From a young age, director and screenwriter Colin Hankenson knew he had a story to tell. 

“My family would love to attest to this. I’ve always loved hamming it up, performing, and doing all that other stuff. Just presenting fun stories and ideas,” says Hankenson. 

Starting with childhood performances in his grandmother’s house to making YouTube videos with his friends in middle school, Hankenson’s own story quickly transitioned from stage to screen. 

But it was his family’s move to Old Bridge, New Jersey, and his start at a new high school that truly marked the beginning of Hankenson’s life as a filmmaker.  

“If I hadn’t moved, I wouldn’t have become who I am now,” explains Hankenson. “When I moved to Old Bridge, they had such a massive film and television program, a theater and all that stuff, and I kind of jumped headfirst into it.” 

By the end of high school, Hankenson solidified his passion for the craft, having already written and filmed two short films for a class grade. His early love of film was greatly inspired by the unique style and musical elements of Edgar Wright’s 2017 film, Baby Driver. 

“It’s equal parts style and substance,” describes Hankenson. “[…] Every character is essentially very one note in a way, but they don’t feel that way, because of how fleshed out the world and the story seem. And that’s the substance part. And then the style part is honestly what really kind of reeled me in, because I love the music aspects; that’s why all my films have copyright strikes on YouTube. But it’s because every single look, inflection, movement, and hand gesture in that movie is set to the soundtrack; there’s always music playing.”  

For Hankenson, music is a critical component to his writing process, as he will typically have a script written within a day of hearing the right song.  

“When I find the piece of music specifically that sparks what the movie is going to be, it’s immediately an avalanche and snowball for me,” says Hankenson. “It pops into my head, and the idea is just there.” 

He went on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in television production, before eventually deciding to transfer into the film program, halfway through his college career. Once accepted into the program, fate intervened during an Intro to Film class, when he met actor Kole Boyd, who would not only become his best friend, but also go on to star in all of Hankenson’s films. 

“[Kole] is a writer and director, as well, so when he and I got in contact I was like, ‘this is my guy,’ says Hankenson. “And it’s to the point now that when I write scripts alone, I will call him every five pages and I’ll read him what I have, and he’ll give me notes, or he’ll be like, ‘that was awesome.’ Then I’ll keep going.” 

Among Hankenson’s many projects featuring Boyd is his highly acclaimed short film, Loverboy. The 2024 drama follows young boxer Cal Williams (Boyd) as he navigates the world of underground fighting and attempts to understand his opponents, both in and out of the ring. 

“Loverboy was a very gratifying experience, from beginning to end, because I learned so much about myself and about my process on that film,” shares Hankenson. 

And like all of Hankenson’s films, the concept for Loverboy was originally inspired by a song. 

“I wrote a journal entry in January of 2023, I think, where I said, ‘I’m listening to the song “Loverboy” by A-Wall right now. I’m going to make a film called Loverboy. I don’t know what it’s going to be about, but this will be the song that plays in the credits,’ describes Hankenson. “And then the draft of Loverboy that we shot was draft 10, because drafts one and two were actually a rom-com. It was such a massively different thing.”

In 2025, the film was selected for The Count Basie Center’s Breakthrough Filmmaker Fest, taking home an incredible seven nominations and three wins, including Best Acting Ensemble, Best Cinematography and Best Film.          

Hankenson’s most recent project, This Sucks, was also selected for the festival as a 2026 nominee, winning the award for Best Cinematography. 

This Sucks (2025) centers around a group of college freshmen who must save their school from a fraternity of vampires. The film is Hankenson’s largest-scale project to date, including an ensemble cast of about 50 people. 

“I reached out to the six main cast members as I was conceptualizing the film. I didn’t even have a script at that point, and I was like, ‘I have an idea, do you trust me?’ and they were like ‘Yeah, we’re on board,’ and I said ‘thank God!’ Because I love writing with my actors in mind, with how they’re going to say things. When I was asking them, I was like, ‘Please say yes, because I can’t think of anyone else to write these parts for!” laughs Hankenson. 

The horror/comedy is currently about 16 minutes long; however, Hankenson does plan to develop it into a feature film.   

“I can’t picture myself doing anything else,” states Hankenson. “I love writing and directing and creating these worlds that exist on screen for people to enjoy. I think it’s so much fun.” 

But aside from his creative ambition and passion for filmmaking, Hankenson credits his family, above all else, for providing him the space to follow his dream. 

“There’s so much to do all the time, that I appreciate that they’re able to support me in all the ways that they do, because I wouldn’t be able to do it without that,” expresses Hankenson.

Now, with so many projects already behind him and even more ahead, Hankenson’s advice to other young creatives is simple: write what you know. And if that doesn’t work, write what you can. 

“When I’m writing a big, big project, I don’t write with stipulations in mind, like budget or anything like that. But, when I’m writing something that I know I can film and want to film, I write it practically,” states Hankenson. “If I could offer any advice, I would say specifically to writers and directors, if you’re planning on doing a project, write it and direct it practically.

He adds, “Keep innovating, keep creating, keep doing it as you can, because the best part of tight budgets on independent stuff is how much financial burden breeds innovation.” 

In terms of his personal filmmaking signature, Hankenson wants to leave a distinct impact on audiences, as he hopes they will come to expect the unexpected from his films, and always leave with a fresh perspective. 

“I don’t want my work to all feel the same, and I don’t think it does. But I want you to be able to know, ‘This was Colin, he did this,’” expresses Hankenson. “[…] I want people to look at my work and see the spectacle, but always be able to see the narrative of change happening.” 

And as the lead of his own story, Hankenson is choosing to take only one direction: up 

“There are places in my life that I am currently at the lowest, and there are places that I’m very very, very high up,” says Hankenson. “I think the only direction that you can ever really go is up. Because stuff is always going to keep knocking you down, but if you are determined to make things work, you’re going to keep trying to go back up. […] I think up is the only place I have left to go. I have more ideas; I have more things I want to do. I don’t feel finished.”    

Photos courtesy of Colin Hankenson | Interviewed on May 28, 2026