Shawn Holmes is a writer-director whose work combines emotionally grounded character storytelling with high-concept genre filmmaking.

Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, and raised across the Ohio River in Martins Ferry, Holmes made the science-fiction thriller Memory Lane in his grandmother’s garage for less than $300. A 48-hour grassroots campaign generated more than 22,000 views. The film premiered at SCI-FI-LONDON, received market screenings in Cannes and Berlin, and secured distribution in 13 territories.

His Academy Award-qualifying short How to Tie a Tie won 20 awards. His post-apocalyptic thriller Rockabye was optioned by Ashton Kutcher’s Katalyst Films, and his commercial, branded, and music-video work has generated more than 10 million online views. He also created the retrospective films for the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation’s 20th-anniversary gala.

Most recently, Holmes was one of five grand-prize-winning directors selected from more than 1,000 applicants for the inaugural Tyler Perry Studios Dream Collective. His latest short, UNBODIED, is a Tyler Perry Studios Dream Collective film, shot on location in Atlanta, Georgia, and continues his exploration of emotionally grounded, high-concept genre storytelling.