James Mae (they/them) is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, photographer and multimedia storyteller in D.C.
At the end of April they finished their first professional short documentary HIDDEN IN THE SPOTLIGHT (HITS), following Mexican actor and playwright Victor Salinas navigating family, love and sacrifice while pursuing his dream of creating an artistic refuge for his Hispanic, Latine and LGBTQA+ communities 20 feet below Washington DC’s surface. HITS has screened at Signal Film Festival in MD, On The Fringe Festival in NM and won official selection, an exceptional merit award and a merit award for cinematography at the Hispanic International Film Fest. More local and national screenings are being planned. Watch the trailer here.
HITS is part of a larger three-part short documentary series exploring race, identity, community and belonging developed by Mae’s company Starlight Productions. The second film in the series will explore Queerness and Catholicism and the third film will explore the impact immigration enforcement has on local community health. The full series is in the fundraising, ideation and planning phase. If you want to get involved, reach out!
Additionally, James was recently selected as the DC Office of Cable Television, Film and Media’s Filmmaker of the Month for June, recognizing their commitment to D.C.’s creative community, and the LGBTQA+ community. Listen to their interview here.
