Photo: Gorup de Besanez / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Derek Jarman was born on January 31, 1942 in Northwood, United Kingdom and was credited as a film director, actor and screenwriter. Death is recorded on February 19, 1994, at the age of 52. Education on record includes King's College London. Listed accolades include International Federation of Film Critics.
My Take
Derek Jarman is one of those rare artists where every single thing he touched — film, painting, writing, gardening — felt like it came from the exact same deeply personal place. Growing up in post-war Britain and studying at King's College London and the Slade, he built a visual language that was unmistakably his own: raw Super 8 textures, medieval imagery crashing into punk aesthetics, queer desire made visible at a time when that took genuine courage. Films like Sebastiane, Caravaggio, and The Last of England aren't easy watches, but they're alive in a way most mainstream cinema never is. And then there's Blue — his final film, just 79 minutes of solid blue screen with a voiceover about going blind from AIDS — which is either the most radical or the most moving thing committed to celluloid, and honestly I think it's both. He died in 1994 at 51, and the loss still stings. There's nobody quite like him working today, and that gap is real.
This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Derek Jarman
- Name (Japanese)
- デレク・ジャーマン
- Reading
- でれく・じゃーまん
- Born
- January 31, 1942 – February 19, 1994
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Horse
- Origin
- Northwood, United Kingdom
- Occupation
- film director / actor / screenwriter / diarist / painter
2. Background
- University
- King's College London
Awards & achievements
- International Federation of Film Critics
3. Links
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Derek Jarman born?
Born January 31, 1942.
When did Derek Jarman die?
Died February 19, 1994, aged 52.
Where was Derek Jarman from?
Derek Jarman was from Northwood, United Kingdom.
What did Derek Jarman do?
Derek Jarman worked as film director, actor, screenwriter, diarist, painter.
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