Skip over navigation

Browse by:

Film & TV (65,310)
Games (6,275)

Our Picks

Collections

Magazine

Isaac Julien

Isaac Julien came to prominence in the film world with his 1989 drama Looking For Langston, gaining a cult following with this lyrical exploration of Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance. This following was expanded in 1991 when his film, Young Soul Rebels, won the Semaine de la Critique prize for best film at the Cannes Film Festival.

He was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2001 and was the recipient of both the prestigious MIT
Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts (2001) and the Frameline Lifetime Achievement Award (2002). His work Paradise Omeros was presented as part of Documenta XI in Kassel (2002). He won the Grand Jury Prize at the Kunst Film Biennale in Cologne (2003) for his single screen version of Baltimore, and the 2005 Aurora Award.

His widely acclaimed documentary Baadasssss Cinema was made in 2002. Isaac Julien was a jury member at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival and the 2007 Rotterdam International Film Festival. He has had solo shows at the Centre Pompidou, Paris, (2005), MoCA Miami (2005), the Kestner Gesellschaft Hanover, (2006) and Metro Pictures, New York (2007).

Tate Modern, the Centre Pompidou, the Guggenheim and the Hirshorn museums have acquired Julien’s work. In 2008 his film, Derek, a biopic of the life of Derek_Jarman.html">Derek Jarman, starring Oscar winning actress Tilda Swinton, was critically acclaimed at the Sundance Film Festival and premiered in the UK at the Serpentine Gallery.




What members say | Filmography

Isaac Julien - what members say


Isaac Julien - filmography


  • Derek
  • Derek on DVD (2008)
    Starring: Derek Jarman,  Tilda Swinton
    Director: Isaac Julien
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    Narrated and written by Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton, DEREK combines rare archival footage and interviews to create a deeply personal portrait of British countercultural filmmaker Derek Jarman. Part documentary and part biopic, the film offers glimpses into Jarman's punk theatre sets and ..read more »
    Rate this: 3.5 stars out of 5 73% from 33 members
    Sign up
  • Baad Asssss Cinema - A Bold Look At 70's Blaxploitation Films
  • Baad Asssss Cinema - A Bold Look At 70's... on DVD (2002)
    Director: Isaac Julien
    Certificate: Certificate: Ex
    Produced by the Independent Film Channel (IFC), this documentary by filmmaker Isaac Julien takes a look at blaxploitation films, and the huge cult following that has built up around them. Interviews with some of the original actors and directors of the genre are featured, including Richard ..read more »
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 59% from 206 members
    Sign up
  • Young Soul Rebels
  • Young Soul Rebels on DVD (1991)
    Starring: Valentine Nonyela,  Mo Sesay,  Sophie Okonedo
    Director: Isaac Julien
    Certificate: Certificate: 18
    On an East London housing estate, when a black gay man is murdered, a series of racial, social and sexual tensions are sparked off. Focussing on Chris and Caz, a pair of funky pirate radio DJs, amid the punks and skinheads of their local area, this late 1970s set drama is a colourful, controversial ..read more »
    Rate this: 2.5 stars out of 5 53% from 229 members
    Sign up
  • Looking For Langston
  • Looking For Langston on DVD (1989)
    Director: Isaac Julien
    Certificate: Certificate: 15
    Documentary which explores the life and career of Langston Hughes. A poetic figure during the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes' work is intercut with other significant cultural figures, including Bruce Nugent and James Baldwin.
    Rate this: 3 stars out of 5 56% from 96 members
    Sign up

Isaac Julien facts

5 most recent films

Derek - 3.5 stars
Baad Asssss Cinema - A Bold Look At 70's Blaxploitation Films - 3.0 stars
Young Soul Rebels - 2.5 stars
Looking For Langston - 3.0 stars

5 highest-rated films

Baad Asssss Cinema - A Bold Look At 70's Blaxploitation Films - 3.0 stars
Looking For Langston - 3.0 stars
Young Soul Rebels - 2.5 stars
Derek - 3.5 stars

5 lowest-rated films

Derek - 3.5 stars
Young Soul Rebels - 2.5 stars
Looking For Langston - 3.0 stars
Baad Asssss Cinema - A Bold Look At 70's Blaxploitation Films - 3.0 stars

Most frequent co-stars

none - 2 times - show films
Mo Sesay - 1 times - show films
Dorian Healy - 1 times - show films
Derek Jarman - 1 times - show films
Jason Durr - 1 times - show films