JAMESKERWIN
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In addition to numerous film festival grand jury prizes, James Kerwin’s work has earned distinctions such as the Webby, the Telly, the Geekie, the Accolade, and the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant.
 
James first directed the innovative experimental short Midsummer — produced by indie cinema legend L.M. Kit Carson and starring Domenica Cameron-Scorsese — for which he received Crested Butte’s “Gold Award” from famed filmmaker Edward Zwick. He was then named “Best Director” and “Best Screenwriter” by New York Visionfest for
Yesterday Was a Lie — his feature film debut from Entertainment One and IndiePix — with Kipleigh Brown and Chase Masterson. Yesterday Was a Lie went on to win dozens of laurels, including “Best Narrative Feature” at the Sunscreen Film Festival. His next project is the reality-bending mystery Contre-Coup, currently in development at Helicon.
 
James’ live stage credits range from classical to modern. He was listed among the Los Angeles Times’ “Faces to Watch” as part of the Lone Star Ensemble theatre group, and he frequently directed for Daniel Henning and Noah Wyle’s
Blank Theatre Company. James’ work was honored by critic Paul Birchall for two consecutive years in Back Stage Magazine’s “Best of the Year” list, and has been cited by scholarly organizations and journals such as the Shakespeare Association of America and Shakespeare Newsletter.
 
James recently directed the western drama
When the Train Stops starring Rekha Sharma, John de Lancie, and Michael Forest; and co-hosted the podcast In Isolation with actress Nicola Bryant. He’s lectured on filmmaking and the science of film perception in venues as diverse as SMPTE, NPR, the University of Arizona’s Center for Consciousness Studies, San Diego Comic-Con, TCU, the University of Texas at Austin, and Space Camp.
 
James holds dual Irish/U.S. citizenship, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.