Brian Skiba

Biography:

Brian Skiba, named Arizona's Filmmaker of the Year and recognised as a "prolific genre filmmaker" by the LA Times (Noel Murray, April 2019), is a director, producer, and writer. A graduate with a B.A. in English from Arizona State University, Brian's passion for storytelling led him to co-write and direct Blood Moon Rising (2010), a horror comedy distributed by Entertainment One. The film achieved notable success within the zombie genre, prompting Brian to direct Dirty Little Trick (2011), a thriller starring Dean Cain and Michael Madsen, which premiered as a Showtime Original. Since 2012, Brian has been a dynamic force in filmmaking, having produced, directed, and/or written twenty-two feature films, each premiering on prime-time TV or in theatres. In 2017, he directed the fast-paced female empowerment film Chokehold, followed by Rottentail, a Grindhouse horror comedy based on the graphic novel published by Source Point Press. The film earned sold-out screenings and widespread festival acclaim and was released in select theatres. Brian's directorial work also includes My Adventures with Santa (2019), starring Barbara Eden, Denise Richards, and Patrick Muldoon, which Universal Studios theatrically released. The studio was so impressed with the film that they entrusted him to write and direct Christmas Castle (2020). A passionate advocate for strong storytelling, Brian often cites Alfred Hitchcock's famous quote, "To make a great film, you need three things—the script, the script, and the script," as a guiding principle in his career.