Justin Edgar

Justin Edgar is an award winning writer and director of four internationally acclaimed feature films for backers including Film Four, Creative England and Pathe. His latest film The Marker starring John Hannah and Golden Globe nominee Cathy Tyson was acquired by Netflix. Justin graduated from Portsmouth University in 1996 with a first class degree in Film. He began his career writing and directing for BBC1's Doctors and for Anne Wood of Ragdoll Television, creator of Teletubbies. In 2001 he became the youngest director ever to direct a major UK feature film aged just 26. 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 second feature film Special People premiered at the 2007 TriBeCa Film Festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival where it competed for the Michael Powell Award. It went on to win best film awards at the Berlin Britspotting and Moscow Perspektiva film festivals and a Royal Television Society award. It was hailed as "A milestone in mainstream cinema" by the Guardian for its use of disabled cast and has a 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. His third film was the semi-autobiographical anti-teen movie We are the Freaks which was also acquired by Netflix and acquired a cult following after being celebrated by Den of Geek, amongst others. He is hard of hearing and since 2004 has been running his own training and production company, 104 films, specialising in disability and film. He worked on the BAFTA nominated Ian Dury biopic Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll starring Andy Serkis. 104 films also co-produced feature documentary Notes on Blindness which premiered at Sundance, won best documentary at the British Independent Film Awards and was nominated for three BAFTAs including Best British Film. He was also associate producer on the feature documentary Unrest which premiered in the main competitions at Sundance and SxSW 2017 and was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar in 2018. The latest feature documentary from 104 films, Being Frank, was nominated for the 2018 British Independent Film Award for Best Documentary. He has worked with BBC Birmingham Drama on implementing a new disability code of practice and sits on the disability round table for the British Film Institute (BFI). He has written extensively for the Guardian and appeared on BBC Radio 4 and Channel 4 news advocating for better representation of disabled people behind the camera. He is a visiting lecturer at the National Film and Television School and a voting BAFTA and BIFA jury member. His film prints, including Special People, have been archived at the BFI as works of cultural significance.