Joshua Courtade - writer/director/producer/editor/all-in-all head honcho
Joshua Courtade is a prolific writer, director, producer, actor, photographer, and instructor from Grand Rapids, Michigan, who began making movies with his parents' clunky VHS camcorder when he was eleven years old. He later graduated from Grand Valley State University with a BA in Writing. He also attended Compass Film Academy (now Compass College of Cinematic Arts), followed by Act One's intense summer Screenwriting program in Los Angeles. All the while, Joshua cranked out one short film after another.
Quite a few of his short films – including Vanishing Act, Defector, I Denti (The Teeth), Mugs, Neurotica, Neurotica: After Dark, and Donald – have been selected to play at prominent festivals including the East Lansing Film Festival, the Grand Rapids Film Festival, the Michigan Film Festival, the Made-in-Michigan Film Festival, the HollyShorts Film Festival, the Chiaroscuro International Film Series, the Blue Water Film Festival, the Uptown Film Festival, and the Short Film Corner at the Cannes International Film Festival. His feature screenplay Superego placed in the top three at the 2008 Waterfront Film Festival screenplay competition.
In 2011, after a number of festival screenings, Joshua's short fantasy/dramedy Playing House (created in collaboration with production designer Diane Kowalski) was nominated for awards in five categories at the Detroit Independent Film Festival/Uptown Film Festival, including Best Michigan Short Film and Best Short Screenplay. The film won for Best Actress in a Short thanks to the excellent lead performance of Rachel Clare Higgins.
Quite a few of his short films – including Vanishing Act, Defector, I Denti (The Teeth), Mugs, Neurotica, Neurotica: After Dark, and Donald – have been selected to play at prominent festivals including the East Lansing Film Festival, the Grand Rapids Film Festival, the Michigan Film Festival, the Made-in-Michigan Film Festival, the HollyShorts Film Festival, the Chiaroscuro International Film Series, the Blue Water Film Festival, the Uptown Film Festival, and the Short Film Corner at the Cannes International Film Festival. His feature screenplay Superego placed in the top three at the 2008 Waterfront Film Festival screenplay competition.
In 2011, after a number of festival screenings, Joshua's short fantasy/dramedy Playing House (created in collaboration with production designer Diane Kowalski) was nominated for awards in five categories at the Detroit Independent Film Festival/Uptown Film Festival, including Best Michigan Short Film and Best Short Screenplay. The film won for Best Actress in a Short thanks to the excellent lead performance of Rachel Clare Higgins.
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photo by Liz Merriman
Joshua's campy Internet serials featuring intrepid adventurer Hank Danger have been growing in popularity since the character's debut in 2008. Joshua has been nominated for an award in the category of Best Direction at the 2012 Blue Water Film Festival for his work on the first Hank Danger short film, Hank Danger and the Woman From Venus! That particular film also received a 2013 Eclipse Award for Production Excellence in the Film & Video category.
His short film Vanishing Act (produced by Liz Merriman) has played at numerous festivals and has won several awards. At the 2013 Blue Water Film Festival, Chris Porter won the Best Soundtrack award for his beautiful score for the film, and a few weeks later at the Made-in-Michigna Film Festival, the film took home awards for Best Cinematography (Noah Sampsel) and Best Lead Actress (Charly Bivona).
Joshua's first three feature films, Black Paper, Twenty Years Later, and Alone in the Universe are currently in various stages of distribution. His award-winning feature Melody on Earth was released online by Nandar Entertainment in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, major productions were on hold, but starting in 2021, Joshua was back at it with the films Carrie and Jess Save the Universe!, Moon Ghost, and Moon Ghost Returns. He's developing several other feature films that he intends to direct in the near future.
Joshua wrote the screenplay for the horror movie Open Wounds with his partner Ryan Leeder. The film is directed by Ron Krauss and stars Jack Kilmer, Paris Jackson, and Eric Roberts, and will be released in 2025.
Joshua was the film festival manager for the Grand Rapids Comic-Con for six years. He currently teaches courses in screenwriting and film production at Calvin University and Grand Valley State University, where he continues to impart his love for cinema to new generations of filmmakers.
Watch his 2024 reel here or at the bottom of this page.
Joshua on IMDb.
His short film Vanishing Act (produced by Liz Merriman) has played at numerous festivals and has won several awards. At the 2013 Blue Water Film Festival, Chris Porter won the Best Soundtrack award for his beautiful score for the film, and a few weeks later at the Made-in-Michigna Film Festival, the film took home awards for Best Cinematography (Noah Sampsel) and Best Lead Actress (Charly Bivona).
Joshua's first three feature films, Black Paper, Twenty Years Later, and Alone in the Universe are currently in various stages of distribution. His award-winning feature Melody on Earth was released online by Nandar Entertainment in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, major productions were on hold, but starting in 2021, Joshua was back at it with the films Carrie and Jess Save the Universe!, Moon Ghost, and Moon Ghost Returns. He's developing several other feature films that he intends to direct in the near future.
Joshua wrote the screenplay for the horror movie Open Wounds with his partner Ryan Leeder. The film is directed by Ron Krauss and stars Jack Kilmer, Paris Jackson, and Eric Roberts, and will be released in 2025.
Joshua was the film festival manager for the Grand Rapids Comic-Con for six years. He currently teaches courses in screenwriting and film production at Calvin University and Grand Valley State University, where he continues to impart his love for cinema to new generations of filmmakers.
Watch his 2024 reel here or at the bottom of this page.
Joshua on IMDb.