James Spooner

James Spooner is the director of Afro-Punk (2003), a documentary film exploring race identity and the black experience in the alternative punk scene. He produced the film out of New York having had no previous training in film (he studied sculpting). AfroPunk traces the experiences of a variety of black punks throughout the United States. In the DIY tradition, he rigorously toured the film across the country like a band, showing it in as many venues as possible, and rapidly amassing a devoted cult following, largely among minority punks who frequented a message board on his website afropunk.com. Through continued collective interest and participation from the film's followers, the film grew into a cultural movement and gathering that has since evolved into today's AfroPunk Festivals (2005 to present).

Spooner later wrote and directed a feature film entitled "White Lies Black Sheep", which is a fictional dramatization of the same concept. "White Lies Black Sheep" premiered at the Toronto international Film Fest.