---
name: "Sean Ellis"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/sean-ellis"
fi1m_id: "sean-ellis"
imdb_id: "nm1193346"
tmdb_id: 32250
wikidata_id: "Q3476723"
roles: ["Producer","Director"]
born: "1 January 1970"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "producer"
average_over: 0
updated: "2026-10-01T22:37:36.611919+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Sean Ellis

## Identity

Sean Ellis

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/sean-ellis
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** sean-ellis
- **IMDb ID:** nm1193346
- **TMDB ID:** 32250
- **Wikidata ID:** Q3476723
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Ellis, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3476723, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1193346/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/32250

Producer and director. Born 1 January 1970 in Brighton, Sussex, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Producer, Director
- **Born:** 1 January 1970, Brighton, Sussex, England, UK
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Ellis, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3476723, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1193346/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/32250

## Fi1m on Sean Ellis

> Sean Ellis takes on producing, writing, directing and camerawork, but his strongest quality is attention to people under pressure. We rate *Metro Manila* for that patience, even when its crime plotting starts to strain belief.

In *Metro Manila* (2013), the city keeps going while a family struggles to find a foothold. Ellis's detailed views of everyday life give Ramirez's need to earn a living a convincing setting. We cared about the prospect of a new job because he had made the need to support a family feel pressing. The film is good at making ordinary concerns matter before it asks them to sustain a crime thriller.

Ellis expanded his short *Cashback* (2004) into *Cashback* (2006), before making the psychological thriller *The Broken* (2008). With *Metro Manila*, he made a Tagalog-language film without speaking the language, attending to the actors' body language instead. His later work takes in the wartime drama *Anthropoid* (2016), the period horror *The Cursed* (2021) and the boxing thriller *The Cut* (2025). There is no single genre to identify him by; writing, directing and often shooting the films himself provide the continuity.

In *Metro Manila*, Ellis is producer, co-writer, director and cinematographer, but the work of his collaborators matters. Ian Traifalgar's production design makes the homes and workplaces feel inhabited, while Jake Macapagal and John Arcilla give the thriller the human weight it needs. Ellis's camera allows enough ordinary city activity into the images to keep them from becoming mere illustrations of poverty. Occasionally, though, a shot seems too pleased with its own finish. We would rather stay with the people than pause to admire the picture.

The screenplay, written with Frank E. Flowers, sometimes makes hardship too convenient a route into crime. Familiar family difficulties are asked to supply sympathy before the film has made them particular, and the busier plotting asks more indulgence than the quieter scenes. The performances make us expect more credible behaviour, which is why those shortcuts matter. Start with *Metro Manila*, and be prepared to forgive some of the plot for the sake of the people caught in it.

## Biography

Sean Ellis is a British film director, writer and producer. Born in Brighton in 1970, he began his career as a fashion photographer whose work appeared in magazines including Vogue and The Face, before transitioning to filmmaking in the early 2000s.

His first feature, *Cashback* (2006), expanded from his Academy Award-nominated 2004 short film. Ellis directed, wrote, produced and served as cinematographer on *Metro Manila* (2013), the British entry for the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Subsequent films include *Anthropoid* (2016) and *The Cursed* (2021).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Metro Manila* (2013), Fi1m 74, Executive Producer, Story, Director of Photography, Producer, Screenplay, Cinematography, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/metro-manila.md)

## Complete filmography (11)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Cut* (2025), Director, Director of Photography
- *The Cursed* (2021), Director, Writer, Director of Photography, Producer
- *Anthropoid* (2016), Director, Writer, Director of Photography, Producer
- *Metro Manila* (2013), Director, Director of Photography, Producer, Story, Screenplay, Executive Producer — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/metro-manila.md)
- *The Broken* (2008), Director, Writer
- *The Business Trip* (2008), Writer, Director, Executive Producer
- *Flashbacks of a Fool* (2008), Executive Producer
- *Cashback* (2007), Director, Producer, Screenplay
- *Cashback* (2004), Writer, Director
- *Left Turn* (2001), Director, Writer
- *End of Life*, Director

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 2006: Best Live Action Short Film (nominated), for *Cashback*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/sean-ellis