Josh Appignanesi is a British film director, producer, and screenwriter.

Appignanesi is best known for the feature film Song Of Songs (2006), starring Nathalie Press, which he directed, co-wrote and co-produced. The film won several awards including a special commendation for Best British Film at the Edinburgh Film Festival. Made on a tiny budget, the film is a dark study of the intense relationship between a brother and highly religious sister in London's orthodox Jewish community. The film had a small, arthouse UK release but received critical acclaim; The Observer

The Observer

The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...

said it "reveals a distinctive and bold new voice in British cinema."

He recently directed and script edited the comedy feature film The Infidel

The Infidel (2010 film)

The Infidel is a 2010 British comedy film directed by Josh Appignanesi and written by David Baddiel. The film stars Omid Djalili, Richard Schiff, Yigal Naor and Matt Lucas and revolves around a British Muslim who goes through an identity crisis when he discovers he was adopted as a child and born...

, written by David Baddiel

David Baddiel

David Lionel Baddiel is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter.-Early life:Baddiel was born in New York, and moved to England when he was four months old. His father, Colin Brian Baddiel, was a Welsh research chemist with Unilever before being made redundant in the 1980s, after...

 and starring Omid Djalili

Omid Djalili

Omid Djalili is a British Iranian stand-up comedian, actor, television producer and writer.-Personal life:Djalili was born in Chelsea, London to Iranian Bahá'í parents and is a Bahá'í himself...

, Richard Schiff

Richard Schiff

Richard Schiff is an American actor. He is best known for playing Toby Ziegler on the NBC television drama The West Wing, a role for which he received an Emmy Award...

, Archie Panjabi, Amit Shah

Amit Shah

Amit Shah served from 2005 to 2008 as the mayor of the city of Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat, India. He is affiliated with the BJP.Shah is an accountant by profession, and worked at the Ahmedabad District Cooperative bank...

 and Yigal Naor

Yigal Naor

Yigal Naor is an Israeli actor.Naor was born in Giv'atayim of Iraqi Jewish descent. He has appeared in the American movies Munich, Green Zone and Rendition...

. Produced by Arvind David at Slingshot, the film follows the adventures of a British Muslim everyman (Djalili) who discovers he was born Jewish. The film was released internationally in Spring 2010, in the UK with distributor Revolver Entertainment.

He has written and directed several short films, most notably Ex Memoria (2006) which also stars Nathalie Press as well as Sara Kestelman

Sara Kestelman

Sara Kestelman is an English actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Lady Frances Brandon, Lady Jane Grey's mother, in Lady Jane.-Biography:...

 in a study of a woman with Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...

, funded by the Wellcome Trust

Wellcome Trust

The Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...

; and Nine 1/2 Minutes (2003), a romantic comedy starring David Tennant

David Tennant

David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...

.

He lives in London and studied anthropology

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

 at King's College, Cambridge

King's College, Cambridge

King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....

, where he was a contemporary and close friend of the novelist Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith is a British novelist. To date she has written three novels. In 2003, she was included on Granta's list of 20 best young authors...

.

His mother is the writer Lisa Appignanesi

Lisa Appignanesi

Lisa Appignanesi is a British writer, novelist, and campaigner for free expression. She is president of the writers’ organization English PEN. Her latest book is All About Love: Anatomy of an Unruly Emotion...

.

Sources

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/filmnetwork/A9267492
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462545/
• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1893855/
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462004/
• http://film.guardian.co.uk/edinburgh2005/story/0,,1557812,00.html
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/newtalent/film/advice_josh.shtml
• http://www.britfilms.com/britishfilms/catalogue/browse/?id=D9CD54E207b762D510gUyPBC621F