Elisabeth James came to Stanford from the District of Columbia, where she lived for more than six years before moving to sunny Palo Alto. She spent much of the past few years exploring some of the world's greatest art museums, theaters, churches, temples, and cultures, in the capacity of tour director and guide. She led art museum groups through various countries including Japan, Korea, Russia, Spain, France, and Italy, and was able to do extensive research on contemporary artists working in Japan and Korea. A graduate of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, Elisabeth is committed to broadening international understanding through cultural interaction and the exchange of art and ideas.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS:

• Enerson Foundation Production Grant, 2003
• Nicholas Roosevelt Environmental Journalism Award, 2002

Net Loss
digital video
19:18 min.

Net Loss is a portrait of picturesque Noyo Harbor, a small fishing village in Northern California that is in crisis. The struggle of its residents represents the larger, global struggle of communities in transition from natural resource based labor to service based economies. The resulting emotional, economic and political climate is a complex web that provides no easy answers or immediate solutions. The story of the village is told by the fishermen who live and work in the fading industry and by the images that capture the melancholy times.

Worms at Work
16mm, color film
7 min.

This film is a celebration of the redworm, a slimy creature who is slowly eating away at our tremendous waste problem. Worm composting is gaining ground, especially in Northern California, where excellent examples of the closed circuit waste reduction method can be found in schools, office buildings, and on larger scale farms. A redworm (which is usually seen as nothing more than fish bait) can eat up to half of its weight each day in biodegradable waste and, as a result itÝproduces a nutrient rich soil enhancer with a myriad of uses. Worms at Work features the worms and the people who feed them in an effort to educate both children and adults, while reforming popular opinion about the lowly worm.

Precipice
Co-directed by Elisabeth James and Elizabeth Witham
digital video
10 min.

Precipice is a short digital video that plays host to a discussion about genetic engineering, bioethics, the future form of the human body, and the possibility of agelessness.

FESTIVALS AND SCREENINGS:

• Student Academy Awards Regional Finalist, 2002
• Crested Butte Reel Fest, 2002
• Rencontres Internationales, Paris/Berlin, 2002
• President's Council on Bioethics Screening, 2002

Flaunt
16mm, black and white film
4 min.

Flaunt is centered around Marina Wolf, a leading fat acceptance advocate and the founder of Big Moves, a Hip Hop dance organization. It explores the foundations of the dance organization via the avenues of body image, "alternative dance," and the emotional, psychological, and cultural importance of dance.