Jim Cliffe is a Canadian

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

and

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

, with a professional background in

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

and

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

. His first feature, '' Donovan's Echo'', was released in 2012.

Early life

Cliffe was born in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. He showed strong artistic skills at an early age, and developed his first newspaper published comic strip with his brother Jason at the age of 11. As a kid, Jim's love of movies were often a creative driving force with his art. He also experimented with animation, and made video shorts with his friends, mimicking stunts and sequences from some of his favorite movies.

Career

Professionally, Jim's career has primarily been in the arts - illustration, design and animation - as the idea of becoming a movie director didn't really seem like a tangible goal to him. In 2005, Jim's first professional short film noir Tomorrow's Memoir gained attention after winning 'Best Comics-Oriented Film' at

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

. At 27-minutes in length, ''Tomorrow's Memoir'' screened at several festivals, and would also go on to become an online hit within the comic community following its launch on the now retired ifilm. The short film also garnered rave reviews from

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an American online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. ...

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, Moviehole, and others. In 2007, Jim's first feature-length screenplay, ' Donovan’s Echo' (co-written by Cliffe and his wife Melodie Krieger) won the Bronze Award in the

PAGE International Screenwriting Awards The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards is an annual writing competition founded in 2003 with the stated mission to discover and promote up-and-coming screenwriters from around the world. The contest is judged by Hollywood producers, developmen ...

and made quarter-finalist in the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting The Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting is a fellowship program founded in 1986 to aid screenwriters. It is administered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. History Gee Nicholl, widow of producer Don Nicholl, worked w ...

. ''Donovan's Echo'' went into production in late 2010 on a modest budget of "around $3M", with Cliffe attached as director. Starring

Danny Glover Danny Glover ( ; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, producer, and political activist. Over his career he has received List of awards and nominations received by Danny Glover, numerous accolades including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian A ...

and

Bruce Greenwood Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He has starred in five films by Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan and has been nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards, once for Best Actor for '' Elephant Song'' ...

, the movie premiered in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

, Ontario's Cinéfest in September 2011, and was the opening film at the

Calgary International Film Festival The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, in late September and early October. CIFF is the largest international film festival in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. In 2020, thei ...

that same month. ''Donovan's Echo'' had a limited theatrical release across Canada in February, 2012. The ''Toronto Film Scenes William Brownridge wrote, "With such an interesting mystery, great performances, and themes of hope and acceptance, ''Donovan's Echo'' is a great debut for Jim Cliffe". Similarly, David Voigt of ''The Toronto Examiner'' added in his review, "For a debut feature, Cliffe shows real skill as a solid storyteller with an eye for casting as well." ''Donovan's Echo'' was released on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download in Canada in September 2012 by

Anchor Bay Entertainment The revived Anchor Bay Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company owned by Umbrelic Entertainment co-founders Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz. Anchor Bay Entertainment markets and releases "new release genre ...

, and will be coming to the U.S. in May 2013. Jim has also directed for television, including the rom-com movie "The Loving Spoonful" (2022), "Rancher 101" (2022), and the upcoming "Been There All Along". Cliffe's second feature film as write/director is in development with

Minds Eye Entertainment Minds Eye Entertainment is a Canadian film and television production and distribution company headquartered in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The company produces television and film projects in Canada and the United States as well as internationa ...

, inspired by the events of Roswell and

Project Blue Book Project Blue Book was the code name for the systematic study of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by the United States Air Force from March 1952 to its termination on December 17, 1969. The project, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Fo ...

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cliffe, Jim Canadian animated film directors Canadian comics artists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)