James, or Séamus in his native Irish, is an LA-based independent filmmaker and graduate of AFI (SCR 2022).
A Sloan screenplay winner and fellow for his script 'Kokoro' about a dysfunctional Irish family, he also won a Sloan grant through the prestigious SFFilm Development Fund for his pitch 'Visible' on the life-changing discovery a scientist makes when she comes across a frog that can turn invisible. As a Sloan fellow, he has been invited to many events, including the National Academy of Sciences writers-retreat, where he was paired with a Quantum physicist (and consultant for Ant-Man) to develop a script in real-time.
His directorial debut, 'Woman's Best Friend', a silent comedy about a woman's consistent bad taste in men, won several awards. He has also written a musical, 'The Singing Revolution,' a love story told against the backdrop of the Soviet Union's occupation of Estonia, which debuted in 2022 to rave reviews and recently held a workshop performance in the West End, London.
He recently directed a film version of his original play, 'Living in Sin', an anthology on the Seven Deadly Sins.
Currently he is working on a short about, you guessed it, AI.
SCRIPTS
VISIBLE - DRAMA - FEATURE
Sloan Stories of Science in Cinema Development Fund 2023, Sundance Lab 2nd round finalist 2024
When a PhD candidate discovers a frog's unique ability to become transparent, she theorizes that this could revolutionize cardiovascular medicine. Practically invisible in a male-dominated environment, she must shake things up to get what she needs and bring this remarkable discovery to the world. View the pitch
FIVE POINTS - ONE-HOUR PERIOD DRAMA
Academy Nicholl top 10% finalist 2021, Humanitas semi-finalist 2022
In the 1840s, in Five Points, New York, the love affair between an Irish immigrant and a Black freeman is pressured as their communities are slowly pitted against each other.
KOKORO- FAMILY DRAMA - FEATURE
Sloan AFI prize winner 2022, Sloan Student Screenplay Finalist 2022
An AI engineer must return to his childhood home, so he can work together with his psychiatrist sister to diagnose their estranged doctor father, who has developed a mysterious illness.
OTHER SCRIPTS AVAILABLE
SCRAWL - HORROR - FEATURE
A widower must learn to become a father to his son in the midst of trying to survive in the Bronx, having long overstayed his migrant visa. Survival takes on a new meaning when his deceased wife is made real by his son’s drawings. View the pitch
SUGAR - DARK COMEDY - FEATURE
When a gay construction worker and his straight best friend blow all their money to live like the 1% for a weekend at Cannes, the two men decide to find sugar daddies to stay in the lifestyle they’ve come to love.
SMALL G - HALF-HOUR COMEDY
‘Small g’ is a half-hour comedy about a down-and-out potbellied loser called JESÚS, a lowly mail room employee, who is, in reality, the immortal but powerless former Greek god Zeus.d the script
