Justin Kurzel Biography – Justin Kurzel Wiki
Justin Kurzel born Justin Dallas Kurzel is an Australian film director and screenwriter. In 1999 he was awarded a Mike Walsh Fellowship. His film debut was the Australian short film Blue Tongue (2004). His feature film debut was Snowtown (2011), for which he won the AACTA Award for Best Direction. Though controversial for its violence, the film was generally praised and holds an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes with the critic consensus: “It’s a bleak and brutal endurance test, but for viewers with the strength and patience to make it to the end, Snowtown will prove an uncommonly powerful viewing experience.”
He started studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney in the early 1990s.
Initially, he was making music videos for the rock band The Messhall, founded by his brother. In 2005 future filmmaker made his first short film Blue Tongue (2005). Then, after six years, he released Snowtown (2011), a film about the mass murderer case starring Daniel Henshall which was praised and acclaimed both by the critics and by the audience for the striking experience of which is a truly cold and terrifying film it gives to the viewer. Kurzel had also written the script for the film, for which he was awarded the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award as Best Director in 2011, Gold Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival, won Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Directing and was nominated for Australian Directors Guild Award, British Film Institute Awards,
Then he wrote and direct one segment of The Turning (2013), the Boner McPharlin’s Moll, for which, alongside all the other directors attached to the making, he was nominated for the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award for Best Directing.
In 2015, he directed a successful adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth (2015), in which Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard took the main parts. The film was screened at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2015 when it received a Special Mention in FIPRESCI Prize, Special Mention on Critics Wee, and compete for the Palme d’Or, Golden Camera, Queer Palm, and Critics Week Grand Prize. The film was very well received amongst the viewers and critics, was nominated for a variety of awards across the globe, and was presented with a special premiere showing at Edinburgh, Scotland, where all the main filming took place. For directing this film he was nominated for British Independent Film Awards as the Best Director.
During the shooting, the strong working relationship between him and actors Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard has been established, which resulted in announcing in December 2016 that he will helm the film adaptation of the popular computer game Assassin’s Creed (2016) starring both of the actors alongside Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling and Kurzel’s wife Essie Davis. Making such a high-profile studio picture established Kurzel in the world of high-budget filmmaking, giving him many doors open for his future possible projects.
His 2015 film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. In 2016, he directed Assassin’s Creed (2016), based on the video game franchise of the same name.
He directed True History of the Kelly Gang in 2018, adapted from Peter Carey’s 2001 Man Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name, written from the viewpoint of legendary Australian bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly. The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in Australian cinemas in 2020. Kurzel will direct multiple episodes of Apple TV’s television adaptation of the 2003 novel Shantaram.
Justin Kurzel Age
He was born on August 3, 1974, in Gawler, Australia.
Justin Kurzel Wife
Kurzel is married to actress Essie Davis. They got married in 2002 and his family resides in London, United Kingdom.
Justin Kurzel Children
He is a father of twin daughters, Stella Kurzel, and Ruby Kurzel.
Justin Kurzel Parents
He is the son of Zdzislaw Kurzel. He was born in Gawler, South Australia to a family of immigrant roots, his father hailing from Poland and his mother from Malta.
Justin Kurzel Siblings
His younger brother is Jed Kurzel . Jed is a blues-rock musician who has scored most of Justin’s films as a constant composer.
Justin Kurzel Height
He stands at a listed height of 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 meters) tall.
