Neil's career in directing began after graduating from PCL film school, where he worked on music videos for AWGO Productions, a company based in London and Los Angeles. He then co-founded the Shooting Stars Production Company, which became one of the most prolific companies in the business.
Neil directed over 160 music videos for major record companies, 50 television commercials for leading brands, two award-winning short films, and worked as a producer/director in broadcast television. He was an elected member of the PACT council for four years and chaired the film group of the DGGB for five years.
Neil's TV credits include work for companies such as Planet 24, Diverse, and Wall to Wall, where he produced and directed comedy items for Channel 4's acclaimed youth show "The Word". His music video credits include work with artists such as Shaft, Inner City, Black Box, Steve "Silk" Hurley, Kim Wilde, Alexander O'Neil, Cherrelle, Arthur Baker, Stock Aitken & Waterman, The Sounds of Blackness, Maxi Priest, Joan Armatrading, Terry Hall, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Del Amitri, Squeeze, and M-People.
He has also produced and directed long-form, television, and concert films for clients such as George Benson, Prince, The Persuasions, Bawl, Del Amitri, Dina Carrol, Bananarama, N-Joi, and Runrig, as well as TV commercials for clients such as Scrumpy Jack, Fuji Film, ID Design, Chris Tarrant, Telstar TV, Panasonic, Moby, Mute Records, Sky Sports, and Emap.
Neil holds a BA Hons in Film & Photographic Art and a Diploma in Screenwriting from London University. He was nominated twice for a Billboard award in Los Angeles, a European Film Award for best music video, a TAPS award as writer of the year, and is represented by United Agents.
After setting up Formosa Films, Neil co-produced and directed the crime/gangster film Clubbed, based on a bestselling book by a Bafta-winning writer. The film starred Colin Salmon, Mel Raido, and Maxine Peake and was released theatrically in the UK and France in 2009. It has sold to over 25 territories and was a best-selling DVD on the week of release. Clubbed was nominated for a BIFA award and invited to screen at the Dinard Festival of UK film, France.
Neil produced and co-directed Twenty8k, an exciting thriller written by BAFTA and EMMY-winning writer Paul Abbott. The film starred Parminder Nagra, Stephen Dillane, and Kaya Scodelario. The film premiered at the EFM in Berlin, had a UK release in October 2012, and all TV rights were acquired by Sky. The US release was in January 2014.
Neil set up a development company with private investment and his current slate includes The Naked Truth, an edgy comedy, Contained, a high-octane conspiracy thriller, Diamond Life, a glossy and controversial TV series, Unspoken, described as The Wicker Man set on a Greek Island, Nightshade, a Sci-Fi noir thriller, and Idealists, an intoxicating thriller set on a Mediterranean island.
Neil was a guest of honour at the Producer's Network during the Cannes Film Festival and a TAP alumnus, where producers from Europe, Canada, and the US attend markets and movie case studies to facilitate co-production projects. He was an expert at the European Film Finance co-production conference in Berlin and is a regular panelist on tax-driven financing models in the UK, such as the Screen Summit Conference and the Bafta Production Market.
