A multi-range producer of feature films, shorts, original TV content, TV series and Post-Production, James serves on the National Board of Directors at the PGA (Producers Guild of America) and is also a member of The Producers Guild of Europe, The Television Academy and American Film Institute. James also spends his time as a volunteer to the Children of War Foundation and is a sponsor for the PWB (Producers Without Borders) initiative, founded by producer Kayvan Mashayekh.
I’m a tv and film producer and I currently live in LA, but am moving to the UK in the summer to start work on a semi-autobiographical film about the plight of my birth mother. But more of that later!
My passion for drama and film began at the age of 13 when my hometown’s little league football team was asked to be in a ABC Afternoon special TV show – Mighty Moose and the Quarterback Kid. I took a whole month off school, was on location, and I just knew that a film set was where I was supposed to be. I had never felt truly at home anywhere until I first stepped onto set.
When I was 18 I had a part in the Jack Nicholson film The Postman Always Rings Twice. The cast and crew took me into their circle, and my mind was made up that film was the career for me. So, with no formal or further education I started work as a production assistant on television shows, before rising to the position of post-production supervisor at NBC. By age 23, I was one of the network’s youngest producers.
Having established myself in Hollywood, a stint in the MidWest followed, where I oversaw casting for Clint Eastwood’s The Bridges of Madison County. I then returned to LA where I have been working for various channels, shows and charities ever since.
I never sat down and planned my career but I always knew I would work in film. My adoptive father was abusive towards both his wife and me, and he didn’t believe in academia, so I was never offered the option or opportunity of studying further than school. But this actually proved to be to my benefit as I went straight into television and worked my way up. I have always believed that if you work hard you will be rewarded, and I don’t just mean financially. I have had aspirations and goals, and am proud to have achieved many of them. But I never had an actual plan in place.
My childhood was not a happy one, despite the adoration and love I received from my adoptive mother, Sophia. I never felt that I truly belonged anywhere. From the age of 10 until I was 18, my adoptive father physically beat me and constantly verbally abused my mother. If it was not for my mother’s strength and affection for me in that situation, I can’t imagine how much worse it would have been having to wake up every morning afraid of my father. Because of this experience, I am immensely happy nowadays for mandatory reports and other resources and shelters for spouses and children that a lot of times have no other means to be able to escape such a situation.
Definitely, my heritage has impacted every part of my life and career.
I was born in Athens, Greece, to a 19-year-old single mother who was then forced to put me up for adoption due to unknown circumstances. What I know about my birth mother comes from what my adopted mother, Sophia, had told me about her, but the specifics of my genealogy is still unknown in spite of my best efforts. At the moment, I do know for certain that by the time of adoption, I was one year old. In fact, I didn’t know that I was adopted until I was ten and did not learn the full truth about the situation until I was 18.
Throughout this time, I developed an understanding about the world through storytelling which prevails through my efforts at the moment to make a short film addressing a story about my mother. I don’t have enough information to address her alone, so I have worked to incorporate similar stories – of which there are many, unfortunately – from the adoption scandals in Greece where mothers and their children were separated.
It wasn’t my own upbringing alone that drove me into film, although I certainly trace my roots in story telling to my background.
I also feel that the bad treatment of my mothers – both birth mother Georgia and adoptive mother Sophia, who was abused by my adoptive father – has ingrained in me a strong need to empower women in any way I can, and support women be it through career or socially.
My favourite project is always my current project. I put all I can into my work and am immensely proud of what I have achieved. However, it is not the commercial work but my charity work that I am most proud of right now. This week I am travelling to Poland and Ukraine for the Children of War Foundation, taking essential medical supplies to hospitals that have been staffed in Krakow, Lviv and Kyiv. While there I will film on the ground, and share both the work of Children of War, and what I see happening. I am committed to sharing real life so that those of us in more fortunate situations grasp the reality of what is happening, and do what we can to help.
Although I can say we’ve made great strides in the 30 years I’ve been around, we still have a long way to go. I have personally put women in roles that have never been filled by women before, such as editors, assistant editors, roles that have been dominated 85% by men.
But we as men can do more, and we have to do more.
Every creative project in every aspect in Hollywood will be so much better told stories when all voices are heard equally. In the coming years my idea is to start a foundation where I can fund and source and find women globally around the world and bring them on projects, give them voices, fund their projects and keep this ball moving forward. I recently funded a project by Jhizet Panosian, a female filmmaker, to the cost of $100,000. Jhizet came to me asking for advice about a documentary she was shooting about refugees. – It’s an autobiographical film about a female Armenian refugee – Jhizet – building a new life in Berlin. I ended up being the executive producer and a mentor on the project, as well as funding it. I’m excited that I’m putting my money where my mouth is and doing what I can, where I can.
As a single father to two daughters, and another daughter from my first marriage, I identify as a feminist and will do all I can to empower them on their journey through life. I believe in practising what I preach, and Another Place is an example of that. I did this because I believe in Jhizet Panosian. I am invested in her story, and her passion to tell it, but was also aware that her incredible project could face obstacles simply because she was not a white male making the film.
When filmmaking, I often seek out strong female-led teams for production, marketing, and distribution.
I see it as essential to diversify the talent pool in Hollywood and globally, and this can only be done by opening up opportunities to those who have previously been overlooked.
Two of my daughters, Georgia and Sophia work with me in my charity work and have inputted creatively on my productions.
One defining moment for me was dedicating a chair at BAFTA, Piccadilly, to my birth mother. The chair will bear her name – Georgia Korakis – forever, ensuring her legacy lives on.
Last year I established The Georgia Project – an initiative focusing on ensuring the safety, education, and freedom of young girls escaping forced marriage.
I have travelled to regions spanning from Jordan to Navajo Nation for the Children of War Foundation, and filmed in refugee camps, so I know first-hand the impact of war, famine and genocide on young women.
The Georgia Project is an initiative focusing on ensuring the safety, education, and freedom of young girls internationally. With many families worldwide facing economic difficulties, there are unfortunate circumstances where parents turn to arranged marriages for their young daughters, who as they get older become financial “burdens” to the family. This initiative will ensure that these girls have access to paying jobs instead so they can continue to grow and learn independently.
We have already sponsored three girls whom I personally met while in Jordan, and we are looking to expand rapidly to support many more.
I will tell myself never to be afraid to ask any question.
It’s not a matter of being assertive as asking why.
As I have gotten older in this business I can honestly tell you that I have moved my career and got more involved in other projects because I simply asked what they were doing and how I could get involved.
Being a part of film and TV projects will always be at the core of what I want to do. I am at heart a storyteller. This week I will fly to Ukraine to deliver medical aid in two different cities at three hospitals that Children of War is running. I can honestly tell you this is one of my greatest opportunities and achievements is something I’m incredibly proud of. We get to tell stories and go places that other people haven’t gone.
I’m also part of Producers Without Borders, a body that encourages sourcing talent from across the globe. Ultimately I would love to establish a foundation and offer money to support filmmakers, TV producers, content creators, all aspects of film, so everyone – no matter their geographical location, gender or heritage – can come to the table and have a voice.
February
25feb09:0017:30International Women's Day Conference & Exhibition 2025 | ThinkFest IWD
25/02/2025 09:00 - 17:30(GMT+00:00)
Millennium Point - Birmingham
Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG
Join us for a kick-ass International Women’s Day Conference & Exhibition, celebrating and empowering women from all walks of life! International Women’s
Join us for an inspiring and empowering event celebrating women’s achievements and promoting gender equality. The International Women’s Day Conference & Exhibition will take place at Millennium Point – Birmingham. This in-person event brings together influential speakers, thought-provoking discussions, and a vibrant exhibition showcasing the talents of women from various fields. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and be inspired by remarkable women from around the world. Come and be part of this incredible celebration of women’s accomplishments and the journey towards a more inclusive society.
The Event is split in two, a ticketed Conference and a free to attend Expo.
FREE TO ATTEND EXPO – This part of the event will feature a number of exhibition stands as well as seminar stage delivering content to individuals, small businesses and young females. This is completely free to attend and we have content running throughout the day.
For more for more information about all of the sessions we are running, please take a look at our website. www.IWDExpo.com
We look forward to welcoming you all there, don’t forget it’s not just for women, we need more men in the room to create a greater alliance for gender parity.
10:00 AM Welcome & Introduction
10:30 AM Motivational Networking
11:00 AM How to Start and Scale Your Business
11:30 AM The Magic of Writing Your Book
12:00 PM Funding Females
12:30 PM Mental Health & Wellbeing
1:00 PM Women In STEM
2:00 PM Women in Media
3:00 PM Empowering Girls for Career Success
4:00 PM Building Your Personal Brand
4:40 PM Monetise your Passion
5:10 PM Finish
PAID TICKET CONFERENCE – The content delivered at the conference will be targeted towards senior leaders across business and corporate as well as third-sector organisations. We will be exploring a range of different topics, looking at key issues that women face and what we can do to improve the experience for women in the workplace. A key part of the conference will focus on how we increase the number of male allies for females and have a dedicated panel of speakers discussing this. To top it all off we will be hearing from fashion entrepreneur Karen Millen OBE, founder of Karen Millen.
25feb10:3011:30The FTSE Women Leaders Review | Report Launch Tuesday 25 February 2025
25/02/2025 10:30 - 11:30(GMT+00:00)
We are delighted to extend to you a special invitation to the live broadcast launch of the FTSE Women Leaders Review report on Tuesday 25 February 2025 from
The FTSE Women Leaders Review has made remarkable strides, with the FTSE 350 achieving over 40% women’s representation on boards ahead of the target. However, our work is far from complete. Achieving gender balance and diversity on boards and leadership teams has never been more crucial to harness the wealth of experience, expertise and skills essential for business to navigate complex issues successfully.
With just one year remaining to reach our recommendations, realising genuine equality and enabling further progress will require a united commitment from us all to achieve the 40% women in leadership target and to drive more appointments of women into the ‘four key roles’; the Chair, Senior Independent Director, CEO and Finance Director.
We therefore warmly invite you to join us for the 2024 report launch, where we will share new and exclusive findings on the progress made in achieving gender balance during the year. We are delighted that the Secretary of State for the Department of Business & Trade and the Minister for Women & Equalities will be sharing their support for the Review, and we are excited to host a panel of distinguished guests who will share insights on how they are accelerating progress.
Our panellists include:
– Allison Kirkby, CEO BT Group Plc
– Lee Chambers, Business Psychologist, Speaker, Author
– Yetunde Hofmann, Non-Executive Director Cranswick Plc
– Mary Ann Sieghart, Author of ‘The Authority Gap’
Please confirm your attendance at this virtual event by completing this registration form. If you encounter any difficulties during the registration process, our team is available to assist you at [email protected]
This year, our event will be exclusively a live broadcast, and so we encourage you to share this invitation with your network.
27feb08:3014:00Clarity Connect International Women's Day Conference | Clarity Leadership Ltd
27/02/2025 08:30 - 14:00(GMT+00:00)
Bloomsbury Ballroom
Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1B 4DA
Ahead of IWD2025, please join Clarity Leadership as we hear from leaders and generate discussion around the key themes of gender equality. Ahead of International Women’s Day
Ahead of International Women’s Day 2025, please join Clarity Leadership as we invite you to join us for an open and inclusive morning of presentations and lively debate. To follow the IWD 2025 theme, #AcclerateAction, the speakers will be generating discussion and debate around female leadership, gender equality and the creation of an inclusive and more gender-equal world.
We will be joined by two exceptional leaders, Lee Chambers, Founding Director of Male Allies UK, and Riham Satti, Co-Founder and CEO of MeVitae, Creating Fairness in the Workplace. They will share their experiences, challenges, and the obstacles they’ve overcome in their efforts to create a more equal world.
We also invite you to hear research, experiences, and views from a group of leaders who identify as women from several leading organisations, including Pfizer, Microsoft, Vodafone, Reckitt, and Bayer. The speakers join us from all over the world and around the UK, providing a global perspective on their discussions. This is the culmination of six months’ work by 16 leaders who identify as women, who have been through our Women in Leadership Programme. The final part of their journey has been the design and delivery of this event.
This is an event for everyone and we look forward to welcoming you!
Free
27/02/2025 12:30 - 13:30(GMT+00:00)
We are delighted to be joined by Laura Bates, Best-selling Author, Keynote Speaker and Founder of the Everyday Sexism Project.
Laura will be setting out the existing and potential ways in which emerging technologies can have unintended negative impacts on women and marginalised groups, both in and outside the workplace. From the metaverse and deepfake technology to AI and adult robots, these technologies are fast becoming the building blocks of our future societies, so it is vital that we understand the risks and act now to prevent them from reinventing existing forms of inequality in our brave new world.
Laura Bates is a best-selling author, keynote speaker and founder of the Everyday Sexism Project. Her books include Everyday Sexism, Girl Up and Fix the System, Not the Women. Laura writes regularly for the New York Times, Guardian and others, and is a frequent media commentator and consultant for TV productions tackling issues around gender inequality.
She works closely with government, schools, businesses, police forces and bodies from the United Nations to the Council of Europe on sexism and inequality.
In recognition of Laura’s work surrounding sexism and gender inequality, she was awarded a British Empire Medal in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours List and has been named Woman of the Year by Cosmopolitan, Red Magazine and The Sunday Times Magazine. She is also an Honorary Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Please note, this event will be hosted as a Teams Town hall. Please register your place on Eventbrite and we will share the Teams meeting link.
We look forward to seeing you!
free
27feb18:0020:30Planning and Goals Workshop | WeAreTheCity
27/02/2025 18:00 - 20:30(GMT+00:00)
Nomura
1 Angel Lane, London, EC4R 3AB
Join Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE to discover why and how to create your career strategy and plan in order to
This interactive session is aimed at injecting the “va va voom” back into your career.
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE, CEO of WeAreTheCity, will share why leaving your career solely in the hands of your line manager is no longer enough. Vanessa will provide insights on how to take charge of your career, create a strategic plan, and actively seek opportunities to propel your professional growth.
The workshop focuses on why and how to create a career strategy and plan, to unlock your potential and path to success. This session is not about theory, science or blue sky thinking, it is about a realistic look at what you want to achieve and actions to take in order to get where you want to go!
Session includes:
By the end of this session, participants will have the foundation of a career plan they can continue to develop and implement throughout 2025.
We will close the evening with networking and drinks/canapés.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Please note that on arrival at Nomura guests will be asked to provide photographic ID, a passport or driving licence.