James Lester is a native New Yorker and an independent film director, editor, producer and writer. His feature documentary "Getting Naked: A Burlesque Story" had its world premiere in the Venice Days section of the 74th Venice International Film Festival. It premiered in the U.S. in 2017 at DOC NYC and was released in North America by Gravitas Ventures. In 2018 the film made its premium cable debut on STARZ. Lester's short films have won awards at the New York Television Festival, the Jackson Hole Film Festival, and have been featured on IFC. As a senior editor and producer he helped lead the way on "Chicagoland," the acclaimed CNN documentary series from executive producer Robert Redford and award-winning director Marc Levin. His editor resume includes films for HBO and Showtime, and programming for AMC, A&E, PBS, CBS, NBC, FOX, MSNBC, USA Network, and the Sundance Channel. Before working in film and television, Lester studied piano and composition. He performed and taught piano, guitar, music theory and jazz history in New York.