Cornelius Walker
Director
Film, TV & Theatre
Cornelius is an Academy Award, Grierson and IDA Award nominated filmmaker. He began his career working at ITV Studios and has since worked across TV, film, live events and commercials with companies such as Left Bank, Google, HSBC and William and Grant.
Cornelius worked on his first self-funded short 10 STOPS AWAY (2012) for SBTV before going on to write, direct and produce FATHER OF MAN (2017) starring Tosin Cole. Other short film directing credits include WOMEN WILL (2017) for Google Creative Labs, TAKE ME (2019) for Fully Focused Productions and most recently TALK (2022) funded by BFI and Creativs label and also co-written by Cornelius.
In 2019, Cornelius wrote Academy Award nominated BLACK SHEEP. The short documentary, produced by The Guardian, was also nominated for both a Grierson and IDA Award, and went on to win awards at a number of film festivals including the Cork International Film Festival.
Cornelius shadowed lead director David Caffrey on THE FEAR INDEX (2020), for Left Bank Pictures/Sky, and went on direct the 2nd unit and the opening scene for episode 2. Most recently Cornelius worked as the Director’s Assistant on Netflix’s third series of BRIDGERTON.
Television
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
BRIDGERTON S3 2023 | Shondaland / Netflix | Director's Assistant |
THE FEAR INDEX 2021 | Left Bank Pictures / Sky | 2nd Unit Director. Shadowed under David Caffery as a trainee director, learning how to manage and handle a television production. Meetings with producers and writers. Directed 2nd Unit, and the beginning of Episode 2; also shot additional material. Managed logistics of car scenes, communicating with and working with non-English speaking crew. Worked with main talent and support cast, collaborating with the camera and lighting crew. |
Documentaries
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
BLACK SHEEP 2019 | Lightbox / The Guardian | Writer. Nominated for an Academy Award, Grierson Award, IDA Documentary Award and winner of 11 film festivals. Wrote, narrated and starred in the short documentary. |
Short Films
| Production | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|
TALK 2022 | BFI / Creativ Label | Director, Writer and Executive Producer. Funded by BFI. Managed the entire process; research, mood boards, casting, managing crew and cast from pre to post productions. Meeting with producers, HOD's, coordinated technical and creative aspects of productions, placement of camera and working with post-production teams. |
BARCLAYS EAGLE LAB 2020 | Barclays | Director. Directed a short piece for Barclays Eagle Lab program to promote young Black start-up businesses. Handled the entire process from pre to post-production. |
TAKE ME 2019 | Fully Focused | Director. Worked with Fully Focused to help bring young youth stories to life. Directing and casting. Handled the entire process from pre to post-production. |
WOMEN WILL 2019 | Google Creative Labs | Director. Created the idea to present to the creative director of Google Lab. Travelled to Nigeria and South Africa. Collaborated with producers in selecting cinematographers, editors, and other crew members for the film cast. Directed, and assisted in the writing/re-writing of scenes, treatments, and portions of scripts. Approval of locations and casting. |
FATHER OF MAN 2018 | Laolu Pictures | Director and Producer. Handled the entire film-making process from start to finish/ Casting, directed, produced film and funded. Planner, organised and budgeted. Located and secured approval for scene locations. Coordinated communication with cast/technical crew. Created visual references for the Production Design and Art dept. |
10 STOPS AWAY 2012 | SBTV & Laolu Pictures | Director, Writer and Producer. Handled the entire film-making process from start and finish. Pitched to SBTV to release on the channel. Selected entire crew and cast. Self-funded. |