James DeLisio is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles and San Diego. His filmmaking practice uses experimental nonfiction to explore the histories and ecologies of Southern California.
His newest film Lobsteropolis (2025) traces the passage of the California Spiny Lobster through a series of disparate contexts, and will make its world premiere at the Slow Film Festival in London.
His work has been supported by the Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts, the William Male Foundation, the Russell Foundation, and Labocine. Previous films have screened internationally at the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, the San Diego Asian Film Festival, and more. Previously, he worked as a community media educator, and a sports broadcast operator. He is currently pursuing graduate studies at the University of Southern California, where he researches documentary studies and ecocriticism.
His next project, co-directed with Ian Guzman and shot on 16mm film, examines a forgotten instance of suburban racial violence in Southern California.
Recent Screenings, Talks, & Press
Athenaeum 33rd Annual Juried Exhibition | La Jolla, CA | July - October 2025
North Park Film Festival | San Diego, CA | July 2025
Toward a Nuclear Ecocinema | New Paltz, NY | April 2025
In Water (Lilies): A Cinematic Aesthetics of Blur | Baltimore, MD | March 2025
National Film Festival for Talented Youth | Seattle, WA | February 2025
Birds on Record | Online | February 2025
USC Eco Film + Media Arts Festival | Los Angeles, CA | February 2025