DIRECTOR AND WRITER
James won Best Director at Short+Sweet Sydney 2013, the largest short play festival in the world. His short films have been screened around the world in almost 100 cities in over 20 countries. In 2023 he wrote and directed the play Death in the Pantheon which was nominated for Best in Theatre at the Sydney Fringe Festival.
stage
2024 Writer and Director Death in the Pantheon Upper Crass Theatre
Image by Tobias Moore. Set design by Victor Kalka. Lighting design by Paris Paris.
Flight Path Theatre, Marrickville, 13th June - 22nd June 2024
But though Hartley gives us gods, he provokingly leaves us pondering our relationship with them. Not the irrelevant ones of Olympus, but rather all those authority figures, all those grand narratives, that we project into the firmament – in the unspoken hope that this will somehow secure them from earthly Life’s frightening untidiness. (Theatre Red)
The comedy that engaged audiences at last year's Sydney Fringe has undergone a metamorphosis, emerging as a now-mature exploration of mortality, purpose, social hierarchy, and fidelity. While the wit and rapier-like repartee remain, the performance now interweaves genres, culminating in a virtual Shakespearean presence of confrontation and tragedy. (That Show Blog)
2024 PRODUCER White Rabbit RED RABBIT NATIONAL THEATRE OF PARRAMATTA
Image by Daniel Moxham.
Lennox Theatre, Riverside Parramatta, 13th March 2024
My first and most important responsibility was casting. I needed someone who was a skilled actor but also a genuinely open human being who could maintain their vulnerability in front of a large group of people. Past productions of White Rabbit also seemed to benefit from a performer who had experience doing comedy. I’ve known Shayan for several years now and have directed him before so I knew his ability and personality but since the Masa Amini protests he has been able to use his abilities to help his community by leading rallies and speaking to passionate crowds while still remaining authentic and genuine. Shayan is not just a brilliant performer but also a generous person and with a scenario like White Rabbit where he cannot prepare himself at all as an actor, his true humanity and person will shine through.
For me, what Soleimanpour has created is so special and unique but not just for its own sake. Rather, it pulls apart the nature of performance and our own agency as spectator-actors, and in so doing allows us to explore what theatre does best: affirm the vulnerability that lies in all of us at the heart of the human experience. I can’t wait to see the play in action and see how people respond.
2023 Writer and Director Death in the Pantheon Upper Crass Theatre
Image by Tobias Moore.
107 Redfern, Redfern, as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival, 7th and 9th September 2023
Nominated for Best in Theatre
★★★★ A solid hour of laughs…Death in the Pantheon is a very entertaining, fast paced murder mystery comedy. (Theatre Thoughts)
2022 Writer Mis-Spoken Wise Word Monologues, Dean Tuttle
2021 Writer Storehouse Stories Wise Word Monologues, Dean Tuttle
2020 Writer and Director The Mona Lisa Five Upper Crass Theatre
2020 Writer and Director This Modern Coil Upper Crass Theatre
2018 Co-writer and Co-director The Generalissimos Johnny Cobra, Tommy James Green
2018 Director Fragments Upper Crass Theatre
2016 Writer and Director This Modern Coil Upper Crass Theatre
FEATURE FILM
2019 Story and Director The Mona Lisa Five Pyramid Schemes Productions
2017 Co-writer and Director Get Help Pyramid Schemes Productions
SHORT PLAY
2024 Writer and Director Scene from Australian Gangster Slanted Theatre
2019 Director Scene from Hamlet Shakespeare by Night
2018 Director Scene from The Merchant of Venice Shakespeare by Night
2016 Director “The Bridge Builders” Upper Crass Theatre
2015 Writer “A Bug’s Rights” Upper Crass Theatre, James Shepherd
2014 Director “Level 2” Upper Crass Theatre
2014 Writer “The Arrest” Short+Sweet Sydney, Joy Roberts
2013 Director “The Fox and the Hunter” Upper Crass Theatre
2012 Writer and Director “Rebel Hell” Upper Crass Theatre
SHORT FILM
2015 Director “Twisted” ATYP
After a night with the girl of his dreams, Michael has a story to tell. And a favour to ask...
Vimeo Short Of The Week
Best Cinematography - WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival 2015
Official Selection - Blackbird Film Festival 2015
Official Selection - Here Be Dragons Film Festival 2015
Official Selection - Depth Of Field International Film Festival 2015
Official Selection - WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival 2015
Official Selection - Accolade Global Film Competition 2015
with
Claudio Trovato
Laura Fairclough
Writer - Georgia Symons
Director - James Hartley and James Shepherd
Cinematographer - Daniel Christie
Producer - Dan Prichard and James Shepherd
Produced for Australian Theatre for Young People as part of The Voices Project.
2015 Screenplay and Director “Murrays Run” Pyramid Schemes Productions
A dirt road in the middle of nowhere. A meetup gone wrong.
Top Ten Finalist - SmartFone Flick Fest 2015
Best Mobile Film - Broken Knuckle Film Festival 2015
Best Mobile Phone Film - Finow Film Festival 2015
Official Selection - Broken Knuckle Film Festival 2015
Official Selection - 30 Dies Film Festival 2015
Official Selection - Finow Film Festival 2015
with
Joachim Auvray
Nathan Baird
Eddy Prokopalov
Story - Nathan Baird
Screenplay - Nathan Baird and James Hartley
Director - James Hartley
Producer - Nathan Baird
Cinematographer - Cameron D'Antone
Sound Recordist - Todd Jacobs
Makeup Artist - Amber Adams
Editor - James Hartley
Assistant Editor - Eddy Prokopalov
Colorist/Online Editor - Cameron D'Antone
Sound Designer and Mixer - Todd Jacobs
Music - Nine Inch Nails - 4 Ghosts I and 13 Ghosts II under Creative Commons License BY-NC-SA
A Pyramid Schemes Production
Shot on iPhone 6+ with FiLMiC Pro. Edited with Adobe Premiere.
2015 Writer and Co-director “Good-Guy” Pyramid Schemes Productions, James Shepherd
2014 Writer and Director “James Is Grandiose” Pyramid Schemes Productions
2013 Writer and Director “First Love” Pyramid Schemes Productions
Boy meets girl. Boy gives girl half a Tim Tam. Boy and girl marry. Girl marries other boy. Boy is confused.
Official Selection - Boardwalk Film Festival 2012
Court Métrage - Festival de Cannes 2013
Official Selection and Audience Prize - Festival international des Très Courts 2013
Official Selection - Sydney Underground Film Festival 2013
Official Selection - Images En Vues International Short Film Festival 2013
Official Selection and Best Short Award Nominee - B-Movie, Underground & Trash Film Festival 2014
Official Selection and Audience Choice for Best Film - Simply Shorts Film Festival 2016 Skits & Giggles Edition
with
Lucas Van Hilten
Emily Foreman
Writer and Director - James Hartley
Cinematographer - James Shepherd
1st Assistant Camera - Tim Oxford
Gaffer - Boustros Chedid
Editor - James Shepherd and James Hartley
Music - Kevin MacLeod - Wagner Bridal Chorus
A Pyramid Schemes Production
Shot on Sony EX-3
training
2023 Chopt Logic Physical Theatre Masterclass 5 days
2018 University of Sydney Bachelor of Arts (English and Film Studies)
2013 Metro Screen Certificate IV Screen and Media
2012 Siren Theatre Company Kate Gaul Directing Masterclass 8 weeks
awards
2023 Best in Theatre Nominee (Death in the Pantheon) Sydney Fringe Festival
2016 Winning Short Story (“Astronauts Swear the View is Never Dull”) Wildsound Festival October
2014 Max Afford Playwrights Award - Shortlisted (Little Deaths) The Trust Company
2013 Best Director (“The Fox And The Hunter”) Short+Sweet Sydney
Papers
2020 “Elizabethan Scripts in the Classroom” Journal of Education in the Dramatic Arts
2019 “Pulling Down the Pantaloons: Shakespeare in Performance” Shakespeare FuturEd