Born in Blackburn on 1961, Winterbottom earned a degree at Oxford and received film training in Bristol and London. He directed two documentaries about Ingmar Bergman and a few television series, most notably the acclaimed BBC drama Familia (1994). Michael Winterbottom first earned recognition with Butterfly Kisses (1995) the same year he directed Go Now. Then Jude, his 1996 adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure. In 1997 he directed Welcone to Sarajevo (1997). After making I Want You (1998), Winterbottom directed one of his most successful films, Wonderland (1999). That same year, he released With or Without You. After The Claim (2000) in 2002 he directed 24 Hour Party People and In This World.
