Photo Courtesy James V. Bulian
One morning a year and a half ago, James V. Bulian woke up realizing he wanted to write and direct movies. Now, by day he’s the owner of Old Venice Pizza Co. in Oxford, but in his free time he’s a surrealist filmmaker who goes by the name Jim.
“Jim is one of the best directors I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve worked with some of the biggest in the business,” local actor Johnny McPhail said.
McPhail, who is currently making an appearing in HBO’s “True Detective” this season, recently worked with Bulian on “Bellringer,” which won the Audience Award at the 2013 Memphis 48 Hour Film Project competition.
Jim’s “Bellringer” and his short film “Long Black Limousine” were recently shown at the 2014 Oxford Film Festival.
“Long Black Limousine,” similar to David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet,” deals with the taboos society likes to pretend don’t exist. The film follows a limousine driver to see what he does in his spare time.
Bulian works to get under the viewer’s skin while juxtaposing visual and audio elements.
“He has a vision and he knows what it is he’s looking for,” fellow filmmaker Danny Klimetz said. “He only wants to produce the best. Every film he’s worked on, you can see how it’s better than the time before.”
Bulian is currently in the process of writing a feature, “Fleetwood and DeVille.”
“It’s about two half-brothers, specialists for hire, and their personalities, their look about them; they’re stuck in 1972,” Bulian said.
“Fleetwood and DeVille” looks to be one of many features shot in Mississippi.
In 2013, there were 11 productions across the state and nearly $80 million to $90 million in local production spending, according to the Mississippi Business Journal.
Bulian has an unusual approach to funding his work.
He hopes to pay for future film endeavors with his new vodka company, Artist Vodka. Bulian said he is planning to fund other indie and student films as well through paid product placement of his vodka.
Though money is a big part of what helps a filmmaker realize his or her dream, Bulian said it takes more than that.
“For anybody trying to make a film, you have to be dedicated to the craft and start at the very bottom,” Bulian said. “Whatever that may be, just get on set and get experience,” Bulian said.
Klimetz said viewers should “keep an eye out” for Bulian.
“He’s got a lot of scripts he’s working on,” Klimetz said. “I think we’ll see a lot of stuff from him.”
