Traci Hays

Traci Hays is a DGA nominated director. Her work has earned multiple awards including Best Director and Best Picture along with being an award-winning Production Designer. Most recently, Hays directed Disconnected, a short film thriller as part of the Women's Weekend Film Challenge. With a diverse all-female cast and crew she lead the film to garner a win for Best Director at the Independent Short Awards and Best Thriller at the Top Short Film Festival. Prior to this, Traci directed the short film Frederick starring James Morrison (Fox's 24). The film premiered at Dances with Films at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. The film has won 20 awards including Best Director at the LA Film Awards and Best Picture at the New York Film Awards. With her proven track record, Hays secured a partnership with Tosca Musk's production company, Passionflix, where she directed the film Dry Spell, written by New York Times Bestselling Author Vi Keeland. Hays graduated cum laude from Chapman University earning her BFA in Film Production. She was awarded a coveted apprenticeship with legendary director Randal Kleiser (Grease) to oversee her senior thesis, an 1800s-period film Lions Among Men, starring Dayo Okeniyi (NBC's Shades of Blue). The film was recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a finalist for the DGA Student Film Awards. She continued to develop her directing sensibilities under the mentorship of John Badham (Saturday Night Fever), Martha Coolidge (Real Genius), and Lawrence Paull (Back to the Future). Hays is also an accomplished production designer, having worked on various feature films, television, and commercials with companies such as Universal Studios, Hulu, BET, and many more.