James White

[projekktor id=’21907′]

James White is a drama written and directed by Josh Mond. It premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where it won the NEXT Audience Award. The film stars Christopher Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Ron Livingston, Makenzie Leigh, and David Call.

James White (Christopher Abbott) is a troubled twenty-something trying to stay afloat in a frenzied New York City. He retreats further into a self-destructive, hedonistic lifestyle, but as his mother (Cynthia Nixon) battles a serious illness James is forced to take control of his life. As the pressure on him mounts, James must find new reserves of strength or risk imploding completely.

The story is a very personal one to Josh, but not easy to make by any means. “Making the film allowed me to explore some pretty painful stuff, because of the way the creative process works. To paraphrase the playwright John Guare ‘going into your imagination makes self-reflection bearable.’ It wasn’t easy to engage in that reflection, though. I took things from my personal experiences that made me upset as I was writing or thinking about them, and I tried to find some beauty in them. It was a painful process, and my partners who worked on the movie helped push me to the other side. Who wants to sit down and think about the worst things that have ever happened to them? But this experience has been very therapeutic.”

James White is rated 14A.