BAFTA winning Director Tanya Stephan creates observational documentaries. She’s directed high profile singles and series for Channel Four, BBC One, BBC Two and ITV. Her trademark is capturing people’s stories with humanity, and crafting compelling narratives. Her most recent film, The Missing Children, has won a BAFTA for best specialist factual documentary 2022, and also The Royal Television Society for best international current affairs documentary. Her other films have been nominated for the documentary Grierson Awards and three Royal Television Society Awards.
Tanya has directed films about young people and mental health Inside My Head (C4); the first film inside a British Muslim faith school (Muslim School C4), and a series exploring the lives of people struggling with chronic addiction (Compulsion BBC2). In a lighter vein, her much acclaimed series “Liberty of London” (S1) captured the characters behind the scenes of London’s most eccentric department store and was watched by over 2million viewers on its first night. Her recent film for BBC2 ‘Life and Death the Pentecostal Way’ explored the lives of young people at risk of falling into crime who take refuge in their local Pentecostal church. The film won best TV Documentary runner up at the Religion and Ethics Awards.
She’s also directed a series of short form online films about highly sensitive subjects including forced marriage, hate crime and FGM. These are available to view on request.
Tanya did her Masters in Documentary Directing at the National Film and Television School and is a dual UK/US citizen.