Michael Seresin is a New Zealand cinematographer and film director, born in Wellington on 17 July 1942. He studied at Victoria University of Wellington before joining Pacific Films, a production company based in Wellington, where he worked for approximately four years. He subsequently moved to Rome and then London, where he developed his cinematography career through work on television commercials and feature films.
Seresin’s breakthrough came with Bugsy Malone (1976), directed by Alan Parker. This began a long professional collaboration with Parker, for whom he photographed Midnight Express (1978), Fame (1980), Shoot the Moon (1982), Birdy (1984), Angel Heart (1987), Come See the Paradise (1990), The Road to Wellville (1994), Evita (1996) and Angela’s Ashes (1999). His cinematography on Angela’s Ashes earned him a BAFTA Award nomination.
His other feature credits include The Ragman’s Daughter (1972), City Hall (1996), Mercury Rising (1998), Domestic Disturbance (2001), The Life of David Gale (2003) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), directed by Alfonso Cuarón. He later photographed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), directed by Matt Reeves, and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), directed by Matt Reeves. His work spans British, American and international productions, with experience in dramatic features, studio films and commercial cinematography.
Seresin also directed the feature film Homeboy (1988), starring Mickey Rourke, who co-wrote the screenplay. Outside filmmaking, he founded Seresin Estate, a vineyard and winery in New Zealand’s Marlborough region, in 1992. In 2009, he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the film and wine industries.