Friday, 23 October 2026, 10:04
Asif Kapadia directed the final two-part installment of the documentary series, which has followed the same group of Britons for more than six decades.
Known for documentaries about figures including Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna, soccer player Diego Maradona and singer Amy Winehouse, Asif Kapadia has often focused on larger-than-life subjects. But he said taking charge of the final chapter of the “Up” series – about a group of ordinary people – was his dream job.
Speaking Thursday at Rome’s MIA Market, Kapadia recalled growing up watching the series with his family in North London. He said he was approached about directing “7 Up” while busy with other projects, but could not turn it down. The final two-part installment aired last month on ITV in the U.K.
In the U.K., this is one of the most important television shows made. There’s nothing [like it]. It deals with humanity and life. Real people. Ordinary people.
The series began in 1964 with “7 Up,” which followed 14 English children – 10 boys and four girls – all aged seven. The filmmakers returned to the group every seven years, documenting their lives from childhood through work, marriage, divorce, parenthood and bereavement. The series has been broadcast in 157 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Japan, China, Australia and France.
Michael Apted directed every installment except the first. He died in 2021, after beginning his work on the series with its second film. Kapadia said he felt honored to direct the final installment and drew on previously unseen footage, despite the limited time and budget of a television production.
It was like finishing off something someone had started – just closing the circle. It’s a dream job.
Kapadia said the final film brings together footage of the 14 people filmed over 63 years, as well as Apted, whom he treated as another character while exploring documentary filmmaking. Kapadia’s film “Amy,” an intimate portrait of Amy Winehouse, won the Oscar for best documentary feature in 2016. At the MIA Market, he spoke with Marco Spagnoli, the event’s head of documentary content; Spagnoli recalled Apted describing “Up” as “his life-defining project” when he attended the market in 2018.
It’s quite amazing and profound and beautiful, because of how it somehow covers life. It’s all there somewhere.
The 12th MIA Market runs Oct. 19-23.
- A new documentary chronicles Patrick Kelly’s groundbreaking rise from Mississippi to Paris, featuring rare runway footage, interviews, and his lasting influence on haute couture and Black designers.
