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Justin Kurzel

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Justin Kurzel
Kurzel, 2024.
Born
Gawler, South Australia, Australia
OccupationFilm director
Years active2001–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2002)​
Children2

Justin Dallas Kurzel (/kɜːrˈzɛl/;[1] born c. 1974) is an Australian film director. His films include Snowtown (2011), Macbeth (2015), Assassin's Creed (2016), True History of the Kelly Gang (2018), Nitram (2021) and The Order (2024).

Early life

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Justin Dallas Kurzel[2] was born around 1974 in Gawler, South Australia to a family with immigrant roots, his father hailing from Poland and his mother from Malta.[3] His younger brother, Jed Kurzel, is a blues rock musician who has scored all of Justin's feature films.[4]

Career

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In 1999 Kurzel was awarded a Mike Walsh Fellowship. His Victorian College of the Arts graduating short film Blue Tongue (2004) screened in over 13 international films festivals and won Best Short at the Melbourne International Film Festival.[5][6]

Kurzel's 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."[7] The film marked Kurzel's first collaboration with writer Shaun Grant.[8]

His 2015 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[9]

In 2016, Kurzel directed Assassin's Creed, based on the video game franchise of the same name.[10]

Kurzel 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.[11] The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in Australian cinemas in 2020.[12]

Kurzel was attached to direct multiple episodes of Apple TV's television adaptation of the 2003 novel Shantaram.[13] However, Kurzel departed the project during a production hiatus in February 2020.[14]

In late 2020, it was announced Kurzel would direct Nitram, a film depicting the events leading up to the Port Arthur massacre.[15] The film was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. [16]

In 2019, it was announced Kurzel would adapt Richard Flanagan's Booker Prize-winning novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North for television, with frequent collaborator Shaun Grant.[17] The series entered production in 2023, with Jacob Elordi and Ciarán Hinds attached in the leading role.[18]

Ellis Park, a documentary by Kurzel about musician Warren Ellis and the animal sanctuary he co-founded, premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2024.[19]

Personal life

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Kurzel is married to actress Essie Davis.[20] They have twin daughters.[21][22]

Filmography

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Short film

Year Title Director Writer Notes
2004 Blue Tongue Yes Yes Also editor
2013 Boner McPharlin's Moll Yes Yes Segment of The Turning

Feature film

Year Title Director Producer
2011 Snowtown[a] Yes No
2015 Macbeth Yes No
2016 Assassin's Creed Yes No
2019 True History of the Kelly Gang Yes Yes
2021 Nitram Yes Yes
2024 The Order Yes Yes
TBA The Siege Yes No
  1. ^ Also credited as story writer

Documentary film

Year Title Director Executive
Producer 		Writer
2024 Ellis Park Yes Yes Yes

Television

Year Title Director Executive
Producer 		Note
2024 The Narrow Road to the Deep North Yes Yes Miniseries

Music video

Year Artist Title
2006 You Am I "Friends Like You"

Awards and nominations

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AACTA Awards

Year Title Category Result
2011 Snowtown Best Direction Won
2013 The Turning Won
2021 Nitram Best Film Won
Best Direction Won

Cannes Film Festival

Year Title Category Result
2015 Macbeth Palme d'Or Nominated
2021 Nitram Nominated

Other awards

Year Award Category Title Result
2011 Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Direction Snowtown Won
Inside Film Awards Best Director Nominated
2015 British Independent Film Awards Best Director of a British Independent Film Macbeth Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "Justin Kurzel for LET THE EVIL GO WEST by Carlos Rios". The Black List. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Justin Dallas Kurzel". Directors Guild of America. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  3. ^ Conrad, Peter (October 2015). "An eye for tyrants". The Monthly. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  4. ^ Ross, Annabel (29 November 2014). "Two of us: Justin and Jed Kurzel". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Blue Tongue". Stockholm Film Festival. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Justin Kurzel". HLA Management. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  7. ^ "The Snowtown Murders". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  8. ^ Windsor, Harry (2021). "An eye on the outlier: 'Nitram'". The Monthly.
  9. ^ "The 2015 Official Selection". Cannes Film Festival. 15 April 2015. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  10. ^ Vejvoda, Jim (29 April 2014). "Michael Fassbender's MacBeth Director to Helm Assassin's Creed Movie". IGN. Ziff Davis, LLC. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  11. ^ White, James (6 July 2015). "Justin Kurzel Developing True History Of The Kelly Gang". Empire. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  12. ^ Groves, Don (9 August 2019). "Justin Kurzel to direct TV drama series for Apple". Inside Film. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  13. ^ Quinn, Karl (15 August 2019). "Apple TV+ series Shantaram is go, with Kurzel but without Depp". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  14. ^ Quinn, Karl (5 October 2022). "'The show itself said no': Inside Shantaram's long and troubled road to TV". Sydney Morning Herald.
  15. ^ Shaffer, Marshall (30 March 2022). "Interview: Caleb Landry Jones and Justin Kurzel on the Making of Nitram". Slant Magazine.
  16. ^ "Nitram: The controversial Australian film that's a Palme d'Or contender at Cannes 2021". The New Daily. 9 July 2021.
  17. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (26 November 2019). "Justin Kurzel & Shaun Grant Board Fremantle Series Adaptation Of Booker Prize Winner 'The Narrow Road To The Deep North'". Deadline.
  18. ^ Frater, Patrick (19 March 2024). "Jacob Elordi Wraps Production on 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North,' Australian Epic Series – First Look". Variety.
  19. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (2 October 2024). "Justin Kurzel's Warren Ellis Documentary 'Ellis Park' Boarded By The Yellow Affair". Deadline. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  20. ^ Quinn, Karl (1 May 2013). "Snowtown's Kurzel to direct Fassbender, Portman in big-screen Macbeth". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  21. ^ Quinn, Karl (12 March 2012). "Lunch with Essie Davis". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  22. ^ Hallett, Bryce (11 December 2009). "True crime as a spectator sport". The Sydney Morning Herald.
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