Jim Dirkes

I have always loved movies. My childhood was spent watching any film I could get my hands. That passing obsession exploded when a family friend took me to a screening of the re-mastered "Lawrence of Arabia," at that point I was completely hooked.
As a high school student and early into my college career I was involved heavily in theatre but soon realized that my true love and obsession would always be movies.
I graduated from The University of Texas in 1999 with a degree in Radio, Television, and Film and quickly went to work selling computers. A few years later I realized how much I hated doing that and struck out to try my hand in the local film industry. Realizing I needed to pay bills as well I returned to college and completed an English degree and began my current career as a High School Teacher.
In the past 5 years I have taught classes on Film History and Creative Writing as well as 9th, 10th, and 11th grade English. Throughout this time I have continued writing scripts as well as film criticism, and have advised and assisted other writers with their work. I also serve as a first and second round script judge for the Austin Film Festival's annual screenwriting competition.
In addition I am the creator and co-host of The Film Thugs Movie Show podcast and creator and editor of Notebooks on Cinema, a website dedicated to film reviews and articles.