About
CARLEN MAY-MANN (they/she) is a Brooklyn-based writer and director of bold, humanistic horror and drama. They are a two-time Sundance Feature Film Program Fellow. Their short horror film THE RAT premiered at Sundance in 2019 and screened at numerous prestigious festivals, including the Champs-Élysées Film Festival and the Maryland Film Festival, before premiering online on ALTER and being selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick.
Carlen’s follow-up short, ROMANCE PACKAGE FOR TWO, is about a messy queer love triangle that takes place in a campy love motel. It played at Palm Springs ShortFest, NewFest, the Florida Film Festival, and more. It is available online via Short of the Week, Directors Notes, and Film Shortage.
Carlen is currently in pre-production on their newest short film, GRIPPY SOCKS, a dark comedy about a young woman stuck in a psychiatric emergency room following a suicide attempt. The film is being produced by João Pereira-Webber (ISABEL, Berlinale 2026) and Noah Dirks (ART SPIEGELMAN: DISASTER IS MY MUSE, PBS American Masters), both of whom also produced ROMANCE PACKAGE FOR TWO.
In addition to these short films, Carlen has written several feature-length screenplays. Their intended feature directorial debut, currently in development, will be FROM YOUR EYES TO MINE, a queer ghost story set in their hometown of Laguna Beach, California. They also co-wrote STRAWBERRY SUMMER, which was selected for the 2019 Sundance Screenwriters Intensive and the 2019 Women at Sundance Financing and Strategy Intensive, and received grants from Cinereach and The Harnisch Foundation. Finally, they are in early development on HAEMOCHROMATOSIS, an unconventional take on the vampire myth.
Carlen recently appeared as a subject matter expert in Sav Rodgers’ documentary CHASING CHASING AMY, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival to much acclaim. They have also been featured in publications including Indiewire, The Creative Independent, and Moveable Fest, and have served on the jury for the Sheboygan Film Festival, the StokerCon Final Frame Competition, and more.
Carlen is an active member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wesleyan University with a degree in Film Studies and Psychology.