Josh Appignanesi grew up in London and studied anthropology at King's
College, Cambridge. Josh's second feature The Infidel is an indie comedy
written by David Baddiel about a Muslim everyman who finds out he was
born a Jew. The film stars BBC1 comedian Omid Djalili (The Mummy) and
Emmy-winner Richard Schiff (The West Wing), with Matt Lucas. Slingshot
produced and Revolver-distributed with 4K+ screen averages on opening
weekend, Salt also pre-sold the film across the world, something very
uncommon for an indie comedy, including to the Tribeca Festival's new
distribution outfit.
His debut feature, Song Of Songs, was an austere psychological
dissection of religious desire, starring Natalie Press (My Summer Of
Love, Red Road.) International festival success included a special
Commendation at the Edinburgh Festival, official selection in
Rotterdam's Tiger Awards, and a BIFA nomination. Produced by Gayle
Griffiths, distributed by Soda Pictures, it was received with critical
acclaim in the UK press.
Josh recently worked with John Malkovich on a Sony commercial. Previous
works include a documentary (tx Channel 4) and several award-winning
short films such as BBC Talent winner Nine 1/2 Minutes starring David
Tennant (Doctor Who), and Wellcome Trust funded, BIFA-nominated Ex
Memoria with Sara Kestelman. Josh also founded a post-production
company which edited Emmy- and BAFTA-award winning political
documentaries.
He has several features in development including Jay Basu's
psycho-chiller Within, supported by the UK Film Council, and has a
comedy stage play in development with Matthew Lloyd (Duet For One).
Josh teaches directing and screen-writing for the London Film School,
Met Film School, and Arista, and lectures widely ad hoc.