Ella Christiansen

Ella Christiansen (she/her) is a director and producer based in Los Angeles, CA. She studies Film, Television, and Digital Media at UCLA where she takes a special interest in perverse and horrific cinema as tools to challenge objectification and abjectification of queer and femme people. As a Keck Undergraduate Fellow, Ella is directing her capstone film production, a punk horror film, “Hickeys.” The project investigates the unique betrayal of sexual violence devastating one’s closest friendships by following Vivian, a queer runaway playing her first punk show on the hottest day of 1983. She is horrified to find that her chosen family, a hardcore punk band, are vampires preying on her vulnerability. In the summer of 2023, Ella experimented in theater, co-directing Evelyn Hates Porkchops for Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group. She further honed her set skills while producing UCLA undergraduate capstone films “Break Your Trophies” by Sayesha Chaudhary and “Maple Bacon Bar” by Roan Pearl. Ella also wrote and directed the horror short films “Two-Faced Bitch” and “Our Rotten Teeth” with the support of the Delta Kappa Alpha Cinematic Society. Ella further honed her skills by directing a bloodthirsty boxing- themed music video for the song “Punching Bag” by Lady Vengeance. Beyond directing and producing, she has interned across development, distribution, and publicity at production companies including XYZ Films, A24, and NEON Rated. She also studied independent producing while assisting Katie Schiller (Shiva Baby, The Lesbian Bar Project). Before moving to LA, she volunteered for her local filmmaking community via the Sacramento International Film Festival and the BENT – Sacramento LGBTQ Film Festival. Ella also loves film theory and feels that the privilege of constant learning is one of the most rewarding aspects of a career in filmmaking. She earned publication in the Bowdoin Journal of Cinema and Columbia University’s Double Exposure Journal.