Ariel Mahler (she/they) is an award-winning trans writer and director. She’s a recent graduate and scholarship recipient from the American Film Institute (AFI) Directing Fellowship.

Mahler’s AFI thesis film, RE-ENTRY, won the Alfred P. Sloan grant. Her short documentary, EVAN EVER AFTER, won an Audience Award for Best Florida Short (Florida Film Festival) and two Jury Awards for Best Documentary Short (OutOnFilm Atlanta, Stamped Film Festival.) Her screenplays have advanced to the top-five in ShoreScript’s Film Fund, the second round of the Sundance Development Track, and the final round of the WeScreenplay’s Diverse Voices Lab. Ariel produced DEATH AND BOWLING, a feature film that world premiered at OUTFEST in 2021, and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.

In addition to her MFA from AFI, Ariel holds an MA in Theatre Education from Emerson College, and a BA in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic. Originally from the East Coast, Ariel is currently based in Los Angeles.

Ariel is driven to tell trans stories about misfits and weirdos seeking authenticity through human connection.