In this week's episode of Gent's Talk, the Gents sit down with award-winning director Justin Wu to talk about pursuing a career in the arts, struggling between conflicting eastern & western values, working with some of the biggest brands in the world and why Canada is the next big hub for creators.
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We would like to thank BULOVA Canada, our presenting sponsor and Startwell, our studio sponsor. Produced by Poncho Navarro & Roman Lapshin.
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About Just Wu:
Justin Wu is a multi-award winning Toronto-based International TV Director and Photographer. Justin majored in Biology at Queen’s University and followed that with an Honours in Business Administration at the Richard Ivey School of Business. After foregoing a conventional career in the sciences and business, Justin began as a photojournalist and later scouted as a commercial & portrait photographer. Living and working in Europe with the likes of Vogue, Elle, and GQ, Justin became an internationally recognized artist within the fashion industry with a keen eye for visuals and storytelling. From photography, Justin quickly transitioned into filmmaking. His television directorial debut was on the hit sitcom Kim’s Convenience streaming internationally on Netflix. For his episode, Justin was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement on a Comedy Show by the Director’s Guild of Canada (DGC) in 2021. Justin has since directed a blocks of episodes the CBC as well as BBC Studios. Today, Justin has also joined the prestigious Warner Brothers Access x Canadian Academy Roster of directors and early next year, he will be directing his first studio feature film for a streamer.
Over the past decade Justin has directed television and digital commercials for prestigious brands and stars including the likes of Dior, Adidas, Coach, L’Oreal Paris, United Nations, Selena Gomez, Jeremy Irons, Victoria Beckham, Willem Dafoe, Susan Surandon, Joaquin Phoenix, Rosario Dawson, Simu Liu, and many more. Justin and his work is often a topic for the press as he’s known for his uplifting and empowering approach. This includes being featured in Entertainment Tonight, ETalk, CBC The National, CBS News, MTV, Huffington Post, Vogue, Variety, Le Grand Journal (Canal+), and much more. As a member of the LGBTI community and a new Global Citizen Champion of Change Ambassador, he continues to stand for inclusion, representation, and equity. On the side, Justin loves to share his insights, educate and inspire others. He has made keynote addresses at FanExpo, ComicCon, in association with Greenpeace, at the University of Toronto, at Canon Creator Lab, and he has guest lectured at School of Visual Arts (SVA) Masters Photography Program in New York City. This past summer he was on stage alongside the US Trade Ambassador and Canada’s Minister of International Trade to inspire the youth and speak about the importance of the arts. Justin’s pioneering and philanthropic work has also won him the 2020 US Power of Purpose award for an awareness campaign he co-founded for the United Nations and winning this year’s Image-maker of the Year Award by the Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards (CAFA).
