Paavo Hanninen is a writer/director based in Los Angeles, who relocated after living and working in New Orleans for a decade. He was born and raised in Alabama and received his MFA in directing from UT-Austin. As a writer/director, his short films have played at and won awards at festivals around the world, including the Austin Film Festival, Sun Valley, Sarasota, Maryland, and many others. His work has been featured in The New Yorker and The Washington Post, among others. Currently, he is in development with Verve Talent and Literary Agency on his debut feature film Remote View, which was a semi-finalist for the Nantucket Screenwriters Colony and finalist for the Warner Brothers-sponsored South Pitch. On the branded/commercial side, Paavo is the winner of an Addy Award for his piece for Episcopal Academy of Baton Rouge. His other branded work includes pieces for Ritz-Carlton, Marriott, Uber, All-State, Apple TV+ and others.