Natalie Erika James, a Japanese/Australian writer, director and producer, made her directorial debut earlier this year, with the feature film Relic, a haunted house horror which explores themes of family and dementia.
The film, launching in the UK in October, enjoyed success at the Sundance Film Festival, with critics praising its ability to ‘slowly build tension in an expertly crafted atmosphere of dread’, and it’s been compared to award winning Indie horrors The Babadook and Hereditary. James has also directed a music video for Life Is Better Blonde, and worked on short films including Drum Wave, which was nominated for Best Australian Short Film at the Sydney Film Festival, and Creswick, which won the 2017 AWGIE Award for Best Short Form screenplay by the Australian Writer’s Guild.