JustinHawkes
- Director
- Editor
Justin Hawkes knew from age 10 that he wanted to work in TV. An avid collector of TV guides, he sent TV3 a new programming schedule at age 13. The award-winning director and editor began his career as a tape operator at TVNZ, before honing his directing skills at music channel M2. He directed Netflix travel show Dark Tourist and won Best Director Documentary/Factual for Patrick Gower: On Weed at the 2020 NZ TV Awards.
Biography
After studying Film and Sociology at Victoria University, and time at South Seas Film and Television School, Justin Hawkes cut his directing teeth working on music programmes. At age 23, he became a director for TVNZ music show M2, producing 18 hours of live TV a week. He went on to direct TV2 music programmes Squeeze and Space (where he learned to edit, as the editor was too busy to do everything), and music channel C4.
Screenography
Awards
2021 New Zealand Television Awards
Nominated for Best Original Reality Series: for Taranaki Hard
2020 New Zealand Television Awards
Best Director - Documentary/Factual: for Patrick Gower: On Weed
“I'd been threatened with beheading in Turkey, surrounded by police in the US, but actually being detained by the local cops in Northern Cyprus felt a lot worse.”