisFX video-editing and production workspace

Special projects

Doctor Who connections

A long association with Doctor Who-related productions, events and creative projects, including filming and working with performers from across the programme’s history and a friendship with its producer at the time, John Nathan-Turner.

Chris Kirk with a performer at a Doctor Who-related engagement Group photograph from a Doctor Who-related production event Chris Kirk with a Doctor Who performer Chris Kirk with a Doctor Who performer

Public service

Blind Veterans UK

With Lou Kirk-Partridge, Chris established and ran a radio-play society for blind military veterans—directing, recording and editing performances—alongside wider creative support and work on a major Buckingham Palace garden party.

Blind Veterans UK Radio Play Society recording a production at the Brighton centre Chris Kirk and Lou Kirk-Partridge at a Blind Veterans UK event Chris Kirk meeting a member of the Royal Family at the Buckingham Palace garden party
Watch the Radio Play Society film

Interactive production

Interactive DVD

Chris was a camera operator, editor and visual-effects creator on The Seven Swords of Wayland, starring Brian Blessed and produced as the UK’s first interactive DVD game.

Chris Kirk and Brian Blessed during production of The Seven Swords of Wayland Chris Kirk with Brian Blessed in costume during production of The Seven Swords of Wayland Chris Kirk beside the camera during production of The Seven Swords of Wayland Seven Swords of Wayland interactive motion picture DVD cover

BBC production

BBC Dalek Operator

Credited Dalek operator on Doctor Who: The Curse of Fatal Death, working alongside Hugh Grant and the ensemble cast in the programme and its making-of feature released on VHS. Chris and Stephen Cranford also built the TARDIS interior and exterior sets, although that construction work was uncredited.

Chris Kirk with a performer during The Curse of Fatal Death A Dalek on the constructed set Chris Kirk inside a Dalek prop on set Dalek props being prepared for filming TARDIS exterior set during construction
View the production on IMDb

Contact / 05

Have a story worth following?

For directing, documentary, editing, heritage and collaborative project enquiries: