James Schamus

CEO of Focus Features

James Schamus is CEO of Focus Features, and an associate professor at Columbia University’s School of the Arts in New York City, where he teaches film history and theory. An integral contributor to the American independent film business for over two decades, Schamus has the unique distinction of being an award-winning screenwriter and producer who is also a film executive. He is a Golden Globe Award winner and multiple Academy Award nominee for his screenwriting and songwriting (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and producing (Brokeback Mountain); he was also awarded the prize for Best Screenplay at the 1997 Cannes International Film Festival for The Ice Storm.

Focus, formed in May 2002, is a motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company whose Oscar-winning films have included Brokeback Mountain, Lost in Translation, and Atonement. Prior to the formation of Focus, Schamus was co-president of the independent film production company Good Machine, which he co-founded in 1991. Schamus’ other honors include being named the 2006 Presidential Fellow in the Humanities at the University of Chicago and receiving the Writers Guild of America, East’s 2003 Richard B. Jablow Award for devoted service to the Guild.

Participants

Francisco AyalaBiological Scientist

Called the “Renaissance Man of Evolutionary Biology” by The New York Times, Francisco J. Ayala has made significant and wide-ranging experimental and theoretical contributions to evolution theory.

Janelle S. AyresMolecular Physiologist

Janelle Ayres is an Associate Professor in the Nomis Center for Immunobiology and Microbial Pathogenesis at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Her pioneering research on host-pathogen interactions is redefining our definition of health.

Nina AzariPsychologist

Nina Azari specializes in cognitive neuroscience and the psychology of religion. She uses traditional psychological methods as well as cutting-edge medical imaging technology to explore religious experiences, consciousness, belief and perception in her subjects. Azari is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Kodi AzariSurgeon

Kodi Azari, MD, FACS is an internationally known plastic surgeon and hand surgeon. His clinical areas of interest include hand, microvascular, peripheral nerve surgery, and hand transplantation.

Naïma AzoughProgram Developer, Author

Naïma Azough is an author, editor, documentary filmmaker and a former member of parliament. She studied English, German and International Relations at the Universities of Antwerp and Amsterdam.

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James Schamus

Past Programs Featuring James Schamus

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