Blaine Morris

BLAINE MORRIS
Associate Producer, at the Oscar-winning documentary production company Tremolo Productions
Associate of Arts in Theater Arts

Blaine Morris is a queer Latina multihyphenate filmmaker. She is a graduate of Columbia University and USC as an MFA George Lucas Scholar, and Film Independent Project Involve Director Fellow with her short “Just Wait” premiering at Slamdance. She has acted on MTV’s Skins, Master of None, and more. Morris has directed, written, edited, and produced short films that played Sundance, Sitges, Outfest, won best horror short awards for films at Nvision Film Festival, and more. She wrote, produced, and starred in the feature Dark Obsession, now on Tubi. Other feature work includes assisting Oscar-nominated writer/director Charles Shyer for Netflix’s The Noel Diary, associate producing Joanna Gleason’s The Grotto, producing Kelley Kali's Speak Less, and co-producing Ritesh Gupta's The Red Mask. She worked with Flmkr Co as a producer and Director of Film Acquisitions and is an adjunct professor in the MFA film program at Calstate LA. She is a Rideback Rise Circle Member and wrote 8 episodes on the Ambie and Signal Award-nominated, IHeartRadio Latine horror anthology podcast "Nocturno: Tales From the Shadows" hosted by Danny Trejo. Currently, she is working on directing her first feature and is an associate producer on a CNN food/travel show with Tremolo Productions.

“Hudson gave me a base while I figured out what I wanted to do next in my life as I transitioned away from acting. It helped me find my real passion for film and made it fiscally possible to transfer to Columbia University and then USC for an MFA. I now work professionally as a filmmaker in Los Angeles, and I can trace my journey back to HCCC.”

What influenced your decision to attend community college?

I was looking for a flexible program that I could attend while pursuing my career in entertainment.

How would you describe the quality of education you received?

I received a well-rounded education from knowledgeable professors. The homework was rigorous, and the classes also taught me real-life skills.

Were there any professors or classes that had a significant impact on you?

Joseph Gallo was my theater professor. I was taking a playwriting class, and he let me switch from writing a play to writing a screenplay. That definitely affected my path to move from theater to film. Now I can say I am a professional writer after writing two seasons of a narrative podcast and being repped by a literary manager. I also want to mention my amazing history class that broadened my ideas on storytelling and the public speaking class that gave me skills that I use every day.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out at a community college?

Use this time to try things out. When you transfer and choose a major, if you are not positive about what you want, you could waste a lot of money. Broadening my classes outside my usual focus ensured that when I moved on to complete my Bachelor's degree, I was absolutely committed to that career path.

Would you recommend a community college to others? Why or why not?

I recommend community college to everyone. If you have to work or are unsure of what you'd like to do, community college gives you that flexibility. I took 3-4 years to complete my associate's degree, and I'm so happy I did. When I transferred to Columbia University, I knew who I was, what I wanted to learn, and I could really commit myself to that program.