James Rutenbeck

James Rutenbeck's nonfiction films have screened at various forums including Cinema du Reel, Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery and the Flaherty Film Seminar. James is a two-time recipient of the Alfred I. du Pont Columbia Journalism Award for his work as producer of the PBS series, Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? (2008), about health disparities in the U.S. and Class of '27, which he executive produced, directed and edited. Class of '27, about the lives of young children in rural America, is streaming as an Editor's Pick at The Atlantic. His film Scenes from a Parish aired on the PBS series Independent Lens in 2009. James' films have been funded by the Sundance Documentary Fund, LEF Moving Image Fund, Southern Humanities Media Fund and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. His broadcast editing credits include Zoot Suit Riots, Jimmy Carter and Roberto Clemente for the PBS series American Experience and the Peabody Award-winning DEEJ for Independent Lens. James studied filmmaking with Richard Leacock at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a Fellow at the Film Study Center at Harvard University in 2019/20. His new nonfiction feature film, A Reckoning in Boston, will air on the PBS series Independent Lens in 2021/22.