James Runde is an independent filmmaker, photographer, and musician from Madison, WI. He loves: cows, greasy spoons, the R&B/Soul section of a record store, Robert Altman, and tube amplification. He hates: sugary beverages, the interstate highway system, smart phone addiction, and gas pump advertisements.
While a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (B.A. 2015), he directed his first short film White and Lazy (2016), a slacker comedy shot on 16mm. His follow-up film Played Out (2019, 42 mins) won a Golden Badger Award at the 2019 Wisconsin Film Festival.
His latest project The Last Milk (2023, 10 mins) is a short documentary about his aunt and uncle retiring from small-herd dairy farming after over 38 years. The film explores the rewards and challenges that come with dairy farming, as well as the technological innovations of the past few decades and how they’ve affected small farmers.
Press
- Q&A: Filmmaker and musician James Runde is just happy to be here
Rob Thomas | The Cap Times | 02/13/2022 - Supporting “Wisconsin’s Own” cinema in the wake of COVID-19
Grant Phipps | Tone Madison | 03/23/2020 - Cinematalk Podcast #3: James Runde
Ben Reiser | UW-Cinematheque | 12/13/2019 - WI Film Festival: ‘Played Out’
Christian Memmo | The Daily Cardinal | 04/11/2019 - Two strong local movies, ‘Pet Names’ and ‘Played Out,’ play Wisconsin Film Festival
Rob Thomas | The Capitol Times | 04/07/2019
Screenings
- Wisconsin Film Festival
04/16/2023 | Chazen Museum of Art | Madison, WI - Wisconsin Film Festival
04/09/2022 | Chazen Museum of Art | Madison, WI - Moving Image
09/16/2021 | Cactus Club | Milwaukee, WI - Wisconsin Film Festival
04/21/2020 | Online Stream | Madison, WI - Driftless Film Festival
11/03/2019 | Mineral Point Opera House | Mineral Point, WI