Bio – 2009-02

Self-taught writer-director, Brooks Elms made 50 short film experiments before turning 18. He honed his craft at the prestigious New York University film school, where he won the NYU Screenplay Award for his thesis film. He finished the program, rejected the diploma (because of mixed feelings toward traditional authority), and jumped right into his first feature that summer, at age 22. “Snapshots From a .500 Season” is a bittersweet character study of hard-drinking, wise-cracking college soccer players based on his adventures as captain of the NYU soccer team. Brooks launched the film on an East Coast College Tour and played it for a month in Manhattan at a venue he created called, “New York City’s Guerrilla Cinema.” Next he spent a couple years working on a satisfying yet ill-fated experimental feature aptly called “Disaster Video,” where he learned how essential story structure is. In his late 20’s, he moved to Chapel Hill, NC to live a free-form lifestyle, which led to him voraciously study psychology, personal growth, and alternative education approaches that radically support students blazing their own paths. He was so taken by this research that Brooks became driven to write and direct his next feature entitled, “Schooled” which spotlights these controversial education philosophies. That film screened all over the world and was nominated for “Best Ensemble Performance” at The Method Fest in LA. Brooks has several new projects in development as a writer, director and even a few TV shows he’s excited to produce. He lives in LA with his wife, two children and aims to finish his run on the planet anywhere past his 100th birthday.