Bart Layton


Bartholomew Nicholas Layton is an English filmmaker. He rose to prominence as a documentarian, winning a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut and a nomination for Best Documentary for The Imposter. He then directed the 2018 film American Animals, a hybrid documentary/docudrama film based on the Transylvania University book heist.

Early life and education

Layton was born in the Hammersmith district of London. Both of his parents were artists, one a sculptor and the other a painter and theatre director. Early in his life, he considered going into film or being a painter.

Career

He made his directorial debut in 2012 with the true-crime story The Imposter. It is about Frédéric Bourdin, a French man who claimed to be a missing Texas teenager. Layton won a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for the film at the 2013 EE British Academy Film Awards.
He both wrote and directed American Animals. It depicts a 2004 book heist, with fictionalized versions and interviews with real people. Among the interviewees are the original criminals behind the heist. He had initially discovered the story in a magazine. The film was picked up by MoviePass.
In May 2018, he signed with the Creative Artists Agency.
As of 2018, Layton is the creative director of RAW, a British production company.

Personal life

Layton lives with his family in London.

Filmography

  • Banged Up Abroad
  • The Imposter
  • American Animals
  • ''Crime 101''