Asif Kapadia on Bringing the ‘Amazing,’ ‘Profound,’ ‘Beautiful’ ‘7 Up’ Documentary Series to a Close After More Than 60 Years: ‘It’s a Dream Job’
Asif Kapadia has directed the final instalment of the “Up” documentary series, bringing to a close a project that has followed 14 ordinary people in Britain for more than six decades. He said he felt honoured to continue the work of Michael Apted, who directed every instalment after the first, and described the opportunity as a “dream job”.
The series began in 1964 with “7 Up”, filming ten boys and four girls in England, all aged seven, and returning to them every seven years. Its final two-part instalment aired on ITV in the UK last month; the series has been broadcast in 157 countries. Kapadia worked with a limited television budget and drew on previously unseen footage, also including Apted as a character to explore the nature of documentary filmmaking.
In short
- Asif Kapadia directed the final “Up” documentary.
- The series followed 14 people for over 60 years.
- Its last two-part instalment aired on ITV last month.
Explained simply
The Up series began with 7 Up, a 1964 film about 14 children in England. The filmmakers returned to the same people every seven years, documenting their lives as they grew older.
Michael Apted directed each instalment after the first, and Asif Kapadia took over for the final two-part film. The project has followed its participants for more than 60 years and reached audiences in many countries, making it a long-running record of changing lives and documentary filmmaking.