About

Brian Lawes is an American writer and director whose work is marked by lyrical precision, emotional voltage, and a painter’s eye for intimacy.

He directs with cinematic restraint— moving between intimacy and scale—finding emotional precision in the simplest glance, and mythic weight in the smallest shift.

Whether grounded or surreal, narrative or branded, Lawes brings a rare ability to tune into what’s unsaid—and build it into something that hits with unforgettable force.

A background in indie filmmaking informs his commercial work, where audiences are invited into rich emotional worlds with a conceptual punch. He doesn’t chase spectacle. He builds tension. He reframes the idea. He lands it where you didn’t see it coming.

Featured in SHOOT’s 2024 New Directors Showcase and selected for the Likewise and BendFilm: Basecamp Fellowships, his films have screened at top-tier festivals including Palm Springs, HollyShorts, and Santa Fe, and earned honors from the Telly Awards, MUSE Creative Awards, and American Advertising Awards.

To work with Lawes is to get both vision and voltage. A collaborator with taste, timing, and a sharp emotional compass—he makes the kind of work that reveals quiet truths—the kind you feel before you understand.

IMDB Page

Awards

Jury Award – Best U.S. Narrative Short, SFiFF
Jury Prize – Best Short, Flickers’ Rhode Island
Jury Award – Honorable Mention, Omaha Film Festival

Official Selection, Palm Springs ShortFest
Official Selection, HollyShorts Film Festival
Best Director & Best Short, Saturnia Film Festival
Best International Short, Fara Film Festival
Audience Award, Festival Int’l del Cinema Povero
Best Director, Francigena Film Festival
Best Director, Castel Volturno Film Festival
Best Short, Corto Nero Short Film Competition
Jury Award, Ennesimo Film Festival

Gold Winner, Telly Awards
Silver Winner, Telly Awards
Best of Show, American Advertising Awards
Gold Winner, American Advertising Awards
Silver Winner, American Advertising Awards
Gold Winner, Shorty Awards
Silver Winner, Shorty Awards
Gold Winner, Heartland Emmy
Platinum Winner, MUSE Awards
Top Honors, SPJ Awards

Press

SHOOT New Directors Showcase
Film & Television Business
The Screenster Podcast
Rewriting Hollywood Podcast
RogerEbert.com
IndieWire: BendFilm