Directing

James Cunningham

Known for

Directing

Credits

22 titles

James Cunningham believes that although animation is ultimately just a tool, it can be a very powerful tool — the kind that allows filmmakers the ability to craft exactly the images and angles that they want to realise their vision. Cunningham’s own career has seen him specialising in computer-generated imagery, be it full 3D animation or visual effects added to live action. Since graduating from Elam (in Auckland) in 1997, he has crossed back and forth between the stylised CGI images found in his own shorts, and the photo-realistic kind used in live action commercials and movies. Cunningham studied photography at Elam, following it with a Master of Fine Arts in digital animation. In 1997,…

Known for

Behind the camera

Prickly Jam poster
NR

An end of days comedy animation about an amorous cricket and a starving hedgehog who wants to eat the last cricket left in the world.

Prickly Jam

2020

Prickly Jam poster
NR

An end of days comedy animation about an amorous cricket and a starving hedgehog who wants to eat the last cricket left in the world.

Prickly Jam

2020

The Dragon's Scale poster
7.0

In an ancient world a warrior and his son are on a quest get a wish from a magic dragon, to fix the son’s stammer but the forest conspires the stop the father. The boy decides to go on alone to face the unknown creatures that await. On his journey he discovers his own inner strength and convinces his father to accept him as he is.

The Dragon's Scale

2016

The Dragon's Scale poster
7.0

In an ancient world a warrior and his son are on a quest get a wish from a magic dragon, to fix the son’s stammer but the forest conspires the stop the father. The boy decides to go on alone to face the unknown creatures that await. On his journey he discovers his own inner strength and convinces his father to accept him as he is.

The Dragon's Scale

2016

The Dragon's Scale poster
7.0

In an ancient world a warrior and his son are on a quest get a wish from a magic dragon, to fix the son’s stammer but the forest conspires the stop the father. The boy decides to go on alone to face the unknown creatures that await. On his journey he discovers his own inner strength and convinces his father to accept him as he is.

The Dragon's Scale

2016

No artwork available
6.0

First Contact is a sci-fi comedy which shows why there are so few visits from aliens these days. Two aliens interrogate a sub-contractor who they sent to Earth to handle 'first contact', but things didn't quite go to plan. A hilarious discussion on the appropriate use of probes ensue.

First Contact

2011

Poppy poster
6.0

Poppy is a Performance-Captured CGI drama set on France's western front in World War One. Two New Zealand soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines and are trying to find their way to safety. They find an orphaned baby under it's dead parents in a ditch. One of the men wants to save it, the other does not.

Poppy

2009

Shelved poster
6.5

Another day at the work... of robots.

Shelved

2012

Kitten Witch poster
NR

A precocious kitten wants to be a witch's familiar and must pass a test or she will forever be just simple cat, but the witch sees something in the kitten she does not expect.

Kitten Witch

2016

Kitten Witch poster
NR

A precocious kitten wants to be a witch's familiar and must pass a test or she will forever be just simple cat, but the witch sees something in the kitten she does not expect.

Kitten Witch

2016

Delf poster
NR

Two tadpole-like creatures with enormous eyes chase each other around, to a driving techno soundtrack. Then these digitally-animated characters find themselves plunged into a different reality - one where a single wrong move could mean they exist in only two dimensions. After completing this mind-warping mini-rollercoaster ride, creator James Cunningham and producing partner Paul Swadel worked together on bank robbery tale Infection, which won invitation to the Cannes Film Festival.

Delf

1997

Delf poster
NR

Two tadpole-like creatures with enormous eyes chase each other around, to a driving techno soundtrack. Then these digitally-animated characters find themselves plunged into a different reality - one where a single wrong move could mean they exist in only two dimensions. After completing this mind-warping mini-rollercoaster ride, creator James Cunningham and producing partner Paul Swadel worked together on bank robbery tale Infection, which won invitation to the Cannes Film Festival.

Delf

1997

No artwork available
4.2

Lost in the frozen depths of the Atlantic a German U-Boat crew find themselves on a collision course with objects stranger than they can fathom. The truth leaves them bathed in confusion in this submarine drama of domestic proportions.

Das Tub

2010

Accidents, Blunders and Calamities poster
7.6

A father possum reads his kids a story that's an alphabet of the most dangerous animal of all: humans! Inspired by the Edward Gorey classic, a black-comedy for kids and parents alike.

Accidents, Blunders and Calamities

2016

Accidents, Blunders and Calamities poster
7.6

A father possum reads his kids a story that's an alphabet of the most dangerous animal of all: humans! Inspired by the Edward Gorey classic, a black-comedy for kids and parents alike.

Accidents, Blunders and Calamities

2016

Infection poster
6.2

A mutant hero, a virtual bank heist. A digital action thriller. A three fingered virus is let loose on a computer system with the express purpose of erasing a student loan.

Infection

2000

Infection poster
6.2

A mutant hero, a virtual bank heist. A digital action thriller. A three fingered virus is let loose on a computer system with the express purpose of erasing a student loan.

Infection

2000

Rotting Hill poster
4.7

It is not easy to find love, especially if you are falling apart, stinky and a little bloody around the edges. Welcome to Rotting Hill, where the extinction of humanity has led to the rise of a new species - ZOMBIES.

Rotting Hill

2012

Rotting Hill poster
4.7

It is not easy to find love, especially if you are falling apart, stinky and a little bloody around the edges. Welcome to Rotting Hill, where the extinction of humanity has led to the rise of a new species - ZOMBIES.

Rotting Hill

2012

Blinder poster
NR

A digitally engineered life form struggles with a belligerant operating system. In a skewed look at human/computer relations a belligerent digital light blinds our hero into desperate measures. The only way to stop the incomprehensible blinding pain is to opt for physical disablement. Meticulously hand-made on Silicon Graphics computers and Alias-Wavefront software.

Blinder

1999

Blinder poster
NR

A digitally engineered life form struggles with a belligerant operating system. In a skewed look at human/computer relations a belligerent digital light blinds our hero into desperate measures. The only way to stop the incomprehensible blinding pain is to opt for physical disablement. Meticulously hand-made on Silicon Graphics computers and Alias-Wavefront software.

Blinder

1999

Time for Change poster
5.0

The adage that in a long-term relationship things can get a little like clockwork is given a twist in Time for Change. A simmering spousal feud between two wooden figurines on the town clock of an Austrian village, comes to a head with unexpected results. Lederhosen, accordions, and desire for a young blonde are oiled with a keen sense of black humour.

Time for Change

2010