EXTRA! EXTRA! The Finger Wife is an Official Selection of…

Santa Barbara Intl. Film Festival - Feb. 9th & 10th - Q&As with directors Taryn & Dan in person

Winter Film Fest in NYC - Feb. 20th & 21st - Q&A with Taryn and composer Peter Kavanaugh in person (2/21)

Fargo Film Festival - March 17-21, screening schedule TBA

Check Events page for more details!

Taryn Stickrath-Hutt is a filmmaker, painter, writer, queer feminist, exhausted mother, kitchen detective, and creative accountability coach.

I love Old Hollywood, British whodunnits, and the smell of oil paint. There’s nothing better than a relaxing day at the easel or one spent furiously brainstorming a new screenplay. And when I need to relax (or procrastinate), you’ll find me investigating overly complicated recipes in my cookbook collection, especially the retro head-scratchers that inspired my short film The Finger Wife.

I write and direct live-action films and collaborate on short animated films with my longtime creative partner, Dan Lund, a veteran Disney animator whom I met while working as an “Imagineer.” At Walt Disney Imagineering, I received a Themed Entertainment Association award for Outstanding Achievement in Attraction Design as part of the Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway team.

My professional background includes film/TV production, wardrobe/costuming, children’s musical theater direction, and theme park design. Not to mention my retail run at Borders Books & Music (RIP).

In 2025, I launched a Creative Accountability Coaching business to help procrastinators, the neurospicy, overloaded moms, and the deadline-challenged.

I live in Chicago with my husband, two cats, a bulldog named Agatha Christie, and one wild toddler.

Seeking the perfect bolognese.