In the second in a series of talks curated by the students of Bangor’s Art Foundation Course, director and screenwriter Russell Owen will discuss his career in film and commercial advertising.

Born and raised in the county of Conwy, North Wales, Russell’s inspiration for storytelling began. He studied illustration and screenwriting at UCA and upon graduating he moved to London, working as the producer’s assistant on horror film An American Haunting starring the late Donald Sutherland and Sissy Spacek. A career as a storyboard and concept artist followed, working on Doctor Who reboots and Tomb Raider games before becoming a set decorator and art director for popular TV shows in the UK. Having worked for Nickelodeon, ITV, BBC and Channel 4 , Russell directed his first short film Anglesey Road in 2010 , which went on to win several awards and signalled the start of a full-time writing/directing career. Russell has made hundreds of TV commercials and content films for brands such as American Express, Armani, L’Oreal, Specsavers and Diageo. He also directed Love In The Asylum, a short film based on the Dylan Thomas poem of the same name starring Gaia Weiss. His latest, award winning feature ‘Shepherd’ premiered at the 2021 BFI London Film festival to critical acclaim (New York Times Critics Pick, BBC’s Mark Kermode’s Film of the Week) after its theatrical run and becoming the number one movie on iTunes in horror and independent genres. It stars Tom Hughes, Kate Dickie, Gaia Weiss and Greta Scacchi.

Tickets available HERE