JAMES TAYLER

75 Lion Street, Bo-Kaap, Cape Town 8001

+27 (0)82 469 0706 or +27 (0)21 423 1617
james600@eject.co.za

ORGANISATIONAL MEMBERSHIP
• South African Guild of Editors
• Yes!That’s Us – Pan-African Filmmaking collective
• Berlinalé Talent Campus Alumni
• AFDA – South Africa Film and Drama School (Masters student and part-time Lecturer)

EDUCATION
2009: AFDA – SA School Motion Picture and Performance
Master of Fine Arts Motion Picture Medium - 2nd year (part-tiime)
1999: UNISA
Study towards Bachelor of the Arts. Visual Literacy, Art History
1995: Cape Technikon
Freelance Journalism – Part time night course
1990-1993
Study towards Bachelor of the Arts. Psychology and Sociology
1990 Matric
Woordsworth Highschool, Benoni

SELECT FILMOGRAPHY
DIRECTOR
• Divizionz (Independent Feature Film) Yes!ThatsUs, Switch Media/Deddac 2008
• …After, He Left (Art Installation) Switch Media 2008
• Siyakholwa (Youth Actuality Series) X-con Films 2007
• The Ground is Burning (Documentary) Media Lab 2006
• Unsung Heroes (Feature Documentary) Switch Media 2005
• The Struggle Continues (Feature Documentary) Director Switch Media 2005
• It’s Your Move (Documentary) Switch Media 2004
• Coming Clean (Documentary) Media Lab 2001

EDITOR
• Silent Response (Documentary) Encounters 2008
• Intersection (Documentary) AFDA 2008
• 21st Century Animal (Art Installation) Resonance Bizarre 2007
• New Body (Art installation) Resonance Bizarre 2007
• Awakenings (Actuality TV Series) X-con Films 2006
• Devious (Feature Documentary) Rainbow Circle 2006
• Freedom is a Personal Journey (Feature Documentary) Maxi-D Productions 2004
• Your Safest Bet (Documentary) Media Lab 2004
• Ikon 1&2 (Documentary Series) Series Editor Rainbow Circle Films 2004
• Deafening Echoes (Feature Documentary) Rainbow Circle Films 2003
• Rhythms from Africa (Documentary Series) Tomas Films 2003
• In Search of Grace (Feature Documentary) Fresh Air Crew 2002
• Extreme Fresh Air (Documentary Series) Fresh Air Crew 1999
• Media Lab (Corporate Clients) 1997

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CINEMATOGRAPHY
• Divizionz (Feature Film) Yes!ThatsUs, Switch Media/Deddac 2008
• 21st Century Animal (CineDance) Resonance Bizarre 2007
• New Body (Art installation) Resonance Bizarre 2007
• Your Safest Bet (Documentary) Media Lab 2004
• Grumpies (Documentary) 4 Wall Films 2003
• Rehabilitating T&DB (Documentary) Media Lab 2003
• The Environment Our Responsibility (Social Responsibility) Media Lab 2002

WRITER
• Divizionz (Feature Film) Yes!ThatsUs, Switch Media/Deddac 2008
• The Immuninja (Youth Series) Sentinel Entertainment 2008
• The Pulse (Interactive Animation) Growth International 2004

PRODUCER
• Divizionz (Feature Film) Yes!ThatsUs, Switch Media/Deddac 2008
• Unsung Heroes (Documentary) Switch Media 2005
• The Struggle Continues (Documentary) Director Switch Media 2005
• It’s Your Move (Documentary) Switch Media 2004
• Various commercial music videos, corporate films and fiction projects

AWARDS
• Divizionz (Feature Film) Yes!ThatsUs, Switch Media/Deddac 2008
The film was selected for the Forum at the Berlin International Film Festival (Germany), Cinema City Film
Festival (Serbia), Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Czech Republic), Africa in the Picture Festival
(Netherlands), Durban International Film Festival (South Africa), Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival (Turkey),
Au-delà de l'Europe, Germany (Cologne), Festival International du Film d'Amiens (France), Kuala Lumpur
International Film Festival (Malaysia)

Divizionz also won the Best Edit and the Special Jury Award at the Africa Movie Academy Awards held in Abuja,
Nigeria 2008, and the film also won the Perdana Award (Best African Continent Award), Best Director Award and
Best Music Score Award at the Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival in 2008.

• Devious (Feature Documentary) Rainbow Circle 2006

The film received a Special Mention at the New York Hip Hop Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the
tri-Continental Film Festival in 2007.

• Unsung Heroes (Feature Documentary) Switch Media 2005

Winner of the Masibambisane Award 2006.

• Freedom is a Personal Journey (Feature Documentary) Maxi-D Productions 2004

Special mention at ZIFF and part of official selection for FESPACO.

• Deafening Echoes (Feature Documentary) Rainbow Circle Films 2003

The film was included in the Official Selection of the SA Democracy Film festival in New York and the Human
Rights Film Festival in Bologna.

• Rhythms from Africa (Documentary Series) Tomas Films 2003

Documentaries from this series were selected for the Zanzibar Film Festival, the Four Continents film festivals,
the Durban Film Festival and the Encounters Film Festival. They received numerous accolades including the
Golden Dhow Audience award in Zanzibar.

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 • In Search of Grace (Feature Documentary) Fresh Air Crew 2002
Official Selection - Hawaii Film Festival - USA 2003.

• Extreme Fresh Air (Documentary Series) Fresh Air Crew 1999

Individual documentaries from the series won Best Adventure Documentary - Banff Film Festival 99, Best
Adventure Documentary - Banff Film Festival 00, Runner up for Audience award - Banff Film Festival 01.

BIOGRAPHY
James Tayler is an award winning filmmaker with a strong background in digital filmmaking and post-production.
He has a strong visual style and the hallmark of playfully translating themes into visual metaphors for the screen.
James is an African filmmaker and his focus is on magical realism in African story telling and how best to adapt
this to the screen. His technical strengths stem from the years he spent as editor and his experience in directing
green screen, time lapse and stop frame photography as well as overseeing composite layering techniques and
multi-cam shoots. He can produce high end product with limited resources. Nice guy, fun to work with.

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JAMES TAYLER
75 Lion Street, Bo-Kaap, Cape Town 8001
+27 (0)82 469 0706 or +27 (0)21 423 1617
james600@eject.co.za