ames E. Duff is an award-winning director of narrative features, documentaries and shorts, as well as theatre in New York City.  His independent feature film, “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.  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 has taught filmmaking at Vassar College, Prague Film School, the Digital Film Academy and Stone Street Studios in NYC.  He believes in the power of filmmaking to change lives, having taught a directing workshop through UNESCO in Kenya, 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. He recently was an artist-in-residence at Yaddo.  James earned his MFA in directing from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, where he won a fellowship for excellence in directing actors.