JAMES KAUTZ (he/him) is a multifaceted artist of stage and film, hailed by The New York Times as “fearless” and “fiercely talented” by Time Out NY.
He is the Founder of RED SEED FILMS, an independent film production company focusing on stories of personal transformation, gender, and identity.
The company’s award-winning shorts, written and directed by James, have been accepted into over 100 film festivals, world-wide, including Oscar, BAFTA, and Canadian Film Award-qualifying festivals. Some of the most notable include Raindance, deadCenter and Atlanta Film Festival.
James was the Founding Artistic Director of the award-winning, critical darling, Off Broadway theatre company, The AMORALISTS. Under his leadership, The Amoralists produced 22 World and New York Premieres by some of America's most visceral and celebrated playwrights including Adam Rapp, Charly Evon Simpson, Ken Urban and Emily Schwend.
As an actor, James has worked in television (HBO, CBS), theatre (Playwrights Horizons, Second Stage), independent films and voice-over.
He’s taught and directed in NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and The Atlantic Theater Company Acting School.
He is a Second Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido, a practitioner of Jeet Kune Do and Muay Thai, and has instructed children, teens and adults in martial arts for years.