A true fan of classic Hollywood and genre cinema, Julien’s
7 years of study abroad have allowed him to become fully bilingual
and most of his scripts are written in English, the language he feels
most comfortable writing in.
Julien Magnat was born in Ardèche, Southern France, in 1973.
After a late night screening of Indiana Jones and the Temple of
Doom when he was 17, Julien decided that he wanted to become
a film director and left France after winning a full scholarship
to study for the International Baccalaureate at Atlantic College,
in Wales, where he directed his first short films.
Atlantic College – part of the United World Colleges – welcomes students
from every country, selected for their academic achievement but also
for their desire to share two years with people from every other country,
religion or culture. These two years had a tremendous impact on Julien,
who met most of his dearest friends in that school.
In 1993, Julien went on to study a Bachelor of Arts
in Theatre and Film at the University of Reading, England, where he
wrote and directed many short films, documentaries and theatre plays.
At college he became friends with classmate Kelly Smith, a quirky,
quick-eyed English guy feeding almost exclusively on plain burgers
and sausages. The pair would later be involved on Chastity Blade…
Julien’s two short films selected in festivals were ‘Teddy’s eye’
and ‘Shalt Thou Shew Wonders to the Dead?’, a 20 minute gothic nightmare
inspired from Stephen King’s short story ‘Nona’. Julien also began
working as a film critic for local cable TV Telecential.
In 1996, Julien successfully passed the entrance examination of la
FEMIS, France’s national and highly competitive film school. For four
years, Julien wrote and directed many short films including Varnish
Dreams (1998), screened in many world-wide film festivals including
Cannes and Larissa, The 13th returns, Vena Cava
– an experimental film about American singer Diamanda Galas – and
The All-New adventures of Chastity Blade, nominated for Best
Student Short Academy Award in 2001, starring Lisa Wilcox, Julien’s
all time favorite actress.
Julien Magnat signed a movie deal with Fidélité Productions shortly
before graduating from the Film School. In October 2001, Julien began
shooting his first feature, Bloody Mallory, a high action-adventure
horror film about a team of sexy, kick-ass Supernatural bounty hunters
sent by the government to decimate all evil creatures prowling in
the French countryside. The movie will be released in France on the
17th of July, 2002.
Julien and Chastity co-writer Kelly Smith have
recently been hired by 31 juin films to write a feature script
based on Fantômette, an adaptation of one of France’s most
famous children’s books.
Apart from working on the Chastity Blade feature he and Kelly
scripted this year, Julien is currently working on a documentary about
American singer and composer Diamanda Galas for which he was
awarded the Brouillon d’un rêve writing scholarship. Amongst
other projects, Julien is also presently penning his newest script,
The Dame of Megilmont, a supernatural thriller.
Julien has also made regular written contributions in the French cinema
magazine l’Ecran Fantastique and has signed a one- year deal with
commercial production company La Franco American in January
2001.
