In addition to numerous film festival grand jury prizes, James’s work has earned distinctions such as Tellys, Accolades, the Axiem, the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant, and the Norris Screenwriting Award. James was named “Best Director” and “Best Screenwriter” by NY Visionfest for Yesterday Was a Lie (his feature film debut from Entertainment One and IndiePix Films). He’s a frequent guest director at Noah Wyle’s Blank Theatre Company.   James was listed among the LA Times’s “Faces to Watch” and his directing has been honored for two years in Back Stage’s “Best of the Year” list. His work has been cited by the Shakespeare Association of America and Shakespeare Newsletter, and he regularly speaks on filmmaking and science in venues such as S.M.P.T.E., NPR, the University of Arizona, San Diego Comic-Con, T.C.U., the University of Texas at Austin, and Space Camp.