EXTRA! EXTRA!

Taryn is the 2026 Film Festival Director for the Cinema Femme Short Film Festival in Chicago! Submissions open via FilmFreeway.

The Finger Wife is an Official Selection of…

Winter Film Fest - NYC - named Best Animated Film!

Official Selection of Savoy Lumiere Festival with Chambana Film Society, April 2026

Official Selection of Izmir 9th International Women Filmmakers Festival (Turkey), April 2026

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

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).

I live in Chicago with my husband, two cats, and one wild toddler.

Seeking the perfect bolognese.