Justin Marshall has spent the past decade balancing his three great passions—teaching, storytelling, and filmmaking. After receiving a B.A. in Art History from Macalester College, Justin took the exotic path to a teaching career by moving to Japan, where he taught English at a rural junior high school. He stayed in Japan for two years, during which he time he earned a Level III Certification of proficiency in written and spoken Japanese.

Upon returning to America, Justin began writing art and music reviews for the Minneapolis City Pages while studying film. In 2000, he was accepted into Columbia University’s MFA Film Program and moved to New York City. While at Columbia, he continued teaching, first as a Teaching Assistant to renowned Film Historian Annette Insdorf, then as a Directing Instructor for the undergraduate film program. He completed his MFA in 2005 as both a screenwriter and cinematographer. His thesis screenplay One Hit Wonder received a Faculty Select Award, led to representation with a management company, and was later optioned. Justin’s cinematography has been equally recognized, earning him a Best Cinematography Award for the short film Celamy. Films he shot have played at festivals around the world, and two were named Finalists for the Student Academy Awards in 2004 and 2005.

Justin successfully combined his three passions last year through two different projects. First, he wrote the introduction for the book Film Classics, which was published by Barnes & Noble. Next, he wrote an educational book entitled How To Write An Essay, which was published in 2006. It has since sold more than 5,000 copies.