Meet Quinn Quinlan of West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Quinn Quinlan.

Hi Quinn, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in New Hampshire doing theater, and didn’t discover film until college. During college I made the pivot and started interning for Film Fatales (a wonderful organization of female television and film directors), and through that, I met documentary director Cynthia Wade. Cynthia took me under her wing and I worked on set with her as a PA and eventually an Associate Producer. That led me to “drop out” of school to take a job associate producing MERPEOPLE for Netflix, which I worked on for 16 months until the strike. I used the strike as a time to finish my degree remotely from LA and make a few short films. After that, I started working at Hello Sunshine, where I’ve been for just over a year now. As a writer/director, I was intentional about finding a day job that allowed me to build industry relationships while preserving time and space to create—and Hello Sunshine has done exactly that. I’m now in development on my first feature, which has been incredibly exciting.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all, haha. It’s been a struggle since day one. I’m someone who always has a plan, and yet every step of this journey has been unexpected and unpredictable. The only thing that you can predict in this business is that change is right around the corner.

Coming from a small town in New England, I was very removed from the film industry growing up. I went to a great college, but since it wasn’t a traditional film school, their resources for people pursuing entertainment were slim to none. Over the years I’ve learned the right way to network and build a community around me, but it was never straightforward. That takes some getting used to for someone as Type A as I am, but now I’ve grown to enjoy that unpredictability, as it keeps things exciting. I’ve also made it a personal mission to help the people coming after me, because there’s far too much gatekeeping in this industry, and a rising tide lifts all boats.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a writer-director with a focus on queer, female-driven stories. While I work across genres—believing the story should dictate the form—my projects often explore coming-of-age and dystopian topics. I’m especially proud of the feature I currently have in development. It’s a queer coming-of-age dramedy that also centers an eating disorder. It’s been deeply meaningful to shape my feature directorial debut around a story that not only reflects personal truths but also has the potential to foster real impact.

Any big plans?
Nearly all of my time is devoted to my feature, with any spare moments going toward writing the next one. We’re shooting the proof of concept in a week, so things have been full steam ahead. Once that’s wrapped, we’ll begin shopping it around. The feature is slated for production in summer 2026, which is incredibly exciting. Once it’s on its feet, I’ll be diving straight into the next project.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.quinnquinlan.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quinn.quinlan/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quinn-quinlan-089a0b173/

Image Credits
For headshot: RoVan Media
For set images: Kyle Bross