James Bluemel is an award-winning documentary filmmaker known for Once Upon a Time in Iraq (2020), Exodus: Our Journey to Europe (2016), and Frontline (1983). He specializes in making observational and character-driven films, giving the characters space and agency to tell their own stories in their own words. The worlds he explores with these characters are complicated and conflicted, covering themes of homelessness, mental illness, drug abuse, poverty, migration, and war. Seeing these worlds directly through the eyes of the people who inhabit them is an immersive experience, making the films deeply empathetic while challenging preconceptions and stereotypes. His films have won multiple awards, including the duPont Colombia and Peabody Awards and best documentary prizes at Bafta and the International Emmys.
Known For
Credits
Crew Credits
Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland (2023)
Episode crew as Director
(5 episodes)
- Episode 1x05: Who Wants to Live Like That? (May 22, 2023)
- Episode 1x04: Loose Talk Costs Lives (May 22, 2023)
- Episode 1x03: So Many Broken Hearts (May 22, 2023)
- Episode 1x02: Do Paramilitaries Lie Awake at Night? (May 22, 2023)
- Episode 1x01: It Wasn't Like a Movie Anymore (May 22, 2023)
Frontline (1983)
Episode crew as Director
(2 episodes)
- Episode 2023-05-23: Once Upon a Time in Iraq: Fallujah (May 23, 2023)
- Episode 2020-07-14: Once Upon a Time in Iraq (Jul 14, 2020)