Biography

James Fink-Jensen is an award-winning writer and director from Aotearoa, New Zealand. His film work explores the quiet, underlying tensions of everyday life, and the devastating moments when those tensions inevitably boil over.

James has built a strong voice on the international festival circuit. His short THE BALLOON screened across five continents, with nominations at the Brisbane International Film Festival and Catchlight Film Festival 2024. This followed STRANGERS, which won the New Zealand Emerging Filmmaking Talent Award at Vision Feast 2023.

SMOKY marks his debut feature film as a writer and director. He currently has three other feature films of various genres in development and remains an active advocate in the international film festival community as a programmer. SMOKY has been shortlisted for the Best First Feature Film at the Young Director Award 2026.
- IMDb mini biography by: James