Jim Hemphill is a multi-talented individual, renowned for his work as a screenwriter, director, and film historian. He graduated from Columbia College in Chicago with a B.F.A. and later earned a graduate degree from the University of Southern California's film school.
Hemphill's early career in filmmaking began with the creation of the micro-budget horror movie BAD REPUTATION, which received international distribution on DVD and VOD from Warner Bros. and Twentieth-Century Fox. This early success laid the groundwork for his future endeavors in the film industry.
In addition to his work in moviemaking, Hemphill is a respected film historian whose essays on cinema and television have been published in various reputable outlets, including the Chicago Reader, Film Comment, Film Quarterly, Moviemaker, and many others.
As a researcher and interviewer for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Visual History Project, Hemphill has contributed to the preservation of cinematic history by conducting interviews with industry professionals and providing historical context to the project. He has also written historical audio commentaries for DVD releases of several films, including Stanley Kramer's INHERIT THE WIND, Francis Coppola's GARDENS OF STONE, and the Clint Eastwood classic HANG 'EM HIGH.
Hemphill is also a prolific podcaster, hosting a podcast for American Cinematographer's website where he interviews some of the industry's top directors of photography. He is also the author of Focal Point, a regular column on directing for Filmmaker Magazine.
In addition to his work in film, Hemphill is a programming consultant at the Egyptian and Aero theaters in Los Angeles, where he has moderated discussions with some of the most renowned figures in the industry, including Martin Scorsese, Charlize Theron, Nicolas Cage, David Mamet, Jim Jarmusch, Paul Schrader, Viggo Mortensen, Shirley MacLaine, and many others.
Hemphill's films have been screened at numerous film festivals and art houses around the world, including the Sundance Film Festival, American Cinematheque, Facets Multimedia, Alamo Drafthouse, and ArcLight Hollywood.
