James Liakos

James Liakos is a filmmaker who works to inspire people through cinema. He was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1980 and talked about making movies ever since his youth. James attended the 1998 summer program at the New York Film Academy following his junior year in high school. There he created Random (1998), a short 16mm film about a young man who self-destructs after a series of being bullied. In 1999, James pursued a degree in Film/Video at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, NJ. Unfortunately, he had to drop out and undergo several surgeries following a serious car accident. James returned to college in 2007 to further his education, and pursued studies in English, business, theatre, and public speaking. In 2009, he created Cute Whippet Dog Story: Man's Best Friend (2009) during an actual pet-sitting job. The video went viral and was featured by over twenty online publications including The San Francisco Globe. In 2011, James collaborated with his girlfriend to produce a short film, Two Bears on the 4th (2011). The film was well received by children and adults alike, and showed how James and his girlfriend met through the lives of two teddy bears. Again, James impressed upon people that one does not need much of a budget to tell a good story. While approaching his goals to produce, write, and direct for the screen, James worked freelance for production companies and developed his skills as a photographer. While passionate about photography, he considered it a stepping-stone to his cinematic goals. In 2013, James was asked to be a cameraman for the interview of Lifetime and Meritorious Achievement Award-Winning Dr. Temple Grandin for Liberty Treehouse, TheBlaze TV. Later that year, he produced, wrote, shot, directed, and edited Tomorrow's Light (2014), a short music-driven film about a man who meditates on his life after a traumatic event. In doing so, he re-experiences memories of what happened in order to work through his pain and find peace. Tomorrow's Light took a full year to complete due to shooting its lead actor (Joe Garrett) in meditation through all four seasons, and was praised for its shoestring budget, spiritual message, and original score. Film critic Megan Wallin of Mini Motion Pictures gave the film four out of five stars, praising it for its unconventional approach to a hero's journey. Often shifting from department to department to develop a wide range of knowledge from studio projects, James worked as an accountant for DIG TV Series (2015), in camera crew for The Player TV Pilot (2015), and as Ray Romano's stand-in for Get Shorty TV Series (2017). In 2017, James produced and directed The Recovery (2017), a short film for the 48 Hour Film Project (Albuquerque) about a rebellious teenager and her loyal sister who go on a mission to recover an important item after school lets out for the summer. The film was positively received at its premiere for its colorful characters, writing, and direction. Later that year, award-winning filmmaker, Eric Smigiel brought James on to produce Sea Critter (2018), a film about a documentary crew that uncovers the story behind a mysterious man's encounter with a sea creature. For years, James has been a public speaker for elementary classes to discuss the benefits of eating healthy, improving lifestyle habits, reducing waste, and creative ways of reusing materials. James advocates a lifestyle that is healthy, eco-friendly, less materialistic, and more compassionate towards others. He feels that film and television are excellent media for inspiring others to awaken to their greatest potential, and for promoting freedom of expression and social change.