Michael James

Michael is a filmmaker, writer, academic, and artist based in Durban, South Africa with a passion for meaningful storytelling. He has a significant interest in using various mediums to craft stories with the potential to deconstruct the myths we call history and the histories we call myth. Alongside a professional academic career in teaching film, philosophy, and political science, he has written several award winning plays (the PANSA national award winning play, Things We Found in the Silence) and screenplays; written and directed for television; directed and produced a feature film, Dreams of Gomorrah (which won three 2020 Simon Sabela awards and two 2020 African Emerging Filmmaker Awards; the film is currently being distributed by Multichoice across all African territories); and has directed and produced several short films and documentaries that have gone on to win numerous awards at both local and international film festivals (the award winning documentary Free Education: The Story of Bonginkosi Khanyile, which premiered at the 2018 Encounters Documentary Film Festival in Cape Town and went on to win three awards at the 2018 African Diaspora Cinema Festival in Florence, Italy). As the writer and director of his next feature film – a film that sets out to explore
the oppressive colonial legacy of religion in South Africa, Those Who Dwell In Darkness – he has represented the film at the Rotterdam International Film Festival Cinemart 2020, at Durban Filmmart 2019 - where the film won the “Versveld & Associates” Award – and as a shortlisted film at the Cinephilia Bound Filmmart section at the Cannes Film Festival 2020. At the foundation of both his filmmaking and academic career lies a passionate and curious desire to deconstruct and reconstruct the historical narratives that have so deeply informed our identities regarding race, gender, class, sexuality, and faith. These social and historical realities inform the direction, consistency, and relevancy of his work. His growing cinematic vision has been influenced deeply by the likes of Andrei Tarkovsky, Jean-Luc Godard, and Terrence Malick, both for their desire to test the limits of cinema as well as to poetically expand the boundaries of what the art form has the potential to do in the world.

• SABC/Lotus FM, Durban, South Africa (2017 -
  present): As a freelance scriptwriter & editor I have
  written two full 20 episodic radio plays, as well as a full
  40 episodic radio play, all of which has been recorded
  and aired nationally via SABC/Lotus FM 2020 - Present)

• Maverick Resistance, Durban, South Africa (2018 -
  present): As a director, writer, and producer I have
  successfully headed up "Content Creation" as a codirector
  for a production company called "Maverick
  Resistance" - directing, writing, and producing
  numerous award winning films (including the award
  winning "Dreams of Gomorrah", which is currently being
  distributed across all African territories by Multichoice),
  commissioned documentaries, short films, and
  commercials

• Matchstick Creative: As a freelancer, I have directed
  and written TVC's and content creation campaigns,
  particularly a series of Discovery Health brand content
  with Chad le Clos in the build up to the 2020 Olympic
  Games

• E.TV. Durban, South Africa (2018): Commissioned by
  e.tv to direct, write, and produce a 23 minute
  documentary ("Education Shall Be Free") that aired on
  national television on 13 May 2018; also commissioned
  by e.tv to write and produce a 23 minute documentary
  ("#AmINext") that aired on national television throughout
  2021

• Newshound International Media (2020-Present): As a
  freelance writer, editor, photographer, and
  videographer, I filmed, edited, and created digital
  content for media clients, including parts of Jacob
  Zuma's trial as well as the trajectory of the Covid 19
  pandemic, amongst other events.

• Teacher's Assistant (TA) at the University of South Africa (2018-2023) grading
  and teaching philosophy and sustainable economics in a prerequisite
  undergraduate module called "Sustainability and Greed" (SUS1501).

• I worked for Lamagudu Skills Development, in partnership with UIF and MICT SETA (2020-2022): as a contracted facilitator/lecturer and qualified assessor, teaching young aspiring filmmakers both film theory and film praxis - a process that consequently led to my student's production of a short film which went on to win the prize for "Best Student Short Film" at the Durban Film Festival 2020. I have since gone on to facilitate/lecture and assess at numerous institutions on various NQF levels within the context of Film & Television practice, Commercial TV practice, Screenwriting, Entrepreneurial foundational praxis, as well as I have supervised and created the curriculum for various accredited film & television courses.

University of South Africa (2016-2018)

• Graduated with "Bachelor of Arts Degree: Politics, Philosophy, Economics" with 12 distinctions

University of South Africa (2019)

• Graduated with Honours Degree in Philosophy

University of South Africa (2021-present)

• Masters Degree (Phil) soon to be completed (2023)

STANFORD UNIVERSITY (2023)

• Accepted to participate in the 2023 "Code in Place" CS106A program, with both a practical and theoretical emphasis on Python

TEACH TEFL LANGUAGE SCHOOL (2019)

• Certified to teach English through successfully completing the 120 Hour TEFL course