Director Profile

Ian McDonald is a filmmaker from Los Angeles, California whose work explores identity, intimacy, self-expression, and queer experience through narrative and documentary. He earned his B.A. in Film and Television Production from Loyola Marymount University, graduating cum laude in 2023, and began the MFA Film Directing program at the California Institute of the Arts in 2025. His latest film, Paint & Leather, is a silent queer romance that celebrates gay culture and camp. His documentaries include Playing With Fire, a portrait of two fire dancers finding community and self-discovery in the LA rave scene, and Twisted, a Copenhagen-produced profile of painter Marios Orozco and the artistic community of Freetown Christiania. Across his work, Ian is drawn to characters and subcultures that transform performance, desire, and personal expression into pathways toward connection and self discovery. Currently, he is in pre-production on his debut feature and writing a follow up to Paint & Leather that will enter production in November.