James J. Robinson

James J. Robinson (born July 12, 1995) is an Australian-Filipino filmmaker and photographer known for his work in publications such as Vogue Australia, GQ Australia, and Wonderland. His photography often explores themes of identity, representation, and nostalgia, earning recognition for its cinematic and evocative style.

Robinson's work spans editorial, commercial, and fine art photography, as well as filmmaking. His protest photography piece Burn the Blazer (2021), critiquing the culture of hypermasculinity in his old school St Kevin’s College, made national headlines and sparked widespread cultural commentary.

Robinson's debut feature film as a writer and director, First Light, had its world premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2025. He was awarded Best Australian Director by an independent jury at the festival for his work on the film.

Early life James J. Robinson was born and raised in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs. His mother migrated from the Philippines in the 1970s, and his father is from Albury, New South Wales.

Robinson attended St. Kevin's College, a Catholic all-boys school in Melbourne.

Robinson went on to study film at Swinburne University of Technology. In New York, he began photographing for publications including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Vogue Australia, GQ Australia, Refinery29, Gay Times and Wonderland. His editorial work is known for its cinematic lighting style, which is photographed on film.

Robinson has collaborated with celebrities, including Kylie Jenner, Sydney Sweeney, Shania Twain, Rose Byrne, Tame Impala, Harris Dickinson, Demi Lovato and Lily-Rose Depp. His commercial campaigns include work for Maison Valentino, Apple, and The Australian Ballet.

Robinson has directed several short films and music videos. His 2021 short documentary, Inang Maynila, premiered on Nowness and screened at the Brooklyn Film Festival. His debut 2022 solo exhibition, On Golden Days, debuted at the PHOTO 2022 festival in Melbourne, before exhibiting at Gallery Tsukigime in Tokyo, and then online by the Fotografisk Centre's On The Go program in Copenhagen.

In 2021, Robinson's photograph Kevin at Midnight was nominated for the National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Later that year, his protest photography piece Burn the Blazer gained national media coverage. The project, which featured an image of Robinson burning his school blazer on the school's oval, critiqued the culture of hypermasculinity and elitism in Australian same-sex schools and was reported on by The Age, Herald Sun, SBS, Channel 7, ABC News and The Australian. The post went viral and led to "#burntheblazer" trending on social media.

Filmography In 2024 production began in the Philippines on Robinson's debut feature film, First Light.

Feature film Year Title Director WriterNotes 2025 First Light Completed

Short films Year Title Director Writer 2021 Inang Maynila 2022 On Golden Days

Music videos Year Title Artist