Steve Hanft is a native Californian writer/director, renowned for his innovative and imaginative work in creating original movies and videos.
He first gained recognition during his studies at the California Institute of the Arts, where he pursued a multifaceted education in both art and filmmaking. Throughout his time at the prestigious institution, Hanft consistently produced high-quality films, earning him numerous grants and accolades, including the Princess Grace Film Grant, the Kodak Cinematography Award, the Studio Film and Tape Film Grant, the Los Angeles Arts Council Grant, the Seagrams Film Award, and the Chouinard Film and Video Award.
Upon graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree, Hanft's prolific career took off, with a relentless pace of producing feature films, music videos, short films, and commercials. His versatility and creative range have been showcased through his extensive body of work.
Notably, Hanft has received recognition for his outstanding directing skills, including an MTV award for his work on the Beck music video, "Where It's At". Additionally, he was awarded a Cannes Film Festival prize for his involvement as producer and actor in the Ray-Ban short film, "Sunglass Catch".
Hanft's films have had the privilege of being showcased at numerous esteemed film festivals worldwide, including the Rome Italy Film Festival, the South by Southwest Film Festival, the LA Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, the Brasil International Film Festival, the CMJ Film Festival, Anthology Film Archive New Filmmakers Event, and the Don't Knock the Rock Film Festival in Hollywood.
