NORA MARRIS is a director and writer from Buffalo, New York. She is based in NYC, and she recently completed her MFA in Film Directing/Screenwriting at Columbia University where she was awarded the David Henry Hammer Award in Film.

She works in an actor-focused process emphasizing improvisation in rehearsal and on set, and her work comprises character-driven stories often following women with abrasive personalities through humiliating and confrontational situations. She obtained a film directing certificate from FAMU, the Prague film and television school, and BAs in music composition and film from American University.

Her thesis short EVERY MAN IN NEW YORK IS NAMED ANDREW, an improv-based comedy shot on black and white 16mm film in September 2024 (after a successful crowdfunding and social media marketing campaign), was awarded Jury Honors at Columbia University and premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Indy Shorts. Her upcoming doc/fiction hybrid short JAM is currently in post-production, and she is producing a documentary short filming in Alaska later this summer. Her short film SHINER screened at Montclair Film Festival and Buffalo International Film Festival last year.