diff --git a/src/py-opentimelineio/opentimelineio-bindings/otio_bundle.cpp b/src/py-opentimelineio/opentimelineio-bindings/otio_bundle.cpp
index 8a1784bd3..f031f8826 100644
--- a/src/py-opentimelineio/opentimelineio-bindings/otio_bundle.cpp
+++ b/src/py-opentimelineio/opentimelineio-bindings/otio_bundle.cpp
@@ -71,6 +71,17 @@ Options for reading bundles.
             "Convert the media reference paths to absolute paths. "
             "If this is set to true for otioz files, an extract_path must also be set.");
 
+    mbundle.def(
+        "file_from_url",
+        &file_from_url,
+        "Convert a file:// URL to a filesystem path.\n\n"
+        "Handles Windows drive letters in netloc position (file://C:/...), "
+        "UNC paths (file://host/share/...), percent-encoded characters, "
+        "and the 'localhost' authority. Returns the input unchanged if it "
+        "is a bare path with no URL scheme. Returns None if the URL uses a "
+        "non-file scheme (e.g. http://...).",
+        py::arg("url"));
+
     mbundle.def(
         "dry_run",
         [](
diff --git a/src/py-opentimelineio/opentimelineio/__init__.py b/src/py-opentimelineio/opentimelineio/__init__.py
index 869ac1f9b..036907f4f 100644
--- a/src/py-opentimelineio/opentimelineio/__init__.py
+++ b/src/py-opentimelineio/opentimelineio/__init__.py
@@ -22,5 +22,6 @@
     adapters,
     hooks,
     algorithms,
+    url_utils,
     versioning,
 )
diff --git a/src/py-opentimelineio/opentimelineio/url_utils.py b/src/py-opentimelineio/opentimelineio/url_utils.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..995e2f392
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/py-opentimelineio/opentimelineio/url_utils.py
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# Copyright Contributors to the OpenTimelineIO project
+
+"""Utilities for conversion between URLs and file paths."""
+
+import os
+import urllib
+import pathlib
+
+from ._otio import bundle
+
+
+def url_from_filepath(fpath):
+    """Convert a filesystem path to a URL in a portable way.
+
+    ensures that `fpath` conforms to the following pattern:
+        * if it is an absolute path, "file:///path/to/thing"
+        * if it is a relative path, "path/to/thing"
+
+    In other words, if you pass in:
+        * "/var/tmp/thing.otio" -> "file:///var/tmp/thing.otio"
+        * "tmp/thing.otio" -> "tmp/thing.otio"
+    """
+
+    try:
+        # appears to handle absolute windows paths better, which are absolute
+        # and start with a drive letter.
+        return urllib.parse.unquote(pathlib.PurePath(fpath).as_uri())
+    except ValueError:
+        # scheme is "file" for absolute paths, else ""
+        scheme = "file" if os.path.isabs(fpath) else ""
+
+        # handles relative paths
+        return urllib.parse.urlunparse(
+            urllib.parse.ParseResult(
+                scheme=scheme,
+                path=fpath,
+                netloc="",
+                params="",
+                query="",
+                fragment=""
+            )
+        )
+
+
+def filepath_from_url(urlstr):
+    """
+    Take a URL and return a filepath.
+
+    Handles URLs encoded per `RFC 3986`_, Windows drive letters
+    (``file://C:/...``), UNC paths (``file://host/share/...``), and the
+    ``file://localhost/...`` variant.
+
+    Returns the input unchanged if it cannot be converted.
+
+    .. _RFC 3986: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3986#section-2.1
+    """
+    result = bundle.file_from_url(urlstr)
+    if result is None:
+        return urlstr
+    return result
diff --git a/tests/test_url_conversions.py b/tests/test_url_conversions.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..41b92c6f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_url_conversions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+# Copyright Contributors to the OpenTimelineIO project
+
+""" Unit tests of functions that convert between file paths and urls. """
+
+import unittest
+import os
+
+import opentimelineio as otio
+
+MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_REL = os.path.relpath(
+    os.path.join(
+        os.path.dirname(__file__),
+        "..",  # root
+        "docs",
+        "_static",
+        "OpenTimelineIO@3xDark.png"
+    )
+)
+MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_URL_REL = otio.url_utils.url_from_filepath(
+    MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_REL
+)
+MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_ABS = os.path.abspath(
+    MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_REL.replace(
+        "3xDark",
+        "3xLight"
+    )
+)
+MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_URL_ABS = otio.url_utils.url_from_filepath(
+    MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_ABS
+)
+
+
+class TestConversions(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_roundtrip_abs(self):
+        self.assertTrue(MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_URL_ABS.startswith("file://"))
+        full_path = os.path.abspath(
+            otio.url_utils.filepath_from_url(MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_URL_ABS)
+        )
+
+        # should have reconstructed it by this point
+        self.assertEqual(full_path, MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_ABS)
+
+    def test_roundtrip_rel(self):
+        self.assertFalse(MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_URL_REL.startswith("file://"))
+
+        result = otio.url_utils.filepath_from_url(MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_URL_REL)
+
+        # should have reconstructed it by this point
+        self.assertEqual(os.path.normpath(result), MEDIA_EXAMPLE_PATH_REL)
+
+    def test_non_file_scheme_passes_through(self):
+        # The C++ file_from_url returns None for non-file schemes;
+        # the Python wrapper passes the input through unchanged, matching
+        # the historical Python behavior of not raising on unrecognized
+        # input.
+        self.assertEqual(
+            otio.url_utils.filepath_from_url("http://example.com/foo"),
+            "http://example.com/foo",
+        )
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()