James Motluk

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James Motluk (born 26 April 1964 in Brockville, Canada) is a maverick Canadian filmmaker of Ukrainian descent. After studying philosophy at Trent University he travelled to Toronto where he struggled to break into the film industry working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as an assistant director on a television show called Seeing Things. In 1990 he wrote and directed his first feature film called Nasty Burgers which was released in theaters three years later to critical acclaim. Nasty Burgers gained him entry into the Canadian Screenwriters Guild. For much of the 1990s he worked as a writer for television. His credits included a season on the hit show Road to Avonlea.

He returned to directing in 2000 with the release of a documentary funded by American film director Michael Moore called Life Under Mike which took a critical look at then Ontario Premier Mike Harris. In 2001 the film earned him a Media Human Rights Award from the League for Human Rights of Bnai Brith Canada. He released a second documentary to theaters in 2003 called Whose University Is It?. This work used Trent University as a case study and argued that any corporate connections with higher learning are negative - though notably ignoring that the entire Trent University campus was donated by General Electric Canada.

His movies tend to sympathise with the left, presenting an anti-capital view of the world, and encouraging grass roots social change. He has produced all three of his directorial efforts independently through his own company Guerrilla Films often raising finances through trade unions such as the Auto Workers and the Steel Workers. He is currently listed as a member of Artists Without Borders.

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