Anthony Wonke is an Emmy and triple BAFTA-winning British film director, and an Oscar- nominated and Emmy-winning executive producer. Working across cinematic documentaries, feature films, television series, and high-end commercials. He has also received the Prix Italia, Peabody, Grierson, RTS, and One World Media awards for his work. His films are noted for combining intelligence, visual flair, and emotional insight, and have premiered at festivals across the US, Canada, Asia, Europe, and the UK, as well as being screened on Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, Sky, the BBC, Channel 4, HBO, PBS, and Arte. In 2026 he made his debut as a narrative feature director with In the Shadows, starring Jasmine Jobson. For commercials, Wonke is represented by Partizan and has directed campaigns for Global brands including Google, Johnnie Walker, Vodafone, Expedia, Uber, Jaguar, and DAZN, earning nominations and awards at Cannes Lions, the Clios, and the British Arrows.
Career Wonke's most recent film is In the Shadows (2026), his debut narrative feature, starring Jasmine Jobson. It's having its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, ahead of a UK theatrical release on 30 October 2026.
The same year, he directed The Decision, a feature documentary on the life and career of former Argentine president Mauricio Macri, produced by Oscar winning Frida Torresblanco for Hangtime Films.
In 2024, he directed The Accidental Spy, a feature documentary on Blerim Skoro, an American CIA and FBI informant who infiltrated al-Qaeda after being recruited from a Manhattan prison following 9/11. The film had its world premiere at the Warsaw International Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Documentary Feature in the Documentary Competition; it went on to win Best Documentary Feature at the Seoul Whistler Film Festival and Best Documentary Director at the Silk Road International Film Festival. It is now streaming on Amazon.
In 2022, he directed Dettori, a feature documentary on the life and career of champion jockey Frankie Dettori, produced by Embankment Films and Trombone Pictures for Sky. It was nominated for the FOCAL International Award for Best Use of Footage in a Sports Production, shared with Jack Lee Taylor and Nick Ryle.
In 2020, he directed The Man Who Walked Around the World, which received an official selection at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
In 2019, he directed Unmasking Jihadi John: Anatomy of a Terrorist, a feature documentary
for HBO on the identity of the ISIS executioner known as "Jihadi John." It was nominated for a BAFTA (Best Current Affairs Documentary, 2020), an International Emmy, and a Grierson Award.
In 2018, his feature documentary The Director and the Jedi, following director Rian Johnson during the making of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and produced for Lucasfilm/Disney, had its world premiere at SXSW.
In 2015, Wonke released two theatrical documentary features: Ronaldo, released by Universal Pictures, an intimate portrait of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo produced by the makers of Senna and Amy; and Being AP, released by BBC Films on champion jump jockey A. P. McCoy, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
In 2014, he directed Children on the Frontline, a documentary for Channel 4 and Arte on children living through the Syrian civil war, co-directed with Marcel Mettelsiefen. The film received 16 awards in total, including an Emmy, two BAFTAs, the Prix Italia, a Peabody Award, an RTS Award, a Grierson Award, and a One World Media Award.
In 2013, he directed Fire in the Night, a theatrical documentary on the Piper Alpha disaster, produced by STV for Creative Scotland/BBC. It won the Audience Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Best Single Documentary at the BAFTA Scotland awards, where it was also nominated for the Audience Film Award and Best Feature Film.
In 2012, he directed three films: The Battle for Marjah, made with Ben Anderson for HBO/Channel 4, which followed a US Marine platoon in Afghanistan and was nominated for three Emmy Awards, winning the History Makers Award for Best Current Affairs; Crack House USA, made for MSNBC/More4 about a Chicago drug gang brought down by a federal wiretap, which was nominated for a BAFTA for Factual Photography; and Gymnast, a documentary following the British Olympic gymnastics squad, shot with exclusive access in 2008 and broadcast on BBC Two.
Around 2009, he directed The £800M Railway Station, a six-part series for BBC Two on the renovation of St Pancras International, which was nominated for a Broadcasting Press Guild Award.
In 2008, he directed The Tower: A Tale of Two Cities, an eight-part BBC One documentary series that he directed and series-produced over three years, following a London tower block being sold as luxury flats amid one of the city's poorest estates. It won the BAFTA for Best Factual Series and the RTS Award for Factual Editing, and was nominated for a Grierson Award and a Broadcast Award.
As executive producer, Wonke's credits include Watani: My Homeland (2016), a 40-minute documentary following a family's escape from the Syrian Civil War, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
Wonke is represented for film and television by Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, and for commercials by Partizan.
Personal life Wonke lives in North London.
Filmography Executive producer YearTitleAwards and nominations2016Children of SyriaWinner - Emmy - Current Affairs Nominated - Emmy - Best Documentary2016Watani: My HomelandNominated - Oscar - Best Documentary Short
Director YearTitleAwards and nominations2026In The Shadows2026The Decision2024The Accidental SpyWorld premiere, Warsaw International Film Festival — Nominated, Best Documentary Feature (Documentary Competition). Winner, Best Documentary Feature (Seoul Whistler Film Festival). Winner, Best Documentary Director (Silk Road International Film Festival)2022DettoriNominated, FOCAL International Award — Best Use of Footage in a Sports Production (shared with Jack Lee Taylor and Nick Ryle)2020The Man Who Walked Around the WorldPremiered Edinburgh International Film Festival2019Unmasking Jihadi John: Anatomy of a TerroristNominated - BAFTA Awards 2020- Best Current Affairs Documentary
Nominated. - Emmy Awards 2020- News & Documentary
Winner - Spotlight Documentary Film Awards 2019
Winner - Telly Awards 2021 - Music composer
Nominated - The Grierson Trust British Documentary Award 20192017The Director and The JediOfficial Selection - SXSW 20182015Ronaldo2015Being APOfficial Selection - Toronto Film Festival 20152014Children on the Frontline - SyriaWinner - Prix Italia - Best TV Documentary, Current Affairs Winner - International EmmyWinner - Cinema for Peace Award, Berlin 2014Winner - Bayeux-Calvados Award - Long-Format TelevisionWinner - Grierson Award - Best Documentary On An International Contemporary ThemeWinner - One World Media - Television AwardWinner - Edinburgh TV Awards - Producer/Director Debut Award (Marcel Mettelsiefen)Winner - AIB Media Excellence Awards - International Current Affairs Documentary TelevisionWinner - RTS - International DocumentaryWinner - BAFTA Current AffairsWinner - BAFTA CRAFT - Factual PhotographyWinner - LA FIGRA AwardWinner - Peabody Awards - DocumentaryNominated - BAFTA CRAFT - Best Newcomer (Marcel Mettelsefien)Nominated - Amnesty's Media Award - DocumentaryNominated - Rory Peck Award - FeatureNominated - Frontline Awards - BroadcastNominated - Broadcast Awards - Best Current Affairs Documentary2013Fire in the NightOfficial Selection - Edinburgh International Film Festival 2013 Winner - Edinburgh International Film Festival 2013 - Audience AwardWinner - BAFTA Scotland - Single DocumentaryNominated - BAFTA Scotland - Cineworld Film Audience AwardNominated - BAFTA Scotland - Feature FilmWinner - RTS Scotland Award - FactualNominated - Celtic Media Festival - Factual SingleNominated - FOCAL International Awards - Best Use of Footage In a Cinema Release2012Between the Waves and the Sky2010The Battle for MarjahWinner - History Makers Award - Current Affairs, 2012 Nominated - News & Documentary Emmy Award 2012 - Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story - Long FormNominated - News & Documentary Emmy Award 2012 - Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Editing - Documentary and Long FormNominated - News & Documentary Emmy Award 2012 - Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Music & Sound2010The £800M Railway StationNominated - Broadcasting Press Guild Award, 20082010Crack House USANominated - BAFTA - Best Factual Photography 20122010Gymnast2004–07The Tower: A Tale of Two CitiesWinner - BAFTA - Best Factual Series, 2008 Winner - RTS Award- Factual Editing, 2008
Nominated - Grierson Award - Documentary Series, 2008Nominated - Broadcast Award - Factual Series, 2008Nominated - Televisual Bulldog Award - Factual Series, 20082007The TowerOfficial selection Sheffield International film festival2005A Very British BollywoodOfficial selection Sheffield International film festival2003Squaddies on the Rampage2003Property People2002Witness: Running for God2002Bullet Catchers2001Fraud Squad2001Cutting Edge: Kidnap2001The Art of Crime (ep: Inside Job)2000Amsterdam: City of Sin1999Behind the Crime (ep: "Car Crimes")1998Staying LostWinner - Indies Award - Best Current Affairs Series, 1999 Nominated - BBC2 Awards - Documentary Series, 1999Nominated - Grierson Awards - Documentary Series, 2000Nominated - RTS Awards - Documentary & Factual Editing, 2000
Awards and honours Awards 2008 British Academy Television Award, British Academy Television Award for Best Factual Series: The Tower: A Tale of Two Cities 2008 RTS Award, Factual Editing: The Tower: A Tale of Two Cities 2012 History Makers Award, Best Current Affairs: The Battle for Marjah 2013 Edinburgh International Film Festival, Audience Award: Fire in the Night 2013 British Academy Scotland Awards, Best Single Documentary: Fire in the Night
References
External links Casarotto Ramsay and Associates Anthony Wonke's page at IMDb