Sarah Phillips

Sarah Phillips is a director and writer located in Los Angeles. She is originally from Columbia, MO, where she earned her Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri Journalism School. She was passionately involved in musical theatre from an early age and always knew she would continue in storytelling through her life, using her curiosity and accumulated tech-obsessed skills to continue making films.

Thirteen years later, she has been professionally involved in the film industry in LA in many different capacities, including drone operating, casting, cinematography, directing, producing, and writing (and formerly acting). In 2014, she formed a production company, Phileon Productions, with her business partner, Laetitia Leon, and they have since made seven original short films, along with digital commercial work for brands and scripted web series for creators in Los Angeles.

Her short sci-fi film "Supplements"won the 2020 Visionary Award, a special jury prize, at SeriesFest 2020, a Founder's Circle Award at the Louisiana Film Prize 2019, and is on the festival circuit for television scripted series consideration. Her short film "Lilac Ocean Pumpkin Pine" won a Founder's Circle Award as well as placed in the Top Five at the Louisiana Film Prize in October 2018. It screened in competition at the Oxford Film Festival, Houston Int'l Film Festival (where it won a Gold Remi Award), Female Eye Film Festival, Kansas City Film Festival, Circle City Film Festival (where it won Best Cinematography and Best Score), Vero Beach Film Festival, and JellyFest Film Festival. Her short science fiction film "Separation of Church and Livia" won second place at the highly-competitive AT&T Shape Competition in 2017 in Los Angeles, and subsequently won a Silver Remi Award for Best Science Fiction short film at Houston WorldFest 2018. Her short musical "Smile: A Musical" (writer, director, editor) screened in 2017 at two Academy-Qualifying festivals - Dances With Films and Hollyshorts Annual Festival - as well as placing as a finalist at Moondance Int'l Film Festival. It will screen at Oxford Film Festival in 2019. The screenplay for"Smile: A Musical," won Best Short Drama Screenplay at the Nashville Film Festival in 2016, her feature musical Grimm adaptation was recently optioned, and her original musical pilot was featured on as the June 2017 staff pick. Also, she won the grand prize at the New York Screenplay Contest 2017 for her Doctor Who spec script, and her original musical pilot script placed as a finalist.

Sarah is currently working as a freelance director and cinematographer, and is attached to three features, a digital dark comedy series, multiple episodes of a comedy web series, and four short scripted films. In addition, she works consistently as a camera operator and drone operator, and is often found as an SFX supervisor and post-production VFX editor.

She received her MFA in TV and Film Screenwriting from Stephen's College, as part of the program's inaugural class of 2017, and her Bachelor of Journalism from the much-lauded University of Missouri Reynolds School of Journalism.

Her current favorite lyrics are "Why do you write like you're running out of time?" from Hamilton, and "Look, I made a hat where there never was a hat," from Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George.

She is passionate about musicals, women in film, and alternate forms of distribution. Her biggest directorial influences are Rob Marshall, Baz Luhrmann, Nancy Meyers, Joe Wright, Penny Marshall, and Busby Berkeley.

Proud member of:
Alliance of Women Directors, Women in Film LA, The Dramatist's Guild of America, Film Independent, and Women In Media.