Justin Edgar
Encyclopedia
Justin Edgar is a British
film director
.
Born in Handsworth
, Birmingham
on 18 August 1971, Edgar graduated from Portsmouth University in 1996 with a First Class
degree in film. In 1998 he directed the short comedy Dirty Phonecalls for ITV
’s First Cut scheme. It became a worldwide festival hit and won the 1998 BBC
Drama Award at the Birmingham Film Festival. The success of Dirty Phonecalls led to his first feature film Large, which was released in UK cinemas in 2002. Shot on a budget of £
1.4 million, Large was backed by Film Four and went straight in at number one in the UK video charts. It sold to over twenty countries around the world.
His 2005 short Special People won Best Film at the 2005 Chicago Film Festival, Best Drama at the 2006 Royal Television Society
Awards, the BBC New Filmmakers Award and was shortlisted for the 2007 Oscars, BAFTAs and Turner Classic Movies
Prize Shorts. Also shot in 2005, The Ends won best short at the 2005 Raindance Film Festival
in London and was nominated for the Golden Horseman Award at Dresden Film Festival.
His second feature film Special People premiered at the 2007 Edinburgh International Film Festival
in competition for the Michael Powell Award, gaining great public and critical acclaim. Special People opened the 2008 London Disability Film Festival and won best film at the Britspotting Film Festival in Berlin. The film was generally released in the United Kingdom to good reviews in November 2008.
Edgar has also directed several episodes of the British soap opera
Doctors.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Born in Handsworth
Handsworth, West Midlands
Handsworth is an inner city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr. Handsworth was annexed to the county borough of Birmingham in Warwickshire in 1911...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
on 18 August 1971, Edgar graduated from Portsmouth University in 1996 with a First Class
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
degree in film. In 1998 he directed the short comedy Dirty Phonecalls for ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
’s First Cut scheme. It became a worldwide festival hit and won the 1998 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Drama Award at the Birmingham Film Festival. The success of Dirty Phonecalls led to his first feature film Large, which was released in UK cinemas in 2002. Shot on a budget of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1.4 million, Large was backed by Film Four and went straight in at number one in the UK video charts. It sold to over twenty countries around the world.
His 2005 short Special People won Best Film at the 2005 Chicago Film Festival, Best Drama at the 2006 Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Awards, the BBC New Filmmakers Award and was shortlisted for the 2007 Oscars, BAFTAs and Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
Prize Shorts. Also shot in 2005, The Ends won best short at the 2005 Raindance Film Festival
Raindance Film Festival
Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates from various cities including: London, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin and Brussels...
in London and was nominated for the Golden Horseman Award at Dresden Film Festival.
His second feature film Special People premiered at the 2007 Edinburgh International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...
in competition for the Michael Powell Award, gaining great public and critical acclaim. Special People opened the 2008 London Disability Film Festival and won best film at the Britspotting Film Festival in Berlin. The film was generally released in the United Kingdom to good reviews in November 2008.
Edgar has also directed several episodes of the British soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Doctors.
Filmography (features)
- 20012001 in filmThe year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
Large - 20072007 in filmThis is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
Special People