James Derek Dwyer was born on March 4, 1970, and spent his childhood on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing and Photography from Emerson College in Boston.
During his time at Emerson, Dwyer programmed a short film/video screening and met director Todd Verow. They collaborated on the feature film Frisk, which premiered at the Sundance, Berlin, and Toronto film festivals in 1996. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Cooper and starred Craig Chester and Parker Posey.
Frisk was a critical and commercial success, and it marked the beginning of a long-term collaboration between Dwyer and Verow. They went on to form one of the first digital video motion picture companies, Bangor Films, and were hailed as pioneers in the industry. Their work has been profiled in numerous publications, including Time Magazine and Filmmaker Magazine.
Dwyer has written and produced several award-winning films, including Little Shots of Happiness, Shucking the Curve, and The Trouble with Perpetual Deja-Vu. He has also produced and co-written several films that have premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.
In addition to his work in film, Dwyer is a photographer and has had his work published in numerous national and international publications. He has also written articles and film criticisms for various publications, including Filmmaker Magazine and the New York Times.
Dwyer's first novel, The Boy with The Sun in His Eyes, was published in 2005. The book is a comedy tale of a deadly 80's giallo movie star and her innocent boy Friday, and it blends high camp and intellectual humor with a kind of pink existentialism.
Bangor Films shot the film adaptation of The Boy with The Sun in His Eyes on location in Europe in 2008. The film premiered at the New York LGBT Film Festival in 2009 and screened at several other festivals, including the Tel Aviv LGBT Film Festival and the Out on Film Festival.
Dwyer is currently working on his second novel, The Boy Who Went Back for More. He has also published a book of photography from the early Bangor Film years, titled FILM IS DEAD.
