Happy 65th Birthday, Steve James! Born today in 1955, this American film producer and director has made several acclaimed documentaries.
Among his credits, James is known for directing the 2002 American documentary film 'Stevie', the 2011 American crime/documentary film 'The Interrupters', the 2014 American biographical documentary film 'Life Itself' and the 2016 American documentary film 'Abacus: Small Enough to Jail'.
However, James is best known for co-editing, co-writing, co-producing and directing the 1994 American documentary drama/sports film 'Hoop Dreams'.
Shot over the course of five years, the film tells of how every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel ninety minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program.
Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way.
James also pulls influence from the original definition of the term cinéma vérité as it applies to the Rouch/Morin method of filmmaking.
Just as with French filmmaker and anthropologist Jean Rouch and French philosopher and sociologist Edgar Morin, the "people on camera and we in the audience are continually reminded that a film is being made, that we are watching a film."
The viewers are reminded of this through James' presence on screen as well as his cinematic editing techniques, in order to obtain, what he believes, is a more accurate depiction of truth.
James has been active from 1986–present.
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