James Napier Robertson

James Napier Robertson
Napier Robertson in 2016
Born
James William Napier Robertson

(1982-03-24) 24 March 1982
Auckland, New Zealand
OccupationsDirector, screenwriter, actor, producer
Years active1995–present
Height185.42 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Children2
Relatives

James William Napier Robertson (born 24 March 1982) is a New Zealand writer, film director, actor and producer. In 2009 he wrote and directed I'm Not Harry Jenson, and in 2014 he wrote and directed The Dark Horse, for which he won Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Film at the 2014 New Zealand Film Awards, and which was declared by New Zealand critics "One of the greatest New Zealand films ever made".

In 2022 Robertson wrote and directed on Māori land march biopic Whina starring Rena Owen, and in 2024 he wrote and directed Joika starring Diane Kruger and Talia Ryder, which was called "astonishingly beautiful" by The Dominion Post, with the Radio Times praising it as "powerful and often harrowing, a rich, visual feast contrasted with a bitter, edgy core and excellent ensemble.

Robertson also wrote and directed two episodes of the Logie Award winning crime drama Romper Stomper, and appeared earlier in his career as an actor in Shakespearean theater and several television productions including The Tribe and Being Eve, describing how his acting work "funded his early filmmaking".