John Walsh is an English filmmaker and author. He is the founder of the film company Walsh Bros. Ltd. His film work on subjects such as

social mobility Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given socie ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

has received two

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

nominations.

Early life and education

A filmmaker from a young age, Walsh had his first super-8 camera by the age of ten. At the age of 18 he was the youngest student accepted to the London Film School (LFS) in 1989. He made a film there on stop-motion animation filmmaker

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of both fields. In a career spanning more than 40 ...

. Walsh graduated from the LFS in 1990 or 1991, according to its blog. Walsh is a Trustee of the Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation.

Film

In 2010, Walsh stood as a parliamentary candidate in the 2010 General Election and made the gonzo-style documentary feature film ''Tory Boy The Movie'', which was released in cinemas in 2011 and 2012. The film follows Walsh as he becomes a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate after a lifetime of voting Labour motivated by reports that Sir Stuart Bell, the Labour Party's MP in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, was absent so often from the town that he was an unsuitable candidate. The file was nominated for the Grierson Awards for "Best Documentary on a Contemporary Theme". In 2014, Walsh's remastered version of the film ''

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

'' was released. The original negative for the film had been lost. The film starred late Irish stage and screen actor T. P. McKenna and Jean Marsh. This subsequently led to cinema showing starting at the Tricycle Cinema.

Television

Walsh's three-part Grierson Trust-nominated

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

series ''

Headhunting The Homeless ''Headhunting The Homeless'' is a British documentary series for the BBC by John Walsh of Walsh Bros Ltd. This three part series followed five homeless people for over a year as they looked for employment on a new scheme involving two hundred ...

'' was part of the corporation's 120 most treasured programmes of the first half of 2003, and was included in the corporation's drive to convince its critics that the licence fee should not be abolished. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described the series as "truly touching" and also chose it as their Pick of the Day. The BAFTA-nominated and

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...

-winning

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

series '' Don't Make Me Angry'' (2003) was about anger management. This ran for two series. In 2010, Walsh's five part BBC series on childhood homelessness, '' Sofa Surfers'', was nominated for the Social Award at the Rose d'Or Awards. The BAFTA-nominated 2010 film '' My Life: Karate Kids'' tackled issues of bullying among disabled children. It was narrated by

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

. The Monte Carlo Golden Nymph Award nominated BBC film '' Toy Soldiers'', made in 2010 and screened in 2014, presented the point of view of the bereaved children of UK service personnel. Walsh discussed this on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme. According to the blog of the private medical service Dr Mortons, the film was mentioned positively by retired psychiatrist Geraldine Walford, who said it had been shown in schools across the country. It was also entered for the Foundation Prix Jeunesse in 2012. Walsh worked with charity boss Eva Hamilton on her venture '' Key4Life'' and made a five-minute publicity film for them in December 2013 about their work with former young offenders.Key4Life: the film
Key4Life.org.u

25 July 2018

Walsh Bros Ltd.

Walsh founded his company in 1992. Walsh Bros Ltd. was ranked 70 in the ''Televisual Magazine'' list of the top 100

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...

companies in the UK in 2012.

Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation

Walsh has been a Trustee of the Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation since 2014. He first met with

in the late 1980s as a film student of the London Film School and in 1990 wrote and directed a 15-minute documentary entitled ''Ray Harryhausen: Movement Into Life'', narrated by

Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the Fourth Doctor, fourth and longest-serving incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction television ...

. Walsh filmed and recorded commentary tracks with Ray Harryhausen in his London home commencing 17 May 2012. Since that date recordings were made for ''Clash of The Titans'', ''Mysterious Island'', '' The 3 Worlds of Gulliver'', ''First Men in the Moon'' with Randy Cook, '' The Valley of Gwangi'' with his daughter Vanessa Harryhausen, '' One Million Years B.C.'' with Martine Beswick, '' The Golden Voyage of Sinbad'' with fellow Trustee Caroline Munro, ''Mighty Joe Young'' with film director

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing comedy films such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978), The Blues Brothers (f ...

and '' Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger'' with SFX artist Colin Arthur. Walsh donated the film and sound footage to the Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation and they contain many new revelations by Ray on how his films were created and produced.

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

announced the new Ray Harryhausen Awards which were devised by Walsh and revealed at their 2021 panel at Comic Con.

Writing and journalism

In additional to his film and TV screenplays, Walsh has written for various print and online publications on film history, politics and religion in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', '' The Catholic Herald'' and '' Conservative Home''. He contributed to the

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cine ...

title, ''Ray Harryhausen Poster Art Book'', written by sci-fi journalist and author Richard Holliss. His first book, '' Harryhausen: The Lost Movies'', was published 10 September 2019 by Titan Books. His second book, '' Flash Gordon: The Official Story of the Film'', was published in November 2020 by Titan Books. In 2021, ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...

'' announced the publication of Walsh's next book, '' Escape from New York: The Official Story of the Film'', published by Titan Books. On 18th March 2025, a new behind-the-scenes book ''

Gladiator II ''Gladiator II'' is a 2024 historical drama, historical epic film directed and produced by Ridley Scott that is a sequel to Gladiator (2000 film), ''Gladiator'' (2000). Written by David Scarpa based on a story he wrote with Peter Craig, the fi ...

: The Art and Making of the Ridley Scott Film'' to be published by

Abrams Books Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery. The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher Média-Participations. Run by president and CEO Mar ...

and written by Walsh containing new interviews, photos and others materials from the film. This large format 224 coffee table art book was licensed by the film’s rights holder

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Books

Filmography and awards

References

External links

Walsh Bros Ltd.
official site *
Titan Books – Author Page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, John 20th-century English people 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English screenwriters Alumni of the London Film School British film production company founders Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates English documentary filmmakers English male screenwriters English male television writers English television directors Film directors from London Film producers from London Living people People from Greenwich Television producers from London Writers from the Royal Borough of Greenwich Year of birth missing (living people)