James Fink-Jensen is a writer-director based in Aotearoa New Zealand, working across both short and feature-length formats. His work explores character, connection, and the quiet tensions that lie beneath everyday life - often through the lenses of drama, mystery, thriller, and comedy.
His debut feature, SMOKY, is an independent film developed with Zine Film. It follows the chaotic fallout within Dawn’s dysfunctional family after her famed uncle, Smoky the Clown, mysteriously disappears just days before a life-saving operation. It is his debut film as writer-director.
His earlier short STRANGERS won the New Zealand Emerging Filmmaking Talent award at Vision Feast 2023, while THE BALLOON screened internationally and was nominated at festivals across Aotearoa, Australia, Europe, South America, and Asia.
Beyond directing, James works at Colenso BBDO as their video creator. He also produced and edited the World War I short FACES, directed by his brother Thomas. He is also a member of the Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand and currently serves on the 2025 programming team for Show Me Shorts Film Festival.