Tracie Laymon is an accomplished independent writer and director from Houston and Austin, Texas, recognized by IFC as an "Icon and Film Innovator". Born in Houston, she relocated to Russia at the age of 14 to attend the American School of Moscow, where she developed a strong foundation in Russian language studies.
Following her return to Houston, Tracie was accepted into the magnet program at Bellaire Foreign Language Academy, focusing on Russian language studies, and later returned to Moscow as a foreign exchange student. At 17, she survived a near-fatal accident, which led to an extended period of intense rehabilitation and ultimately, her remarkable recovery.
During her time at the University of Texas, Tracie interned for Richard Linklater's company Detour Film, worked as a photographer and video journalist for Time Warner News, and directed multiple short films and award-winning music videos in the Austin area.
Tracie's directorial projects have garnered numerous accolades, including jury awards at SXSW and other festivals and competitions. She received a grant to create a segment for the women's anthology film "Girls!Girls!Girls!", starring Elaine Hendrix and Octavia Spencer, and won the Jury Award for Short Film of the Year from the Women's Image Network.
Her original scripted material has also achieved success, winning and placing highly in over twenty competitions, including the Best Screenplay at the LA Comedy Festival, Best TV Pilot at HollyShorts, and Runner-up at the annual Scriptapalooza competition.
Tracie directed the first half hour series for Hulu "Goodnight Burbank", featuring Dominic Monaghan, which was later acquired by Mark Cuban for HDNet. She also wrote and directed "Mixed Signals", which premiered at Oscar-qualifying LA Shorts in 2018 and won her multiple awards for Best Director in 2018 and 2019.
Additionally, Tracie directed a comedic and dramatic proof of concept pilot project for Tess Allen's "Matched" and shadowed as an observing director on Showtime's "Shameless". She has also taught animation for several organizations, including Ghetto Film School, and live action filmmaking on the Stanford and Berkeley campuses.
Tracie's short film "Ghosted" won numerous awards, including Best Director awards at Big Bear Film Summit, Big Sur Film Festival, Seattle Film Festival, and the Hollywood Gold Awards. It also received Best Short Film and Best Writer awards at Seattle, the audience award for Best Short Film at Big Bear Film Summit, and many more.
A passionate advocate for cast and crew with disabilities, in front of and behind the camera, Tracie has made significant contributions to the film industry.
Tracie's debut feature "Bob Trevino Likes It" starring Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo premiered at SXSW 2024, where it won both the Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. It went on to win 25 other film festival awards, including 13 Audience Awards for Best Feature. The film was acquired by Roadside Attractions and is slated to begin its theatrical run on March 21, 2025.
