James Elazzi

Writer | Director

James is a writer and director for both stage and screen. 

James recently wrote, directed and produced the short film Yannis. Canberra Short Film Festival has officially selected it, along with Melbourne Queer Film Festival, First-Time Filmmaker Sessions @ Pinewood Studios L.A, LGBTQ+ Los Angeles Film Festival, Lebanese Film Festival, Made Out West Film Festival and BlackCat International Film Festival. It has since won Best Performances in the 2022 LGBTQ+ Los Angeles Film Festival and is up for seven nominations, including best director and screenplay in the Made Out West Film Festival. He’s currently funded by Screen Australia to write two feature films and is attached to direct both, one of them is the feature adaptation of his hit play Omar and Dawn. He also wrote, directed and produced the new short film Seeds of Gold. In 2024, James will direct his first mainstage play Karim which he also wrote. It was commissioned and licenced by the National Theatre of Parramatta and shortlisted for the 2021 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award. It will premiere in June of 2024.

In 2022, James' play Son of Byblos (finalist for the 2023 NSW Premiers Awards and Silver Gull Play Award) premiered as part of Belvoir’s 25A program and enjoyed a sold-out season. Son of Byblos is published by PlayLab Brisbane. In 2021, his play Queen Fatima directed by Paige Rattray, was produced by Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta/Sydney Festival and was shortlisted for the 2022 Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting . A prominent production company has optioned the play for a feature adaptation and he is currently writing the script. It was James’s second year at the Sydney Festival; his play Lady Tabouli also enjoyed a sold-out season in 2020 and was nominated for the NSW Premiers Awards. In 2019 Omar and Dawn enjoyed a sell-out season at the Kings Cross Theatre. James was granted a place in the 2019-21 Sydney Theatre Company Emerging Writers’ Program. In 2018 his plays were selected for readings at Kings Cross Theatre’s Storytellers Festival and the National Playwriting Festival. James was also chosen to participate in the WestWords’ writing residency in Varuna. In 2017, James was selected for two National Theatre of Parramatta programs for emerging artists, ‘Page to Stage and ‘Creative Futures’.

James is a humanist writer/director  whose plays and films critically tackle the values and expectations of Lebanese culture, while also exploring broader issues within Australian society. James’ work is funny, touching and dramatic and leaves you thinking about it long after you’ve seen it.

For enquiries regarding James, please contact us via email or on (02) 9319 7199.