Meet James A. Burkhalter | Filmmaker & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with James A. Burkhalter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James, why did you pursue a creative career?
Filmmaking was my first love. My very first childhood memory is watching Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon (1985) on my uncle’s VCR, and thinking, “How did they do that? I want to DO THAT!” While my siblings were outside playing, I was bonding with my Grandpa Wes over his love of MGM musicals, like My Fair Lady (1964), and other classics of Hollywood’s golden era.

Creative writing has been my main hobby since I was 4 years old, and now I’m doing what I’ve always loved. I enjoy writing stories, sharing true experiences, and connecting with & empowering audiences, especially those who identify as outsiders.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

When people hear my name, I hope they think: unapologetic, unconventional, honest, vulnerable, authentic, and open-minded.

My filmography would best be described as “Outsider” cinema, made “by and for BIPOC + Queers” first and foremost. Even though the work can be appreciated by a white, cisgender, heteronormative audience, my intended core audience can understand and connect with the material on a deeper, more personal level. For more clarification, YouTube the car scene from White Men Can’t Jump (1992), in which Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson debate the big difference between “listening to” and “hearing” Jimi Hendrix’s music.

Although I’ve experienced recent success with scripted films, 95% of my portfolio consists of documentary films that I can watch repeatedly and still enjoy them. My favorite documentary short is actually a film I shot with my then-12-year-old niece, Ava Dee, in which I taught her how to use a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and just let her go nuts for a week. Her mother (my sister) was going through chemotherapy at the time, so I felt that Ava needed some kind of creative outlet to express her feelings.

After I made a feature length documentary about my college’s GLBTQ population, entitled There Will Be Glitter (2009), I took a gap decade from school and worked my way up to a managerial position in the Logistics/eCommerce industry. Even though I was finally making a decent salary, the job left me feeling unfulfilled and was no longer challenging. The breaking point came when a close friend of mine, EJ, died in his sleep at age 31. Once that happened, I was determined to make my filmmaking dreams a reality. So I quit my secure job of 9 years and went back to grad school at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) for my MFA degree. In my first year there, I was inspired to create short films that immediately got accepted to several film festivals.

The road to fulfillment was hard and it’s still hard. Part of our mission statement at the MICA is to de-colonize filmmaking and storytelling, and I take that very seriously. It took a global pandemic and a racial reckoning in the United States for brilliant Black Queer filmmakers like Bill Gunn (Ganja & Hess, STOP!) and Cheryl Dunye (The Watermelon Woman) to finally receive proper recognition from film industry gatekeepers like Criterion. But the tide is changing. Audiences want films & TV shows that are more inclusive and accurately reflect the world we live in–not a whitewashed, homogenized inversion of reality. That’s the kind of art I’ve always gravitated toward and it’s the kind of art I always strive to make.

Some valuable lessons I’ve learned throughout my career would include:

• Listen to your heart. If a project doesn’t feel right and you’re asking yourself, “Is it ethical that I’m filming this? Is there a story here? What’s the endgame?” Then you should walk away from it, or try coming at it from a different angle.

1. Be open to critique. Fresh eyes on your project are extremely valuable, especially if those viewers don’t identify as filmmakers.
2. Rejection is a huge part of this business that everyone goes through (but most of us don’t talk about it). Don’t let rejection letters or negative reviews break your spirit or scare you away from creating more art.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

I love living in Baltimore’s Mount Vernon arts district, because I’m within walking distance of a lot of fun artsy places. I tend to avoid the more touristy areas, like the Inner Harbor or Fells Point.

As a filmmaker and cinephile, theaters are essential. I’m constantly visiting the Charles Theater and the renovated Parkway Theater. Since these are both “arthouse theaters,” they frequently project vintage films on 35mm film stock, instead of just inserting a blu ray and pressing Play. You might even run into local legend, John Waters (“Serial Mom,” “Hairspray,” “Pink Flamingos”)! I did and it was magnificent. Also, I’m a big collector of vinyl records, so after a movie, I’d take them to the True Vine Record Shop.

When I was in middle school, my mom took me to see The Wiz at the Lyric Opera House and I literally passed out from excitement (that and the fabulous Grace Jones played Evillene the Wicked Witch of the West). So when it comes to live entertainment/theatre, I recommend the Lyric, the Hippodrome, the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, or the Creative Alliance at the Patterson Theater. If you enjoy museums, I’d suggest the Walters Art Museum or the BMA (Baltimore Museum of Art).

Luckily, Baltimore has no shortage of restaurants. My personal favorites would include the Papermoon Diner, Nancy by SNAC (owned & operated by my dear friend Kevin and his husband Bill), The Empanada Lady at Motor House, Mera Kitchen Collective, The Brass Tap, and Red Emma’s Bookstore. I’m in my 30’s, so I don’t frequent the bars as much as I used to, but when I do, I usually hit up either the Baltimore Eagle or Ottobar, mainly for its drag shows and Mondo Baltimore (Film Society)’s Awesomely Bad Movie Nights.

Over the past 5-10 years, we’ve unfortunately lost a lot of queer spaces, and the pandemic was just the final nail in the coffin for a slew of businesses: RIP Hippo, Grand Central, Flavor, Night Shift 2.0, The Windup Space, Rituals, North Avenue Market, etc.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

First and foremost, I have to thank my mother for always being supportive and encouraging me to “march to the beat of my own drummer.”

One of my biggest mentors has been Dr. Temma Berg, a recently retired professor in Gettysburg College’s Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department. Thirteen years have passed since Graduation, yet she’s remained one of my biggest cheerleaders. I’ve always admired Temma because even though she’s a brilliant educator, she also considers herself a lifelong student. She doesn’t let her ego prevent her from considering everyone’s unique perspective.

Lastly, I’d like to shout out my mentors-turned-colleagues at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA): Patrick Wright [producer of Oscar-winning film Music by Prudence (2010)] and Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander [director of Anatomy of Wings (2020) documentary]. I appreciate them both for their instruction and also for their professional referrals to various local filmmaking gigs. Patrick was the one who recommended me to produce Harris Doran and ddm’s short film, F^¢K ‘€M R!GHT B@¢K (2022), and much to everyone’s delight, the film premiered at Sundance earlier this year and is now streaming on Kanopy.

Website: https://linktr.ee/JABurkhalter

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stuntmanjim.dir/

Image Credits
1: James and grandpa Wes Greenfield 2: Kara Young and ddm 3: Ryan Sheehan and Gillian Omotoso 4: Scott Murdock aka Shaunda Leer 5: Illustrative banner by Yifan Luo 6: John Waters, James, and mural of Divine 7: Ava Dee 8: Ave Dee and James