Tim Plester

Timothy Marc Plester (born 10 September 1970) is a British actor, playwright, and filmmaker, best known for the documentaries Way of the Morris and The Ballad of Shirley Collins - plus a multifarious number of cameo roles for film and TV. Early life and education Born and raised in Banbury, Oxfordshire, Plester graduated from Dartington College of Arts in Devon, with a BA in Theatre, and went on to obtain an MA (Hons) in playwriting studies from Birmingham University. Career Plester's award-winning documentary Way of the Morris premiered at SXSW 2011 and received a limited theatrical release in UK cinemas before being released on DVD. Co-directed with Rob Curry and produced independently by Fifth Column Films, the feature-length documentary includes contributions from Billy Bragg, Fairport Convention's Chris Leslie and members of The Adderbury Village Morris Men. It was selected by the UK Film Focus as one of the "Breakthrough" British films of 2011. Plester and Curry are also responsible for the short field-recorded documentary Here We’m Be Together (which premiered at the 2014 BFI London Film Festival). The Ballad of Shirley Collins, the duo's feature-length film about the iconic English folk-singer Shirley Collins, premiered at the 2017 BFI London Film Festival). Partly funded by a successful kickstarter campaign, the film also screened at the Rotterdam international film festival and CPH:DOX in Denmark. Southern Journey (Revisited), Plester and Curry's third feature-length documentary together, premiered at Sheffield Doc/Fest in 2020 and was screened on Sky Arts in the autumn of 2021. Other work together includes Hillbilly Homilies, a profile piece on the Appalachain poet Maurice Manning, and The Battle Of Denham Ford, which won a Special Mention in the UK Competition at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2021. The directing duo are currently working with the illustrator and land-rights campaigner Nick Hayes on an adaptation of his best-selling book, 'The Book of Trespass'. Plester's writing credits for film include Ant Muzak (2002), a short film directed by Ben Gregor and starring Nick Moran and Mackenzie Crook. It was the winner of an Audience Award at the 2003 Sydney Film Festival and was nominated for 'Best UK Short' at the 2003 Soho Rushes Festival and the 2002 Raindance Film Festival.