CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION

Wednesday, August 5, 10:45 a.m. James Ivory - James Ivory is an award-winning American film director, producer, and writer best known for his long collaboration with Indian producer Ismail Merchant and German screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.

The film company Merchant Ivory Productions, founded in 1961 by Ivory, Merchant and Jhabvala, is best known for its period pieces and the range of locations in which its movies have been shot: Delhi, Bombay, and Benares; London, Paris and Florence; New York, New England and Texas. Merchant Ivory films have been praised for their visual beauty, mature and intelligent themes, and the shrewd casting and fine acting from which they derive their unique power.

Ivory was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Direction for “A Room with a View” (1985), “Howard’s End” (1992), and “Remains of the Day” (1993). He has also directed six different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Vanessa Redgrave, Denholm Elliot, Maggie Smith, Emma Thompson, Joanne Woodward and Anthony Hopkins.

He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of America in 1995.