Gavin James is an American filmmaker living in Los Angeles, CA. He recently finished writing and directing his first feature film,Footsteps, starring Brendan Sexton III (Welcome To The Dollhouse, Boy’s Don’t Cry). He is currently in pre-production on his second feature, entitled Hemlock. In between films he directs television commercials and branded content.
What training have you received?
I had no formal film training. I was fortunate to have been exposed to still photography and photochemical printing at a young age—this discipline greatly informed how I approach filmmaking. Other than that, my real ‘schooling’ was the time spent working production on sets and apprenticing under DPs.
What kind of projects attract you?
If an idea occupies my mind for long enough, I then know that it’s rich enough to become a film. I’m usually attracted to ideas that are innately more visceral than cerebral. For me, the best films are those that can occupy a feeling or a tone, not just a topic. I believe someone once said: ‘It’s not about the see of it, but the feel of it’. I think the best films tend to encompass this notion.
Tell us the best advice you’ve been given as a director?
Make decisions based on what’s innately interesting to you. The second you make decisions for others is the point in which you’ve lost a point of view.
Most significant moment in your career so far
Finishing my first film, Footsteps.
You’ll die happy when…
I’ll die happy when I’ve left behind a body of work that people watch, repeatedly.
