Directing WORK
NARRATIVE/Documentary
Diagnosis (2019)
Log-Line: A mother learns how to evolve as a parent in the face of her son’s diagnosis.
This is a short film I wrote, produced, and directed. It was my first time producing, which presented an interesting challenge. Securing locations and paperwork added more work, but it was fulfilling and rewarding. This film was a deeply personal project for me, as it was largely inspired by my mother and the relationship we have. It has been selected to several film festivals from across the globe, and has received critical acclaim in the press. Not to mention it has won a few awards, for story, for acting, and for overall film. It’s also been nominated for a few awards, too! This is my proudest work, and I highly encourage you to check it out!
PROCESSING (2023)
Log-Line: A man attempts to operate a mysterious device, but with each attempt comes a new set of problems.
This one was my first “serious” movie after Diagnosis, and I couldn’t be more proud of it. I think I made something really special here, and it’s easily the most personal film I’ve ever made. I learned a lot from experimental filmmaking and I used those tools in this piece. A lot of people are really connecting with it, even those who don’t exactly relate to it fully, and that means the world to me.
Best Special/Visual Effects: 2023 St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase (St. Louis, MO, 2023)
Nominated: Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy North America 5:01-20:00 Minutes: Couch Film Festival (Toronto, Canada, 2023)
conspiracy-182 (2021)
Log-Line: A young man who believes he’s on the brink of discovering a global conspiracy tries to warn his friend of the impending danger.
This was the first short film I made for the new creation collective I launched in 2021, Bomb Squad Productions! Like most of the comedies I seem to write, I was inspired by an internet post. Someone in a blink-182 FB group circled a lyric in a song called “Quarantine” and the lyric was “some people storm the capitol.” The poster thought this was some weird subliminal message from blink-182 about January 6th before it happened, when in reality it was about the protests in Michigan. I immediately wrote a script, and we had a quick shoot. The final product came out amazing and I really think it’s comedy gold. I’m tremendously proud of the final product and of my crew. I hope you enjoy it as well!
WARNING: FILM CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE
Official Selection: St. Louis Filmmakers’ Showcase (St. Louis, MO, 2021)
The Cardinals fAN (2018)
Log-Line: A young man has an aggressive public encounter with a pair of Cardinals Fans, whom he hates.
This is a short film I wrote, directed, and starred in. We shot it over the course of a single day back in March 2018. This was my first time directing a comedy, and it was a lot of fun. It made it into a few festivals and was a great time to make. My Audience Choice Award from the Webisode Festival was actually the first film award I’ve ever won!
WARNING: FILM CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE
Official Selection: Take 18 Film Festival (Webster Groves, MO, 2018)
Audience Choice Award Winner: 2019 Webisode Film Festival (Houston, TX, 2019)
Finalist for Best Short Film Narrative: Lift-Off Sessions April 2020 (Online)
THE BOMB SQUAd Say Farewell to Family Video (2021)
Log-Line: Tanner and company head out in search of lost treasures from a bygone age. Instead, they find Family.
This is a bit of a documentary short/vlog I made when I heard that Family Video was closing down. We immediately decided to head over, pay our respects, and give it one last visit. Video stores were such a fun part of our childhood. I’m really gonna miss it, but hopefully, this means more kids go to the library!
the quest for click (2022)
Log-Line: Local man scours the city for a UMD disk of the 2006 Adam Sandler comedy, Click.
This one was born out of a random idea I had about a guy that is determined to find a UMD copy of Click. Joe V and I largely improvised it and shot the entire thing in a day. This is also the first time I edited one of my own narrative films, which was a fun experience. I’m not going to say it’s a super thought-provoking masterpiece, but I do think it’s really funny. Check it out!
THE WALK HOME (2019)
Log-Line: A woman, Elizabeth, finds herself tormented by a mysterious figure while walking home.
This was my first horror movie. I wrote, produced, and director this short horror film. I also played a small part in the film. This was a different experience for me, trying to make the audience scared and tense instead of more lighthearted. It was an exciting challenge, however, and the final product is something I’m quite proud of.
Official Selection: Lift-Off Sessions June 2019 (Online)
gAMER V. Phoner (2018)
Log-Line: An educational sketch designed to show the differences between someone who plays fast-paced action games and someone who stays on their phone all day.
This was a short sketch I directed for the St. Louis Science Center as client work for the Production House class at Webster University. I had a lot of fun making it, and it was the most professional production I had been on at that point. I had a big crew that worked very hard on it, and a talented cast. Making a film for an audience that is going to be educated was an exciting challenge, one that I feel I tackled quite well.
BTS Photo by Ezra Blue Ward
Starch contrast (WIP)
Log-Line: A young man visits his boyfriend’s house to meet his parents for the first time. During dinner, however, things get a little heated when it comes to potatoes.
This is a short film that WAS going to serve as my Senior Thesis film at Webster University, but that was before the COVID-19 Pandemic. I co-wrote the script with my friend Jackson Morrill. I will direct, produce, and star in this short film. I feel like this is it a spiritual successor to The Cardinals Fan (2018) in the sense that this is an absurdist comedy based off of an internet post. There was some hardships during production, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. I can’t wait for y’all to see this one!
EXPERIMENTAL FILMS
Breakdown: Overload (An Experimental Short) (2020)
Log-Line: An experimental short using footage from a shoot that had to be scrapped and audio from previous projects of mine.
This was a short experimental short I made for my experimental film class. When I attempted to shoot my senior thesis film, Starch Contrast, I ran into an unfortunate situation that made it so I had to completely change filming locations and also start from scratch. This meant the footage I had shot on Day 1 was no longer usable. However, I was determined to do something with the footage. When I was looking through it, I remembered how similar the framing of a lot of shots were. So I threw it into Premiere and played around with the opacity until I came up with something very interesting. I then went through some old projects and threw in some audio that would contrast but also somewhat flow together. The final product was fascinating, and I’m quite proud of it. It’s also the first time I’ve edited something I directed. Check it out!
Official Selection: 2020 St. Louis Filmmakers’ Showcase (St. Louis, MO)
Official Selection: Kinematifest 2021 (St. Louis, MO)
1-1: The Corona World (2020)
Log-Line: An experimental film stitched together from footage Tanner Richard Craft shot around his neighborhood.
This was the first project I made in the middle of the COVID-19 Pandemic. I decided to do something that was pure randomness and wild. It follows no rhyme or reason, but it does a lot of interesting things in regards to making the viewer feel anxious and sort of put them off-ease, I’m quite proud of it.
A Walk Inside My Mind (2020)
Log-Line: Tanner Richard Craft shows you what it’s like inside his mind when he has ADHD and Autism.
An experimental film I made using the idea of trying to show what my brain feels like having both Autism and ADHD, on top of my anxiety. It uses some copyrighted music, as it was the only way I could make this work the way I want to. The final product... is chaos, and it’s the piece I’m most proud of. It’s uniquely and distinctly me. It cannot be confused with something else.