Dineen was born in Canada and brought up in Birmingham, England. She originally studied photography at the Bournville School of Art and then at the London College of Printing, but later switched to cinematography. Sound Business, featuring sound producer Lloyd Coxsone and record store owner Blacker Dread was her final degree project. She then enrolled in film classes at the National Film and Television School, where she studied under Herb Di Gioia and Colin Young, achieving recognition for her 16 mm 1987 debut Home from the Hill. This film was picked up by BBC for its 40-minute series, despite the film being an hour in duration. It therefore had to be cut by twenty minutes, which displeased Dineen as she was rarely allowed to spend any time with the editor in the cutting room. The two different versions of the film were released on DVD in 2011 by the British Film Institute.
Notable works
Home from the Hill – 1980s BBC documentary about Lieutenant-Colonel Hilary Hook's return to the UK after living abroad.
My African Farm – Dineen returns to Kenya and to the home of Sylvia Richardson, a stalwart of British colonialism.
Operation Raleigh, The Mountain, The Village – Operation Raleigh was founded by the Prince of Wales to give young people the benefit of war time in peace. Two 30-minute films about an expedition to Southern Chile.
Heart of the Angel – Capturing life in Angel tube station, one of the busiest on the London Underground, this account of the struggles by staff to cope with the British travelling public is filled with humour and pathos.
The Pick, the Shovel and the Open Road – A 60-minute film about the Irish roadwork company McNicholas.
The Ark – In this series of four films, Dineen reveals the inner working of London Zoo.
Geri – Geri Halliwell, the most colourful and outrageous of the Spice Girls, has dramatically left the band. Two days later, Dineen joins her as she dodges the paparazzi and seeks solace with family and friends in a fascinating rollercoaster ride through fame, celebrity and the personality behind that infamous Union Jack dress.
The Lord's Tale – About the hereditary lords losing their seats in the Lords due to the House of Lords Act 1999. Dineen follows one of Parliament’s greatest upheavals: the abolition of the hereditary peers.
The Lie of the Land – On the eve of the foxhunting ban, Dineen uncovers the unpleasant thrust of life in the British countryside, where farmers struggle to survive under the weight of government legislation and national indifference towards rural communities.
Being Blacker – Following three years of Blacker Dread's life featuring "Brixton’s Jamaican community and the man who unintentionally became its kingpin".
Personal life
Dineen has been married to William Sieghart, with whom she had three children.
