Júlíus Kemp's journey in the film industry began at the West Surrey College of Art & Design in the UK, where he studied filmmaking and went on to make the short film "Happy Birthday" in 1991.
After leaving college, Kemp worked as an editor on the film "Children of Nature" (1991),directed by Fridrik Thor Fridriksson, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.
In 1991, Kemp co-founded the Icelandic Film Company and co-wrote and directed his first feature film, "Veggfóður erótísk ástarsaga" (1992),a box office hit produced by Fridriksson and Kemp.
Kemp's work extended beyond filmmaking, as he served as the director of the Reykjavík International Short Film Festival from 1993 to 2000, a film critic from 1993-1994, and a member of the selection committee for the Reykjavík Film Festival.
He was also a board member of the Association of Icelandic Film Producers, SÍK, from 1993 to 2000 and a member of the European Film Academy since 2001.
Kemp's achievements in filmmaking include winning second prize at the Nordic Short Film Festival in 1982 and first prize at the Reykjavík Short Film Festival the same year for his short film "Bardinn". He also won second prize at the Akureyri Short Film Festival in 1987 for his film "Ak-Rek-Ak".
As a director of music videos, Kemp has won awards for his work.
In 1997, his film "Blossi/810551" was selected as the Icelandic entry for the 1998 Academy Awards. He went on to make the short film "The Happy End" in 1998, which was selected in competition at the Toronto International Short Film Festival.
In 2000, Kemp produced and shot the box office hit "Icelandic Dream, The" (2000),which was nominated for four Edda Awards (Icelandic Oscars) and selected in competition for Best Nordic Film at the Gothenburg Film Festival 2001.
In 2002, Kemp released a new movie, "Man like me, A" (2002),starring Icelandic comedian Jon Gnarr and Hong Kong actress/popsinger Stephanie Che. The film premiered in Reykjavik on August 16, 2002, and became a box office success.
