DIRECTORS

Kayden Phoenix is a trailblazing queer Chicana writer and director from Boyle Heights, California. From the start of her career, she noticed a lack of diversity and stereotyping in the industry, which inspired her to advocate for diversity on both sides of the camera. Her films have made waves on the film festival circuit, with her latest project getting attention at Cinequest and Outfest, and even snagged by Gun Powder & Sky’s horror platform, Alter, which has over 3 million subscribers. Dedicated to uplifting Latina talent, Kayden founded Chicana Directors Initiative, a non-profit supporting Latina directors and cinematographers. She's been recognized by Panavision’s New Filmmaker Program, was a semi-finalist in the first Universal Animation Writer's Program, and was recently a Film Fatales Fellowship Finalist for Stowe Story Labs for Jalisco, Latina Superhero. Kayden made history by creating the first Latina superhero team in comic book history with her graphic novels, A LA BRAVA, which McMeel Publishing picked up in 2024. She’s also just launched a new series, Princess Academia, and is diving into action graphic novels with co-creator Ghezal Omar through Artillery Network. Her latest comic she wrote, a three part series of a Chicana vampire gang, Lipstick Cliqa was slated by Sony Music Entertainment. “A big part of my life’s purpose is to give voice to stories as multifaceted, atypical, and diverse as the people we find in the real world.”