Jim McKay is a filmmaker and co-founder, along with Michael Stipe, of C-Hundred Film Corp. He has directed and produced a full-length documentary, Lighthearted Nation; a feature-length concert film, R.E.M.'s Tourfilm; music videos for Rollins Band, Chickasaw Mudd Puppies, Pylon, R.E.M., The Feelies, Latin Alliance, Spirea X,The Breeders, Tiger feat Q-Tip, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, BoDeans, Soul Coughing, Son Volt, and Natalie Merchant; and an award-winning series of PSA's called Direct Effect.
McKay co-wrote and directed Girls Town, his first feature film in 1995. Girls Town received the Filmmakers Trophy and a Special Jury Prize for Collaboration at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. The film was released in 1996 by October Films.
His second feature was Our Song, which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, played at New Directors/New Films, and was released theatrically by IFC Films.
McKay's third feature, Everyday People, was the Opening Night Film of New Directors/New Films in 2004 and played at festivals around the U.S. before showing on HBO.
His fourth feature, Angel Rodriguez, co-written with Hannah Weyer, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2005, had its U.S. premiere at MoMA and then showed on HBO.
His fifth feature, En el Séptimo Día (On the Seventh Day) premiered as the Centerpiece Film at BAMcinemaFest 2017, in the International Competition at Locarno Festival 2017, and was released in the U.S. in 2018 by Cinema Guild.
McKay served as a producer on American Movie (Chris Smith), The Sleepy Time Gal (Christopher Munch), Spring Forward (Tom Gilroy), Stranger Inside (Cheryl Dunye), La Boda and Escuela (Hannah Weyer), Brother to Brother (Rodney Evans), Room and Fourplay (Kyle Henry), Memorial Day (Josh Fox), and Mosquita Y Mari (Aurora Guerrero).
McKay was a Rockefeller Fellow in 2003 and a Guggenheim Fellow in 2004. In 2005, he was a recipient of the Lincoln Center Martin E. Segal Award. In 2019, he received the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award for En el Séptimo Día.