James Longley (filmmaker)

James Bertrand Longley is an American filmmaker.

James Longley
Born
James Bertrand Longley
Occupation(s)Documentary filmmaker, producer,
Years active2002–present

Career

His work includes the documentary, Gaza Strip, released in 2002. His production, Iraq in Fragments, presents a view of Iraq and Iraqis during the first two years of Iraq War.[1] It was awarded three jury awards at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, but lost to An Inconvenient Truth.[2][3] His short film Sari's Mother premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Short but lost to Freeheld.[4]

In 2009, Longley was awarded a $500,000 MacArthur Fellowship "Genius Grant."[5]

Between 2007 and 2009 Longley was working on a film in Iran. The film was cut short during the time of the elections and ensuing protests in June, 2009. On Sunday, June 14, The New York Times Lede blog reported he "was arrested with his translator while interviewing people on a street in Tehran, near the Interior Ministry," and later interviewed him about his and his translator's experiences.[6] This film is currently on hold indefinitely.[7]

Following up on IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS, Longley produced and filmed the feature documentary ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT in Afghanistan. The film, following life in a school over three years, makes Afghan reality accessible by giving the audience a human-scale entry point - the world of a neighborhood school in Kabul - through which the larger context of Afghan society and history may be more clearly understood. Completed in 2018, the film accurately predicts the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Reviewing ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT in the Los Angeles Times in 2019, film critic Kenneth Turan wrote: “What is life like on the ground for ordinary people in another culture, another world? That’s been the bread and butter of observational documentaries for forever, but almost never is it done with the kind of beauty and grace filmmaker James Longley brings to his Afghanistan-set ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT. As his 2006 Oscar-nominated IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS demonstrated, MacArthur Fellow Longley, who serves as his own cinematographer as well as directs, has an almost magical ability to envelope us in other realities. He does it via the poetry of his imagery as well as a gift for focused illumination that creates empathetic portraits of people who are both ordinary and intensely involving."[8]

After a festival run starting at Telluride, TIFF and the New York Film Festival, ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT opened theatrically at Film Forum and was the New York Times’ Critic’s Pick.[9]

He is the founder of Daylight Factory, a production company committed to creating documentary films about international subjects with international appeal.

Personal life

Longley's middle name is a tribute to philosopher Bertrand Russell. He studied "film and Russian at Wesleyan University and the All-Russian Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) at Moscow."[10] Longley is fluent in Russian.

Filmography
Features
Year Title Notes
2002 Gaza Strip
2006 Iraq in Fragments Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
2007-2009 Untitled Iran Project On hold
2018 Angels Are Made of Light
Short Films
Year Title Notes
1994 Portrait of Boy with Dog
2007 Sari's Mother Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)
2012 Ejaz's Story : UNICEF Pakistan

Honors and awards[11]

References
  1. Cole, Williams (November 2006). "Iraq in Fragments: James Longley in conversation with Williams Cole". The Brooklyn Rail.
  2. 2006 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners, Wikipedia.
  3. 79th Academy Award Nominees, Wikipedia.
  4. 80th Academy Award Nominees, Wikipedia.
  5. Maugh II, Thomas H. (September 22, 2009). "Artist Mark Bradford, USC's Elyn Saks win MacArthur grants". Los Angeles Times.
  6. "Updates on Iran's Disputed Election: Update|3:17 p.m." by Robert Mackey, The New York Times Lede News Blog, June 15, 2009. Retrieved 6/15/09.
  7. Longley's Vimeo page
  8. "Review: Afghan school rises above country's tumult in 'Angels Are Made of Light'". Los Angeles Times. 8 August 2019.
  9. Ebiri, Bilge (23 July 2019). "'Angels Are Made of Light' Review: Despair Meets Hope in Kabul". The New York Times.
  10. MacArthur Fellows Program, MacArthur Fellows, James Longley, MacArthur Foundation. By Staff. Published January 26, 2009. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  11. James Longley Archived 2013-05-30 at the Wayback Machine, Institute Artists. By Staff. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  12. James Longley, USA Fellows. Media 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  13. "James Longley". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
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