James Byrne Biography

James Byrne comes to screenwriting and directing from a background in video art. He has an M.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago with additional graduate study at the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program and Playwrights Horizons Theater School, New York. He earned a B.E.S. from the University of Minnesota where he studied fine arts and philosophy. His short films and video installations have been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world. His recent feature length screenplays have won honors including the Minnesota Independent Film Fund Award; McKnight Fellowship for Screenwriters; and the Morrow Screenwriters Fellowship. He founded the screenwriting major at Metro State, and teaches screenwriting and contemporary cinema classes. Most recently he directed his first feature film, "Great Lakes" which he hopes to have ready for the festival circuit in 2002.