STEVE ANDERSON
ACTOR - DIRECTOR - COACH
Every story asks us to notice something we hadn't seen before.
LUCKY U RANCH, 2015
"Steve is an amazing collaborator. A rare director with a specific vision while still being open to new ideas. And he's an excellent actor's director. His attention to detail is present from the beginning of prep to the last post note! I look forward to our next collaboration."
-Byron Werner, DP (The Last Full Measure)
ROOM 107
16-year-old Kenzie is wooed by her secret 24-year-old boyfriend into taking a weekend roadtrip, but can he be trusted?
What drew me to Room 107 was its opportunity to shine a light on a tragedy that often goes unseen.
Kenzie isn't portrayed as a runaway or a child without a family. She's a thoughtful young woman with parents who love her, yet like many families, they're balancing the demands of everyday life and don't always recognize how alone she feels. That quiet loneliness becomes the opening someone else is willing to exploit.
What I'm perhaps most proud of is the ending. We chose not to sensationalize the tragedy. Instead, we trusted the quiet truth of the moment.
Tragedy unfolding in quiet.
No fanfare.
Just the truth.
Sometimes that's enough.
Room 107 premiered at Dances With Films:NYC.
WORLD PREMIERE
*WINNER*
Sam Polito Award
BEST ARIZONA SHORT
WEST COAST PREMIERE
Steve with actor Olivia Potter (Kenzie in Room 107) at DWF:NYC
INSTAGRAM TEASER: DWF:NYC
Every now and then, a script arrives with a premise so unexpected you simply have to keep reading. The Secret Lives of Teachers was one of those. Two lonely schoolteachers finding one another through a shared love of Civil War history, then allowing imagination and fantasy to reshape their lives in ways neither could have anticipated.
Beneath the comedy is something deeply human. It's a story about loneliness, belonging, and the extraordinary places our hearts are willing to go in search of connection. What begins as playful, stylized comedy gradually becomes grounded in emotional truth, revealing the vulnerability beneath the laughter.
I love stories that make us laugh before quietly reminding us how deeply we all long to be seen.
The Secret Lives of Teachers festival appearances: Studio City International Film Festival / Phoenix Film Festival / Door County Short Film Festival (FESTIVAL WINNER-JUROR'S PRIZE) / Ocean City Film Festival (BEST FEEL GOOD SHORT) / Arizona Production Association (AUDIENCE FAVORITE) / Action on Film (BEST COMEDY SCENE)/ Prescott Film Festival / Ojai Short Film Fest (AUDIENCE CHOICE RUNNER-UP) / Santa Cruz Film Festival / Muscatine Independent Film Festival (BEST SHORT FILM NOM.) / Green Bay Film Festival / Crown Heights Film Festival / Short & Sweet Film Festival / Copa Shorts Film Fest / Women in Comedy Film Festival (BEST ROMANTIC COMEDY NOM.) / Chandler Int'l Film Festival (BEST COMEDY SHORT NOM.) / Muscatine Int'l Film Festival (BEST SHORT FILM NOM.)
42 SECONDS
Months after a mass shooting at a small town diner, the three lone survivors revisit the scene in hopes of healing from their shared trauma.
Website: www.42seconds.org
The headlines may last a day. But for the people who lived them, the story lasts a lifetime. That thought stayed with me throughout the project.
My hope was to approach the work with honesty and compassion—to portray not simply an event, but the quiet, enduring ways trauma continues to shape a life. If someone who has lived through a similar experience were to watch the film, I hoped they might recognize something truthful in it, and perhaps feel a little less alone.
WINNER
DIRECTOR'S CHOICE
BEST ARIZONA NARRATIVE SHORT
WINNER
BEST SHORT FILM
WINNER
BEST SHORT FILM-DRAMA
BEST ACTRESS-Stefanie Rons
BEST ACTOR-Roberto Cordero, Jr.
NOMINATED
BEST ENSEMBLE
Stefanie Rons (Natalie), Roberto Cordero, Jr. (Nate), Steve Anderson (Director), Kathy Blaze Jefferson (Brenda), Michael Stone (Stu)
42 Seconds festival appearances: Prescott Film Festival (WINNER-DIRECTOR'S CHOICE, BEST AZ NARRATIVE SHORT) / Flagstaff Int'l Film Festival (WINNER-BEST SHORT FILM) / Roosevelt Island Film Festival (WINNER-BEST SHORT DRAMA/BEST ACTOR/BEST ACTRESS) / Phoenix Film Festival / Bridgeport Film Fest (BEST ENSEMBLE NOM.) / Chicago International Indie Film Festival / Silicon Beach Film Festival / Worldwide Women's Film Festival / Hang Onto Your Shorts Film Festival / Borrego Springs Film Festival / Dam Short Film Festival / Unisphere Film Festival.
42 SECONDS Trailer
LUCKY U RANCH
It's 1953. 11-year-old Junior is bullied and stuck at an Arizona trailer court with his hardworking mom, Coco. All seems lost until the arrival of Melissa, an energetic free-spirit from Hollywood who changes everything.
LUCKY U is a feature film distributed by Random Media.
When I first read Ginia Desmond's script for Lucky U Ranch, I cried.
I've always had a very soft spot in my heart for children who feel alone in the world—for kids who are bullied, overlooked, or simply searching for a place to belong. This story reached me on a deeply personal level.
Like Junior McCaully, I spent much of my childhood without a father, watching my mother do everything she could to keep us afloat. I recognized something of myself in him, and I felt an immediate responsibility to tell his story with honesty and compassion.
After reading the script, I told Ginia that if she ever decided to produce it, I would be honored if she trusted me to direct it.
She did.
Some stories never really leave you. This is one of them.
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