Allison McGourty

Allison McGourty is an award-winning film producer and screenwriter.

Allison McGourty
Born
Allison Claire McGourty

Bristol, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationFilm producer, screenwriter
Years active1990–present

Early life

Allison McGourty was born in Bristol, England. As a child she moved to Venice, Italy, then relocated to Gleniffer Braes, on the boundary of Barrhead in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, where she attended the Cross Arthurlie Primary School.[1] As a young girl she was a competitive horsewoman, qualifying for the Horse of the Year Show.[1] She enrolled in Barrhead High School where she won the History Prize and played clarinet, and tenor saxophone in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Scotland.[2][3] From 1982 to 1987, McGourty attended Staffordshire University in England, gaining a Bachelor of Science degree with honours in computer science and French. During her degree course, she lived in Paris and worked for Électricité de France.[2]

Early career

McGourty began her professional career working for the international management consultancy firm Deloitte.[4] In 1990, she joined Reuters, where she was part of the launch team for Reuters Television.[5] In 1995 she accepted a post at the BBC, where she managed documentary programming at the UK Horizons television channel[6] before being promoted to the BBC World Service.[3]

In 2003, McGourty founded the British independent record label LO-MAX Records.[7][8] She signed the acclaimed rock band The Wrens[9] to the label after spotting them at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.[10] She also signed The Go-Betweens award-winning album Oceans Apart,[11][12][13] Kevin Ayers’ celebrated The Unfairground[7][14] and posthumous releases by Jeff Buckley.[2] In 2010, McGourty signed the Greenlandic singer-songwriter Simon Lynge,[15] whose debut album, The Future, reached the top of the Amazon UK Rock Charts on the week of its release.[16] McGourty wrote, directed and produced a short film about Lynge which she shot in Greenland.[17] McGourty founded Lo-Max Publishing Ltd, which publishes Frank Fairfield, Louis Michot of The Lost Bayou Ramblers and Simon Lynge. Lo-Max Publishing's music has been featured on the US television shows Lie to Me, Brothers & Sisters and The American Epic Sessions.[18]

Film career

In 2006 McGourty founded Lo-Max Films and was the creator, producer and co-writer of the Emmy Award nominated American Epic documentary film series.[19][20] The films covered the first recordings of roots music in the United States during the 1920s and their cultural, social and technological impact on North America and the world.[21] The series involved ten years of field research[22] and has been sited as one of the best music documentaries ever made.[23][24][25][26][27]

McGourty produced and co-wrote The American Epic Sessions, an award-winning musical film, directed by Bernard MacMahon, in which an engineer restores the fabled long-lost first electrical sound recording system from 1925, and twenty contemporary artists pay tribute to the momentous machine by attempting to record songs on it for the first time in 80 years.[19][21][26] The film starred Steve Martin, Nas, Elton John, Alabama Shakes, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Jack White, Taj Mahal, Ana Gabriel, Pokey LaFarge, Rhiannon Giddens and Beck.[21]

In September 2017 the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools announced a nine-month preschool to high school educational program based on McGourty's American Epic films beginning on 6 October 2017.[28] The school, founded by American educator John Dewey in 1896, has over 2,015 students enrolled in 15 grades.[20] The program featured McGourty and director Bernard MacMahon as Artists-in-Residence.[28]

McGourty is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Writers Guild of America West, the Sundance Institute, and the International Documentary Association.[29] She is the founder of Lo-Max Films, along with film director Bernard MacMahon and musician Duke Erikson.[30]

Awards and honors

Allison McGourty's American Epic documentary series and The American Epic Sessions have received numerous awards, including the Foxtel Audience Award at the Sydney Film Festival,[31] the Audience Award at the Calgary International Film Festival[32] and a nomination for a Primetime Emmy.[33] McGourty was nominated by the British Academy Film Awards as a Breakthrough Talent for screenwriting, producing and music supervising The American Epic Sessions.[34] On 23 April 2018, the Focal International Awards nominated McGourty for Best Use of Footage in a History Feature and Best Use of Footage in a Music Production.[35]

Award Category Recipients and nominees Result Ref.
Calgary International Film Festival Audience Award The American Epic Sessions Won [32]
Sydney Film Festival Foxtel Audience Award American Epic Won [36]
Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Music Direction The American Epic Sessions Nominated [33]
Hawaii International Film Festival Halekulani Golden Orchid Award American Epic: Out of the Many the One Nominated [37]
Tryon International Film Festival Best Documentary American Epic Won [38]
Tryon International Film Festival Best Overall Picture American Epic Won [38]
Association for Recorded Sound Collections Best History in Recorded Folk or Roots Music Allison McGourty Won [39]
British Academy Film Awards Breakthrough Talent Allison McGourty Nominated [34]
Focal International Awards Best Use of Footage in a History Feature Allison McGourty Nominated [40]
Focal International Awards Best Use of Footage in a Music Production Allison McGourty Nominated [40]

Filmography
YearFilmWriterProducerMusic supervisorDirector
2010 Simon Lynge in Greenland Yes Yes
2017 American Epic: The Big Bang Yes Yes Yes
2017 American Epic: Blood and Soil Yes Yes Yes
2017 American Epic: Out of the Many, the One Yes Yes Yes
2017 The American Epic Sessions Yes Yes Yes

Bibliography

McGourty was the co-author of a collaborative memoir chronicling the 10-year odyssey researching and making the American Epic documentary films and The American Epic Sessions. The book was co-written with Bernard MacMahon and music historian Elijah Wald. American Epic: The First Time America Heard Itself was published on 2 May 2017 by Simon & Schuster.[41] The book was the winner of the 2017 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award.[42]

Discography

McGourty was the co-producer of a series of album releases that accompanied the American Epic films. These albums received widespread acclaim with the 5-CD box set American Epic: The Collection being named as Rolling Stone’s Reissue of the Year[43] and many critics acclaiming it as being the best box set of its kind ever to be released.[44][45][46][47][48]

McGourty was the editor and compiler of American Epic: The Best of Blues which Robert Christgau awarded with an A grade[49] and made his number 2 Best Album of 2017.[50]

Photography

McGourty was the unit still photographer for the American Epic film production[51] and has photographed portraits of numerous authors for their books, including Charles Shaar Murray,[52] Cathi Unsworth,[53] and Tony Barrell.[54][55]

References

Notes
  1. Hector, Lyle (19 August 1976). "Sisters spurred on to success". Barrhead Pictorial (No. 1259). p. 1.
  2. McGourty, Allison (28 September 2016). "An Interview with Allison McGourty and Bernard MacMahon". www.wnur.org. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  3. "Reel Folk: Interview with Bernard MacMahon & Allison McGourty Webcast | Library of Congress". www.loc.gov. McGourty, Allison, MacMahon, Bernard, Twohy, Mary Sue, Winick, Stephen. 29 September 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. "Deloitte Case Interview - Deloitte Consulting S&O - Management Consulted". Management Consulted. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  5. "2016 Sundance Docs in Focus: AMERICAN EPIC". what (not) to doc. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  6. "UK Horizons | A television channel broadcast in the United Kingdom". www.ukhorizons.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  7. "Premiere at Perth's Southern Fried traces the history of recorded sound". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  8. "An 'Epic' Journey | MaxTheTrax". maxthetrax.com. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  9. Hann, Michael (9 March 2006). "The Wrens, ULU, London". the Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  10. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (18 March 2006). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 21.
  11. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (14 May 2005). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.
  12. Petridis, Alexis (15 April 2005). "CD: The Go-Betweens, Oceans Apart". the Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  13. Oceans Apart by The Go-Betweens, retrieved 25 March 2018
  14. The Unfairground by Kevin Ayers, retrieved 25 March 2018
  15. "Three to see at LFF 2015 if you like... films about music". British Film Institute. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  16. "Simon Lynge Music – Biography". www.simonlyngemusic.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  17. Simon Lynge in Greenland, retrieved 25 March 2018
  18. "About". LO-MAX Records.
  19. "AMERICAN EPIC - A Journey Through the Music that Transformed America | PBS About". AMERICAN EPIC - A Journey Through the Music that Transformed America | PBS About. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  20. Recordings, Legacy. "University of Chicago Laboratory Schools announce 9-month educational program based on the "American Epic" films, music and book". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  21. "BBC - Arena: American Epic - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  22. Lewis, Randy. "'American Epic' documentary on birth of recorded music to premiere May 16". latimes.com. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  23. Bradley, Mike (4 June 2017). "Arena: American Epic". The Observer.
  24. "Don't Miss PBS' Roots Music Documentary Series 'American Epic'!". Acoustic Guitar. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  25. "The first time America heard itself sing". 1843. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  26. Boyd, Joe (19 May 2017). "How the record industry crisis of 1925 shaped our musical world". the Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  27. "American Epic - Reviving Record Production's Past". Long Live Vinyl. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  28. "News Detail - University of Chicago Laboratory Schools". www.ucls.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  29. "Allison McGourty". FestForums. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  30. Advertiser, Perthshire (25 July 2016). "Allison McGourty's major new TV series kicks off Perth's Southern Fried Festival". dailyrecord. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  31. "63rd Sydney Film Festival Complete Foxtel Movies Audience Award Announced" (PDF). sff.org.au. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2018.
  32. "And the Winners are… | Calgary International Film Festival". www.calgaryfilm.com. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  33. "Nominees/Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  34. "Nominations Announced for the British Academy Television Craft Awards in 2018". www.bafta.org. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  35. "Production Nominations". FOCAL INTERNATIONAL AWARDS. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  36. Shedden, Iain (14 July 2017). "Stars out for American Epic". www.theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  37. "Hawaii International Film Festival (2015)". IMDb. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  38. ""American Epic" filmmakers return to Tryon for special event - The Tryon Daily Bulletin". The Tryon Daily Bulletin. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  39. "ARSC Awards for Excellence: 2017 Winners". www.arsc-audio.org. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  40. "Focal International Awards 2018" (PDF). Focal International Awards.
  41. American Epic. 2 May 2017. ISBN 9781501135606.
  42. "ARSC Awards for Excellence: 2017 Winners". www.arsc-audio.org. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  43. "David Fricke on 2017's Best Reissues: Bob Dylan, Beatles and More". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  44. "Greil Marcus' Real Life Rock Top 10: The Epic Tradition". Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  45. "Album Review: 'American Epic' 5-CD Box Set". Acoustic Guitar. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  46. "Robert Christgau on 'American Epic,' Americana, and an Epic". Noisey. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  47. Cartwright, Garth (November 2017). "Magnificent book-box soundtrack to BBC TV series about music of the 20s". Country Music Magazine. p. 106.
  48. "Various Artists: American Epic - The Collection". PopMatters. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  49. "Robert Christgau on Some Delta Blues Gems and Country Blues Moments". Noisey. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  50. "Robert Christgau: 2017: Dean's List". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  51. Allison McGourty#Bibliography Wald, McGourty, MacMahon 2017, p. 279
  52. Murray, Charles Shaar (2011). The Hellhound Sample. London: Headpress. ISBN 978-1900486781.
  53. Unsworth, Cathi (2008). The Singer. London: Serpent's Tail. ISBN 978-1846686405.
  54. Barrell, Tony (2016). Born to Drum. London: Dey Street Books. ISBN 978-0062307866.
  55. Barrell, Tony (2017). The Beatles on the Roof. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1785585784.

Bibliography
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