James Adolphus is a three-time Peabody Award-winning cinematographer and an Emmy® Award-winning director and producer. Adolphus is drawn to creating globally relevant stories that span social, cultural, and political issues. He graduated from the American Film Institute Conservatory and received the prestigious Fisher Fellow Scholarship. 

 

The HBO Original, Being Mary Tyler Moore, Adolphus' first feature documentary, will premiere at SXSW. Co-produced by Lena Waithe's production company, Hillman Grad, and Good Trouble Studios, which he co-founded with long-time collaborator Ben Selkow, the film explores the vanguard career of Mary Tyler Moore, who redefined women's roles both within and outside of the entertainment industry.

 

James is currently directing Gifted & Black, a documentary for Amazon Studios. The project explores the traditions and power of Black creativity in music. It follows the journey of Black music from plantation to Pulitzer Prize. 

 

Nominated for nine Emmy Awards, James directed Soul of a Nation for ABC News, the first Black news magazine television series highlighting Black Americans' authentic realities and the racial reckoning that erupted after George Floyd's death. 

 

Adolphus's directing credits include Netflix's Dating Around, Quibi's You Aint Got These, and the Independent Lens documentary Little White Lie, which he co-directed. James' cinematography credits include the Disney Plus series Encore!, HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel, Netflix's Rapture, and CNN's Believer with Reza Aslan, among numerous others. 

 

James currently splits his time between New York and Los Angeles.