James Stewart

James Stewart has built his career on empathy. He is an inclusive, collaborative, award-winning director known for his work across drama series, comedy and documentary.

James’s historical drama series CHATEAU LAURIER earned the 2023 Canadian Screen Award for Best Writing in a Digital Series and was previously nominated for both a Canadian Screen Award and a Writers Guild of Canada Award in 2019. The series later won Best Drama Feature and the Audience Award at the 2023 Alberta Film Festival and was named the most-awarded digital series in history after winning the 2023 Web Series World Cup. James was also recognized as Best TV Comedy Director at the Austin Comedy Film Festival.

In 2019, James received the Telefilm Canada New Voices Award and gained international recognition for his animated proof-of-concept FOXED!, which amassed over 30 million views and debuted at #1 on Apple TV.

In 2025, James directed the pilot season of Investigation Shark Attack, a 6 x 60 documentary series for National Geographic exploring shark attacks from the shark’s point of view. He is currently directing Mysteries of the Space Race, a 4 x 1hr period docudrama series for NatGeo/Disney+.

His collaborations include work with Oprah Winfrey and Elliot Page on The Oprah Conversation for Apple TV+, featuring Elliot Page’s first television interview after coming out publicly. The episode won a 2022 GLAAD Media Award. James also recently created, produced, wrote, and directed Bet on Yourself, a 12 x 60 series and podcast hosted by Fred VanVleet and Derek Folk focused on elevating BIPOC entrepreneurs. The podcast was named one of Amazon’s Best Podcasts of the Year.

A champion of underserved communities, James has worked extensively with Indigenous communities, most recently with the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages (OCIL).

Continuing his collaboration with Werner Herzog, James’s stereoscopic work on Cave of Forgotten Dreams received a Lumière Award and was praised by The Guardian as “the reinvention of the cinema medium.” The film was later ranked the #2 best 3D film of the decade and was recently remastered for IMAX following its 2025 Telluride screening ahead of a wide release in April 2026.

A TED speaker and advocate for East Timor, James has twice been recognized for directing work supporting PTSD awareness among first responders, including Tema, featuring Yannick Bisson, Jasmine Richards, Amy Jo Johnson, and Enrico Colantoni. Following one screening of the PSA, a viewer immediately donated $10,000 to the charity.

As a writer, James’s first feature screenplay, FOXED!, won five major screenplay competitions, including the 2019 Vail Film Festival $10,000 Grand Prize, and was shortlisted for the 2020 Sundance Screenwriters Lab. The fantasy adventure explores themes of coexistence, inclusivity, and oppression. His debut short film Teen, which addressed childhood sexual abuse, received the Audience Award at the Belfast Children’s Film Festival.

As a producer, James premiered his first dramatic feature, SWAY, at the 2024 Toronto Black Film Festival, going on to win four awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Emmanuel Kabongo at the inaugural Canadian Black Screen Awards. SWAY received a theatrical release in February 2026 and earned a 2025 Canadian Screen Award nomination.

In addition to his scripted work, James has conducted more than 500 documentary interviews with figures including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Justin Timberlake, Morgan Freeman, LL Cool J, Justin Trudeau, Nobel Laureate José Ramos-Horta, and East Timor President Xanana Gusmão. He has also directed more than 50 commercial, 3D, and VR projects for global brands including Toyota, IBM, CIBC, and Lexus.

James is fluent in English and French.

For more information, visit: http://www.genevafilmco.com

DEMO MATERIAL:

Director Reel https://vimeo.com/985375680/5682136c3e

Chateau Laurier Teaser: https://vimeo.com/765538118/

SWAY Trailer: https://vimeo.com/862108347

Cave of Forgotten Dreams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmMUlNeLApU