Tamar Halpern
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Tamar Halpern has written and directed twelve features, including a slate of female-driven thrillers for A&E Networks. Her feature doc Llyn Foulkes One Man Band had an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run in 25 US cities and abroad, then aired on Netflix for three years. ("A joy to watch," The Hollywood Reporter. "Undeniably fascinating," Variety.)
Halpern wrote and directed the YA feature Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life starring Mira Sorvino, Michael Urie and Joe Pantoliano. Prior work includes the award-winning feature Shelf Life, which introduced Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad) and was called "a whip smart film that taps into a fresh source for American comedy" by Variety. Her comedy short Death Taxes and Apple Juice has been invited to 40+ festivals, winning 16 awards including Boston Women in Comedy.
In 2022, she was hired by HBOMax to adapt the YA book The Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus for television. 2023, she signed a two-book deal with Diogenes Press in Zurich Switzerland. Her novel, California Girl, published in 2024. Previously, Halpern adapted Some of Tim's Stories, a novel by S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders, Rumble Fish). She optioned and adapted the YA book A Mango Shaped Space by New York Times bestselling YA author Wendy Mass, about a 13 year old girl with synesthesia who sees sound and music. As the first person authorized by the Roald Dahl estate to write in his voice, she created a slate of interactive stories for Nestle. She's also adapted several true life stories for screen, including a script about the legendary journalist Nellie Bly for Paramount Studios, now under option with Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa Pictures and Sobini Films.
Her script Ezzy Fish was on the Black List, a Nicholl's semi finalist, IFP/NY Top Ten finalist, Slamdance Finalist, Sundance Finalist and in Film Independent's Producer and Director Labs. She's the recipient of the Paramount Pictures Fellowship and the winner of the Jack Oakie Comedy Screenwriting Award, while completing her MFA in film from USC. On stage, she's written and directed for One Axe Plays, Public Assembly, Hero Theatre, InHouse Theatre, The Roots and Wings Project and the Houston Coalition Against Hate.
Her fiction and non fiction has been published in Joyland, Huffington Post, Retro, SheRa, ByLine, Ms in the Biz, Gulf Coast and Sundress, winning the Best Short Fiction award. She's written/directed commercials for DeBeers, Pepsi, YSL, EventBrite, Amazon and Armani, teaches screenwriting at USC and is a proud alumna of Hedgebrook, a funded writing retreat where women author change. She teaches directing at Chapman University.
Halpern wrote and directed the YA feature Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life starring Mira Sorvino, Michael Urie and Joe Pantoliano. Prior work includes the award-winning feature Shelf Life, which introduced Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad) and was called "a whip smart film that taps into a fresh source for American comedy" by Variety. Her comedy short Death Taxes and Apple Juice has been invited to 40+ festivals, winning 16 awards including Boston Women in Comedy.
In 2022, she was hired by HBOMax to adapt the YA book The Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus for television. 2023, she signed a two-book deal with Diogenes Press in Zurich Switzerland. Her novel, California Girl, published in 2024. Previously, Halpern adapted Some of Tim's Stories, a novel by S.E. Hinton (The Outsiders, Rumble Fish). She optioned and adapted the YA book A Mango Shaped Space by New York Times bestselling YA author Wendy Mass, about a 13 year old girl with synesthesia who sees sound and music. As the first person authorized by the Roald Dahl estate to write in his voice, she created a slate of interactive stories for Nestle. She's also adapted several true life stories for screen, including a script about the legendary journalist Nellie Bly for Paramount Studios, now under option with Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa Pictures and Sobini Films.
Her script Ezzy Fish was on the Black List, a Nicholl's semi finalist, IFP/NY Top Ten finalist, Slamdance Finalist, Sundance Finalist and in Film Independent's Producer and Director Labs. She's the recipient of the Paramount Pictures Fellowship and the winner of the Jack Oakie Comedy Screenwriting Award, while completing her MFA in film from USC. On stage, she's written and directed for One Axe Plays, Public Assembly, Hero Theatre, InHouse Theatre, The Roots and Wings Project and the Houston Coalition Against Hate.
Her fiction and non fiction has been published in Joyland, Huffington Post, Retro, SheRa, ByLine, Ms in the Biz, Gulf Coast and Sundress, winning the Best Short Fiction award. She's written/directed commercials for DeBeers, Pepsi, YSL, EventBrite, Amazon and Armani, teaches screenwriting at USC and is a proud alumna of Hedgebrook, a funded writing retreat where women author change. She teaches directing at Chapman University.
