About us
John Hay
John, a two-time EMMY and Berlin Bear award-winning film director and producer, is CEO of Atticus.
He began his career at the BBC where he made a number of award-winning films including Autogeddon, starring Jeremy Irons, which won him a Magnolia at Shanghai, Cause of Death, which took the Golden Gate at San Francisco and Stig of the Dump, which won him his first EMMY.
John produced the British segment of Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard for Fox Searchlight; directed The Steal for Warner Bros. and helmed the cult classic, There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble for Pathe. The latter won him a Berlin Bear and ten other major awards including the Golden Gryphon at Giffoni. His other credits include the BBC feature film Lost Christmas which was distributed theatrically by Hyde Park and won him his second Emmy.
John also executive produced Babes in the Wood for ITV; Who Killed Billie-Jo for Paramount + and My Wife, My Abuser and The Murder of Louise Kam for Channel 5 and Netflix.
Recently, John directed Willem & Frieda, a feature documentary presented by Sir Stephen Fry which won 15 international awards on its theatrical outing and Capture You Dead, a 90 min film for Series 6 of ITV's Grace. He has also just produced Human Tide, a feature documentary about six family’s journey to Hajj.
As an active member of The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences he has judged the Emmys consecutively for the last decade and acted as a film juror for BAFTA, of which he is also a member.
David Ward
David is a versatile director across film and television, known for access-driven storytelling. His credits span investigative true crime and documentary features, including Babes in the Wood with Sir Trevor McDonald for ITV, The Arab Who Took on the Arctic, and Made in the UAE for National Geographic.
Recent UK projects include My Wife, My Abuser and The Murder of Louise Kam; which both reached Top 5 ranking on Netflix.
His work as a commercials director on campaigns for News 8 and King 5 in the U.S. have both been recognised with an EMMY.
David also directed Who Killed Billie-Jo? for Paramount+/Channel 5, which won Best Documentary Series at the True Crime Awards 2023.
Most recently, David directed Human Tide, a feature documentary which follows six family’s journeys to Hajj.
Justin Johnson
Justin is the Chief Programmer for BFI Southbank.
A regular juror at Berlin, Zlin, Poznan and Copenhagen Justin also selects the films for the British Animation Awards and works as a programmer on the London Film Festival.
As one of the UK’s leading experts on family film he also makes regular appearances on TV and hosts events for the Royal Television Society and BAFTA where he has sat on the Film Committee for many years. He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Rachel Ward
As producer, Rachel’s recent credits include My Wife, My Abuser and The Murder of Louise Kam for Channel 5 and Human Tide.
Rachel began her career 25 years ago in advertising, production and design, working with leading broadcast clients such as Sky, ITV, BBC and Turner.
Rachel also spent over a decade collaborating with major video game publishers - including Sega, EA and Capcom - on scripted brand integrations and international product launches.
Joy Moore
Joy brings over a decade of experience in both contemporary and period costume design for film and television.
Her credits include William and Frieda (Channel 4) and Who Killed Louise Kam (Channel 5).
Joy is currently producing Moon and the Dolphin, an animated feature film written by Michael Morpurgo and Jason Carpenter for Atticus along with a number of other films and dramas.
