Christopher Templeton

Christopher Frederick Templeton (born 13 December 1960) is a Scottish/Hungarian scriptwriter and director whose radio plays and television documentaries highlighted human rights abuses in the United States and Europe during the post Cold War era of the 1990s.

Career

Templeton was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of the Glasgow playwright and screenwriter, William Templeton. He graduated from the London International Film School in 1985 but his first writing work was for radio. Templeton directed several productions on BBC World Service, which broadcast new and politically charged plays on the 'Play for the Week' flagship series. His first project, Mirad, A Boy from Bosnia,^[1] was well-received by critics include Sue Gaisford,^[2] drama critic of the Observer, who described the production as "...almost unbearably moving".^[3] Whilst Mirad amplified the human cost of the Bosnian genocide, later productions, like Rupa Lucian, Child of Romania ^[4] exposed the atrocities of the ‘Securitatae’, Romania’s secret police. Templeton continued at the World Service to write and present the first non-religious content for the Pause for Thought series with other leading secularists including Nicolas Walter and Dr.Richard Dawkins.^[5]

Death Row Campaign

In 1996, Templeton coordinated the UK campaign of death row artist, Manuel Salazar.^[6] The campaign secured a second trial for Salazar ^[7] from execution with Templeton’s campaign documentary ‘Trial and Error’ (broadcast on NBC), There were different Early Day Motions in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, one being signed by 37 MPs in 1993^[8] plus a later one signed by 17 MPs in 1996.^[9] The case also caught the attention of Amnesty International,^[10] legal figures including Alun Jones QC,^[11] academics such as Prof. Rodolfo Acuña,^[12] as well as Pope John Paul II.^[13]

References