Malcolm Whitehead was the head of Ikon/FCL, the film making arm of Factory Records. Whitehead created the film “Joy Division” using footage of the band that he filmed during the recording of Unknown Pleasures and at their performance at Bowden Vale Youth Club in 1979, along with an interview with the band. The film formed part of FAC 9 The Factory Flick. Whitehead compiled FACT 37 “Here Are the Young Men”, a collection of filmed live performances and promotional videos by Joy Division, in 1982. He produced Brian Nicholson’s film IKON 21 “Show Me What You Look Like”, about the Factory band Durutti Column.

Whitehead went on to produce and direct “Perverted by Language”, a collection of Interviews, live tracks, videos and poetry from The Fall and Mark E. Smith released in 1984, and “Heroine”, a short film about the singer Nico, released in 1985. In 1983, Whitehead directed a live film of the singer Divine’s performance at the Haçienda nightclub, which was released on VHS in 1994.

Whitehead died in September 2019.