Directing
Justin Simms
Place of birth
Labrador City, Newfoundland, Canada
Known for
Directing
Credits
23 titles
Justin Simms is a Newfoundland and Labrador filmmaker whose first feature film, Down to the Dirt, received the best Atlantic feature and best screenplay awards at the Atlantic Film Festival. His feature film adaptation Away from Everywhere (2016), based on the Chad Pelley novel of the same name, had its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival as part of Telefilm Canada’s Perspectives Canada program. His non-fiction credits include Hard Light (2011), Danny (2014) and the short Hand.Line.Cod (2016), which premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.
Known for
NRWith little more than a 16-mm camera and a bedrock love of place, renegade filmmaker Mike Jones broke the trail for Newfoundland’s cultural renaissance. Through never-before-seen footage of the comedic chaos that was CODCO, Smash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike Jones summons this chapter of Canada’s hilarious history in a joyful journey of rediscovery featuring Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer and more.
Smash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike Jones
2026
NRIn the stark Labrador interior, a growing number of Filipino workers have recently landed in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, travelling halfway around the world for jobs they hope will offer their families new opportunities and a better life. Becoming Labrador follows a handful of them as they make a place for themselves in Labrador while dealing with the unexpected costs of living far from their family.
Becoming Labrador
2019
NRIn a dystopian future where the air is unbreathable and all citizens must wear elaborate masks in order to live, one young scientist fights to win his lover by defying the state and seeing her face.
Face Machine
2006
NRThe film accompanying the album "Closer to the Bone" by Ian Foster.
Close to the Bone: The Film
2023
NRWhen a marriage is threatened by a long excursion for work, domestic trouble is buffeted by family and friends.
Heartless Disappearance Into Labrador Seas
2008
3.2A struggling writer emerges from rehab and reunites with his estranged brother, but soon descends into a tragic love triangle and is forced to confront a devastating reality.
Away from Everywhere
2017
Behind the camera
NRWith little more than a 16-mm camera and a bedrock love of place, renegade filmmaker Mike Jones broke the trail for Newfoundland’s cultural renaissance. Through never-before-seen footage of the comedic chaos that was CODCO, Smash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike Jones summons this chapter of Canada’s hilarious history in a joyful journey of rediscovery featuring Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer and more.
Smash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike Jones
2026
NRWith little more than a 16-mm camera and a bedrock love of place, renegade filmmaker Mike Jones broke the trail for Newfoundland’s cultural renaissance. Through never-before-seen footage of the comedic chaos that was CODCO, Smash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike Jones summons this chapter of Canada’s hilarious history in a joyful journey of rediscovery featuring Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, Rick Mercer and more.
Smash & Grab: The Rebel Lens of Mike Jones
2026
NRIn the stark Labrador interior, a growing number of Filipino workers have recently landed in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, travelling halfway around the world for jobs they hope will offer their families new opportunities and a better life. Becoming Labrador follows a handful of them as they make a place for themselves in Labrador while dealing with the unexpected costs of living far from their family.
Becoming Labrador
2019
NRIn a dystopian future where the air is unbreathable and all citizens must wear elaborate masks in order to live, one young scientist fights to win his lover by defying the state and seeing her face.
Face Machine
2006
NRIn a dystopian future where the air is unbreathable and all citizens must wear elaborate masks in order to live, one young scientist fights to win his lover by defying the state and seeing her face.
Face Machine
2006
NRThe film accompanying the album "Closer to the Bone" by Ian Foster.
Close to the Bone: The Film
2023
NRWhen a marriage is threatened by a long excursion for work, domestic trouble is buffeted by family and friends.
Heartless Disappearance Into Labrador Seas
2008
NRWhen a marriage is threatened by a long excursion for work, domestic trouble is buffeted by family and friends.
Heartless Disappearance Into Labrador Seas
2008
3.2A struggling writer emerges from rehab and reunites with his estranged brother, but soon descends into a tragic love triangle and is forced to confront a devastating reality.
Away from Everywhere
2017
4.2Thirty-year-old Keith Kavanagh (Joel Thomas Hynes) ekes his way through life in a small town. A hard-drinking hooligan, he keeps his ragged collection of poetry a closely guarded secret... as secret as his regret for the shattered relationship with his father. When Keith meets the darkly exotic Natasha (Mylène Savoie), his life is changed forever.
Down to the Dirt
2008
4.2Thirty-year-old Keith Kavanagh (Joel Thomas Hynes) ekes his way through life in a small town. A hard-drinking hooligan, he keeps his ragged collection of poetry a closely guarded secret... as secret as his regret for the shattered relationship with his father. When Keith meets the darkly exotic Natasha (Mylène Savoie), his life is changed forever.
Down to the Dirt
2008
4.2Thirty-year-old Keith Kavanagh (Joel Thomas Hynes) ekes his way through life in a small town. A hard-drinking hooligan, he keeps his ragged collection of poetry a closely guarded secret... as secret as his regret for the shattered relationship with his father. When Keith meets the darkly exotic Natasha (Mylène Savoie), his life is changed forever.
Down to the Dirt
2008
A world-famous chess grandmaster is led into a game of psychological cat and mouse when he accepts a challenge from an overzealous fan.
The King Hunt
2004
A world-famous chess grandmaster is led into a game of psychological cat and mouse when he accepts a challenge from an overzealous fan.
The King Hunt
2004
NRMargaret is a grandmother serving out a sentence in a minimum security prison. Daniel, her grandson, is a gifted classical guitar student who loves his nan very much. They've always had a deep connection, rooted in music. The day before his graduation, Margaret gets authorization to attend Daniel's concert ceremony. During the next 24 hours, they play music together, discuss the nature of family, and freedom, and get reacquainted after a long time apart. On the day of the ceremony, Daniel reveals a hidden intention - to help Margaret regain her freedom.
C Sharp and D Suspended
2018
NRThis feature film uses Michael Crummey's seminal piece of Newfoundland literature to examine cultural change and modern relationships.
Hard Light
2011
NRThis feature film uses Michael Crummey's seminal piece of Newfoundland literature to examine cultural change and modern relationships.
Hard Light
2011
5.7Two teenage boys escape an unhappy home, embarking on a perilous journey of self-discovery that takes them deep into the Newfoundland wilderness.
Hold Fast
2013
Short film about a wedding toast that goes horribly wrong.
Punch-Up At A Wedding
2006
Short film about a wedding toast that goes horribly wrong.
Punch-Up At A Wedding
2006
NRA feature documentary about the life of former Newfoundland Premier, Danny Williams
Danny
2015
NRIn the coldest waters surrounding Newfoundland's rugged Fogo Island, "people of the fish"—traditional fishers—catch cod live by hand, one at a time, by hook and line. After a 20-year moratorium on North Atlantic cod, the stocks are returning. These fishers are leading a revolution in sustainability, taking their premium product directly to the commercial market for the first time. Travel with them from the early morning hours, spend time on the ocean, and witness the intricacies of a 500-year-old tradition that's making a comeback.
HAND. LINE. COD.
2016
NRIn the coldest waters surrounding Newfoundland's rugged Fogo Island, "people of the fish"—traditional fishers—catch cod live by hand, one at a time, by hook and line. After a 20-year moratorium on North Atlantic cod, the stocks are returning. These fishers are leading a revolution in sustainability, taking their premium product directly to the commercial market for the first time. Travel with them from the early morning hours, spend time on the ocean, and witness the intricacies of a 500-year-old tradition that's making a comeback.
HAND. LINE. COD.
2016
