2020 - 2029
Honorary Citation by Dr Ciara Chambers for Lord David Puttnam
I have had the pleasure of introducing Lord David Puttnam on several occasions and, given he is a person who has lived many lives with many careers, there is always something new to say. He is a very modest person, so I could embarrass him by telling you that his films have earned every international cinematic accolade in existence, that includes 31 BAFTAS, 10 Oscars, 13 Golden Globes, 9 Emmys, and a ‘little’ award called the Palme D'Or at Cannes.
I could also tell you how highly regarded he is by the people he has worked with in every sphere from the bereft staff when he left his job as CEO of Columbia pictures to the Labour and Conservative peers who were united at the loss of David’s coalition building abilities when he retired from the House of Lords three years ago.
But instead of elaborating on all of that, I’m going to do something that David often does, and go slightly left field, to tell you about his enemies. Why? Because David’s father, the celebrated war photographer Len Puttnam gave his son an important piece of advice when he told him to:
‘Choose your enemies well, they can help define the things you stand for.’
David went all out in choosing those enemies – big Hollywood, big oil, big media, big tech, and even, on occasion, his own government when his conscience couldn’t let him support their actions. In all his endeavours, and particularly as a champion of digital education, he has challenged the injustices forced upon the world by elite powers who would destroy our environment, manipulate our voting rights, force us into unjust wars, and risk acute damage to the minds of our young people. David has been involved in tackling some of the most significant issues of our time: climate change, online harms, democracy and digital technologies, the reform of political advertising, and in doing so, he has inflicted quite a bit of pain on those enemies.
But I also want to highlight the people David has championed above all others: educators and learners. The voice he has given to those of us who teach in schools, in universities, in our communities has created ripples of positive change across the world. He counts as one of his proudest achievements the creation of the National Teaching awards, now in their 27th year, and his dearest wish is that every country in the world embraces a similar recognition of teaching and learning, because a good teacher is a person who changes countless lives for the better.
David’s most important teacher was his father, who showed him how powerful images could change the world; in fact he told me once that his life was chosen for him by his father, and that he has spent that life trying to make him proud. In doing that, David has made all of us who work in film, and more importantly, all of us who work in education, deeply proud that he is our champion, tackling anyone who attempts to dampen the dreams of those who seek enlightenment through education and use it as their strongest weapon against corrupt power and injustice.
And to quote a line spoken by David’s great friend Jeremy Irons (also honoured here today), in the iconic film on which they worked together, The Mission, ‘If might is right, there is no place for love in the world; I don’t have the strength to live in a world like that.’ Thank you, David, for always challenging might, and for your part in creating a world where love and learning can flourish.