Throughout his high school and college years, 23-yr. old Julien Turner was best known as a scholar-athlete.
But, with respect to art, Julien spent most of his efforts early on assisting, supporting, promoting, and writing for his younger brother Justen and his film company Dreadhead Films. However, Julien soon discovered that he too had a hidden passion for storytelling, particularly in the areas of screenwriting and directing. In 2016, he decided to join forces with his brother Justen, with aims to take Dreadhead Films to the next level.
In November 2017, Julien was thrust into the national spotlight when he decided to do an extra credit biology rap video that went viral. The national exposure landed him on Good Morning America, TMZ, MTV, among other national platforms. He and brother Justen were also recognized that month as the youngest filmmakers to be commissioned to do a short film for Sesame Street for its 2018-2019 season. As a result, they were also featured on CNN and in The NY Times. For more, visit www.dreadheadfilms.com/news-media.
Since then, he and his brother have made dozens of short films, of which seven (7) are public. Their short films have screened at reputed film festivals from the Pan African Film Festival and the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival, to the HollyShorts Film Monthly Screening Series. They’ve been featured in the NYTimes, The Root, Headline News, and many more. Julien has worked as a filmmaker and content creator for the likes of Amazon and Adidas. In 2020, Julien and his brother were named Beats Ambassadors when Beats by Dre selected them to be a part of its Black Future 2020 HBCU Program.
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Most recently, Julien and his brother directed a recent short film advertisement for the A Ma Maniere X Jordan Brand collaboration. Celebrating black women in the urban communities the brands touch the most.
Besides sports and filmmaking, Julien also enjoys a majority of all other artistic storytelling mediums. He grew up playing piano, violin, and bass. He paints, he raps, he acts, and performs. As a result of his athletic and academic performance in high school, Julien received multiple football and full-ride academic offers from colleges across the country as a senior in high school. Julien ultimately decided to attend Morehouse College in Atlanta.
At Morehouse College, he earned his B.A. in Business Marketing as the top senior in the concentration while playing football and participating in the honors program at Morehouse. Julien finished his career at Morehouse College as a 3x Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All Academic, All-Conference Linebacker, and 2019 Morehouse College Football Captain while on 4-year full Morehouse academic ride. He was also member of the Morehouse College Honors Program, National Society of Leadership & Success, Beta Gamma Sigma Society. Further, Julien is a member of the Alpha Rho Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
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Julien is now on track to earn his MFA in Cinematic Arts, Film and Television Production at the University of Southern California. At his very core, Julien is a storyteller. Whether in business, film, art, music, education, or performance, Julien hopes to bring light to the world through his stories and through the stories of others.