Tribute to award-winning filmmaker Dr Justin Hardy
7 Aug 2026 10:58 AM
Tributes have been paid to an award-winning UCL historian, filmmaker and lecturer in screenwriting who has died aged 61.
Dr Justin Hardy taught screenwriting in UCL’s Media BA course at UCL East and was a valued member of UCL Computational Media Research, UCL Knowledge Lab and the wider UCL community. He has been described by his colleagues as a passionate and dedicated teacher.
A Bafta and Emmy nominated writer and director, Dr Hardy’s filmmaking career spanned more than 100 film and television productions across three decades. He won four Royal Television Society Awards and worked with major broadcasters including the BBC, Channel 4 and PBS.
His feature documentary Children of The Wicker Man, made with his brother Dominic, was released in 2024. In 2025, he published Children of The Wicker Man: The True Story Behind One of the Most Remarkable Films Ever Made (The History Press, 23 October 2025).
Dr Hardy also published two major academic books: A New Genre for Television? Creativity in Historical Drama Documentary (Manchester University Press, 27 May 2025) and The Filmmaker as Historian: The Age of Liberal Revolution on Screen, co-authored with Laurence Brockliss (Palgrave Macmillan, 20 November 2025).
He had recently completed his latest feature film Wrath of The Gods, the concluding chapter to the Wicker Man trilogy, which is set premiere at FrightFest in London on 28 August 2026.
Justin’s close friends and colleagues on the BA Media course recently said:
“The Media BA team, together with his students and colleagues across CCM, IOE and UCL, are deeply shocked by this loss, particularly as Justin had so many creative and scholarly plans ahead of him.
“Justin brought exceptional professional experience, generosity, energy and enthusiasm to his teaching. He made a significant contribution to Media BA, his department and the wider IOE community, and he will be greatly missed by his colleagues, collaborators and students.”
Robin Billingham, BA Media Staff and Cinematographer, recently said:
"Working with Justin was always memorable; he was a huge personality and found himself the centre of attention in most situations.
“However, Justin was a real people person and always shown a serious interest in those around him, offering very genuine help, advice, and friendship quite freely. Everyone that got to know him will miss him dearly, but I take comfort in seeing his work and his life being celebrated in such a positive way. It's been an honour to know him."
Corrina Du, BA Media Alumni, recently said:
“Justin was both a teacher and a mentor. He supported my idea in my first year, even though it seemed far-fetched, and gave me the confidence to trust my own creative instincts. He cared not only about my studies, but also about my well-being. I will always remember our conversations and will never forget his generosity, honesty, and the lasting impact he had on me as a student.”
György Beck, BA Media Associate Professor and Filmmaker, recently said:
“Justin was one of the first colleagues to join us on the BA Media programme as our screenwriting lecturer. I will remember him as someone who was always willing to help whenever the programme needed extra support.
“He took his teaching seriously, was open to feedback, and I especially appreciated his openness to seeking advice and drawing on the experience of others whenever it would benefit his students. He will be greatly missed.”
Jamie Rhodes, BA Media Lecturer, recently said:
“Justin Hardy was a wonderful colleague, teacher and friend. We taught creative writing and screenwriting together often, and I learned an enormous amount from him, both about teaching at university and about the craft of writing and directing.
“Justin brought humour, warmth and a genuine passion for helping students tell the very best stories they could. He was extraordinarily generous and encouraging to me personally, always supporting me, championing my work and building my confidence. Justin was an incredibly kind man, a deeply creative soul and a wonderful storyteller. I feel enormously fortunate to have worked alongside him and to have called him my friend. I will miss him greatly."
Dr Hardy’s life and work will be celebrated with a commemorative screening at the UCL East Cinema at One Pool Street, Stratford, at the end of September.
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Media contact
Alexandra Middleton
alexandra.middleton@ucl.ac.uk