Born and raised in Italy, James Pellerito holds an MFA in Film from the Columbia University School of the Arts. His work has screened at over 200 festivals worldwide—including Berlin, Outfest, NewFest, Frameline, Hot Docs, Full Frame, DOC NYC, AFI Docs, and BFI Flare—won more than thirty awards, aired on HBO Latino, SundanceTV, Logo TV, and PBS America, and been reviewed in Variety, The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times, and The Hollywood Reporter.

His feature documentaries include POP STAR ON ICE (2009, IFC Center), AMERICAN CHEERLEADER (2014, Fathom Events), and ANATOMY OF A MALE BALLET DANCER (2018, Film Forum). Pellerito also served as co-creator, showrunner, director, and executive producer on two seasons of the series BE GOOD JOHNNY WEIR (2010, 2012).

He is a graduate of the two-year Meisner acting program at The Neighborhood Playhouse and currently teaches film and media in Atlanta.