JIM: THE JAMES FOLEY STORY Tackles Conflict Journalism from Sundance Premiere

JIM THE JAMES FOLEY STORY is a documentary that covers the life, death and legacy of American photojournalist James Foley, who was captured by ISIS on Thanksgiving day 2012 and beheaded in 2014. Filmmaker and friend Brian Oakes details why it was necessary to make the film while addressing the way the US government handles hostage negotiations and retrieval. Oakes also shares what the media isn’t covering when they discuss hostages in this Sundance edition of BYOD hosted by Ondi Timoner.

Guest Bio

“Jim: The James Foley Story,” encompasses everything surrounding Foley’s haunting abduction and murder that made national headlines and introduced much of the world to ISIS when his infamous execution video was released in 2014, after he had been kidnapped in Syria on Thanksgiving Day 2012, going missing for two years. In the film, fellow hostages will reveal never-before-heard details of Foley’s captivity. Through interviews with his family, friends and fellow journalists, details of Foley’s life will be shared, chronicling a story of bravery, compassion and pain at the head of America’s war with ISIS.

Brooklyn-based Brian Oakes began his career in film as a designer creating unique visual solutions for film, television, interactive and environmental spaces. He started by designing graphics for the 2006 Sundance Film Festival hit “Wordplay,” about New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz, before moving on to such films as “I.O.U.S.A.,” “Freakonomics” and, most recently, “Inequality for All.” He first worked with Kunhardt films designing the graphics for “African American Lives”; after several projects, he eventually co-directed “Living with Lincoln” with Peter Kunhardt, which aired on HBO in 2015. JIM: THE JAMES FOLEY STORY is the first film he has directed solo.