The Ghost of Peter Sellers

A comedy genius, a hot new director and a 17th Century pirate film. What could possibly go wrong?

In 1973 Peter Sellers embarked on a pirate comedy for Columbia Pictures. He lost confidence with the film immediately and tried to sabotage it, firing the Producers then turning on his friend the Director, Peter Medak.

At its core lies the story of an unraveling production but also the tale of a young Director firmly on a path to greatness. Medak had made 3 back-to-back successes; most notably ‘The Ruling Class’ in ‘72 with Peter O’ Toole. This film changed his life forever.

After 43 years the wounds have barely healed for Medak and this is his opportunity to tell the story and finally release the weight associated with its failure.

The Ghost of Peter Sellers is a comic-tragic feature doc about what it takes to be a film director and survive your biggest disaster.