Clive Donner started out as an editor and graduated to directing non-fiction shorts, television and features in the late 1950s.

Introducing this videotaped interview for the University of London Audiovisual Centre's In Conversations series, Ian Cameron considers Donner's his youth-focused feature films, exploring how they deal with issues of class in British society and how those issues evolved throughout the 1960s. Donner defines his approach as being to examine class structure in a 'non-Woodfall way' (a reference to the film studio set up by director Tony Richardson and writer John Osborne, which was particularly associated with 'social realist' films focused on contemporary working-class life). He categorises the usual social realist approach as being about 'us and them'. There are also thematic parallels between these film in their reflection on growing up and finding your place in the world.

Donner talks at length about making What's New Pussycat? (1965), which he describes as 'like directing Dunkirk', due to Woody Allen's anxieties about performing in front of the camera.

Donner comes across as a thoughtful filmmaker who believed in an egalitarian society and extended this into the presentation of Britishness in his films. He also appears to have been a sensitive director of actors, and adept at juggling their competing needs.

The early tape format used to record this interview is unfortunately poor quality, with some drop-out and sound issues.

Interview with British film director Clive Donner about his work and career.