About Us
Julia and James are a filmmaking duo based in the heart of New York City. Their narrative feature film debut, “Hank and Asha,” won the Audience Award at the Slamdance Film Festival. It went on to screen at more than 50 international film festivals, winning more than 20 awards, and is distributed by FilmRise. The LA Times called it “Uniquely captivating ... lively, adorable, and thoroughly winning!” As a team they were Artists-in-Residence at Yaddo, in Saratoga Springs, NY. They share a love of traveling, cooking, and laughter yoga.
James E. Duff
Director
James earned his MFA in directing from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, where he won a fellowship for excellence in directing actors. His short film, LIFE IS A SWEET, screened at over 40 festivals worldwide, and his documentary, THE CYCLE ALSO RISES, was broadcast nationally on PBS as part of the POV series. He spent two years in West Africa directing development and human rights documentaries. Recently he has taught filmmaking at Prague Film School, Stone Street Studios in NYC, and at a refugee camp in the Sahara Desert. In the theatre, James has worked with New York companies such as Ensemble Studio Theatre, and has directed productions at such venues as The Cherry Lane Theatre and SoHo Playhouse, as well as the NYC International Fringe Festival. James speaks French.
Julia Morrison
Writer & Editor
Julia began her career in documentary television at Middlemarch Films, producing historical documentaries on figures such as Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and Dolley Madison for the PBS series, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. She also spent four years producing current affairs documentaries for New York Times Television, including the award-winning MLK BOULEVARD and CHINA RISES: GETTING RICH. Her teaching experience includes Prague Film School and Putney Student Travel Pre-College Program at Amherst College. She studied film and East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University, and editing in New York City at The Edit Center. Julia speaks Japanese.