Trey Edward Shults (born October 6, 1988) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He is best known as the director and writer of the

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

Krisha ''Krisha'' is a 2015 American drama film written and directed by Trey Edward Shults in his feature-length directorial debut, starring his real-life aunt Krisha Fairchild, and is the feature-length adaption of the 2014 short film ''Krisha'' also ...

'' (2015), the

psychological horror Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequent ...

film ''

It Comes at Night ''It Comes at Night'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written and directed by Trey Edward Shults. It stars Joel Edgerton, Christopher Abbott, Carmen Ejogo, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Riley Keough. The film focuses on a family hiding in ...

'' (2017), and

Waves Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. * Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music * Waves (ban ...

'' (2019).

Life and career

Shults was born in Montgomery, Texas, the son of Robyn (Fairchild) and William Shults. In 2010, he made his directorial debut in the short film ''Mother and Son'', which he also wrote, edited, and produced. It starred

Krisha Fairchild Krisha Fairchild is an American actress, best known for starring in her nephew Trey Edward Shults' critically acclaimed film ''Krisha'' (2015). She is also known for her role as Louise Lispector in Syfy's horror anthology series ''Channel Zero (T ...

and Lucas Quintana. In 2011 and 2012, Shults variously served as film loader, post-production intern, and intern, on three of

Terrence Malick Terrence Frederick Malick (born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. His films include '' Days of Heaven'' (1978), '' The Thin Red Line'' (1998), for which he received Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenp ...

's films, ''

Song to Song ''Song to Song'' is a 2017 American experimental romantic drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring an ensemble cast including Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender, Natalie Portman, and Cate Blanchett. After a leng ...

'', ''

Voyage of Time ''Voyage of Time'' is a 2016 American documentary film written and directed by Terrence Malick. The film is said to be an examination of the birth and death of the known universe. Malick had been working on the film for over forty years and it ha ...

'', and ''

The Tree of Life ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. At the time, Shults was a

business management Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

student but dropped out to work on films and study films himself. In 2011, Shults wrote, directed, produced, and edited, a short film starring Fairchild, titled ''Two to One''. In 2014, Shults directed, wrote, produced, edited, and appeared in ''Krisha'', a short film starring Fairchild, Robyn, and Billie Fairchild, all of whom are related to Shults. The following year, he directed, wrote, and acted in a feature-length adaptation of the same name, which premiered at

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

in March 2015, winning the Grand Jury Award. The film is based upon a real-life incident involving Shults's cousin, who experienced a relapse at a family reunion. It was acquired by

A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...

and released in 2016. In March 2015, Shults signed with

William Morris Endeavor Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (formerly known as William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, WME or WME-IMG) is an American holding company for talent and media agencies with its primary offices in Beverly Hills, California, United States. The compa ...

. Shults also served as the camera PA on the 2016 film '' Midnight Special''. A24 also released Shults's 2017 psychological horror film, ''

'', starring

Joel Edgerton Joel Edgerton (born 23 June 1974) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his appearance in the ''Star Wars'' films ''Attack of the Clones'' (2002) and ''Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) as a young Owen Lars, a role he reprised i ...

. His most recent film is the critically acclaimed drama ''

'', which was released on November 15, 2019.

Filmography

Short films Feature films

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shults, Trey Edward 1988 births Living people 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American screenwriters American film editors American male film actors American male screenwriters Film directors from Texas People from Montgomery, Texas Screenwriters from Texas