James Longley was born in Eugene, Oregon, in 1972. He studied Film and Russian at Wesleyan University and VGIK in Moscow. His student documentary, Portrait of Boy with Dog (co-directed with Robin Hessman), won a Student Academy Award. His first feature documentary film, Gaza Strip, explores the second Palestinian uprising. His celebrated documentaries Iraq in Fragments (nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2007, winner of jury prizes for Best Documentary Directing, Cinematography, and Editing at Sundance Film Festival) and Sari’s Mother (nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2008) chronicle people living in the aftermath of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Longley is a MacArthur Fellow.
