Peter Webber (born 1960) is a British director who is best known for his debut feature film Girl with a Pearl Earring and Hannibal Rising.

Career

Films

Girl with a Pearl Earring, starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth, marked Webber's feature film debut. The film has received numerous accolades, including three Academy Award nominations, two Golden Globe nominations, and 10 BAFTA Award nominations.

Dino De Laurentiis tapped Webber to direct Hannibal Rising. Based on Thomas Harris' book of the same name, and starring Gaspard Ulliel, Gong Li and Rhys Ifans, this prequel depicts a young Hannibal Lecter as he gradually becomes a serial killer. The film received many negative reviews at the time but has since garnered a cult status.

Webber made his first short film, The Zebra Man, about sideshow performer Horace Ridler starring Minnie Driver.

Then, in 2012, Webber returned to the big screen with the World War II drama Emperor, starring Tommy Lee Jones.

Television

He directed Simon Russell Beale as Franz Schubert and explored the counter-culture of tunnel-dwelling road protesters in Underground. His 2001 Channel 4 miniseries Men Only stirred controversy for its frank and shocking portrayal of the dark side of male sexuality. It is notable for giving early leads to Stephen Moyer of True Blood and Martin Freeman of The Hobbit.

Documentary

An award-winning documentary director, Webber directed several programmes for BBC Channel 4 about classical music including child prodigies, maestros and composers such as Richard Wagner. He also directed several popular science documentaries about a range of subjects including crash test dummies, deep sea life and phantom limbs.

In 2009, he travelled into the remote Colombian Amazon to film with the Macuna Tribe for a documentary called The Sand and the Rain.

Producer

Webber moved to Qatar in 2008 where he took up the post of Creative Director at Qatar National Day for two years. During this time he developed their film program and creative vision. While in Qatar he also executive produced several documentary films including Sarajevo Film Festival winner For the Love of Books, which was also the recipient of a Grierson Award in 2012 for Best Historical Documentary.

Films

• The Stretford Wives (2001)
• Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
• Hannibal Rising (2007)
• Emperor (2012)
• Earth: One Amazing Day (2017)

Television

• The Temptation of Franz Schubert (1997)
• Underground (1999)
• Men Only (2001)
• Six Feet Under (2004, TV episode "The Dare")

[ Source: Wikipedia ]