Tamar Halpern has written and directed 11 feature films, including five female-driven thrillers for A&E Networks. In 2022, she sold a series to MAX based on her adaption of the YA book Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus. Her novel California Girl, about a teen girl in the 1980s, was published in September 2023.
Prior work includes adapting and directing Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life starring Mira Sorvino, Michael Urie and Joe Pantoliano. Halpern’s feature doc Llyn Foulkes One Man Band sold to Netflix (“A joy to watch” THR, “Undeniably fascinating” Variety). Shelf Life, which she wrote and directed (“A whip smart film that taps into a fresh source for American comedy” Variety) sold to Netflix and Amazon, starring Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad). Her short Death Taxes and Apple Juice, about two little girls filing their taxes while having an existential crisis, was invited to more than 40 festivals, winning 16 including Boston Women in Comedy.
Halpern’s first production job was as a PA on an Ice Cube music video (where a producer told her to “please bring Mr. Cube some ice”), followed by work as a production coordinator on music videos and commercials. To pursue her vision to write and direct, she applied to USC School of Cinematic Arts as a single mom, earning an MFA in production while managing a restaurant. While at USC, she won the Jack Oakie Comedy Screenwriting Award and the Paramount Screenwriting Fellowship.
Her script Ezzy Fish was on The Black List, a Nicholl’s semifinalist, an IFP/NY Top Ten finalist, a Sundance and Slamdance finalist, and a Film Independent Director Lab fellow. Halpern is the first person authorized by the Roald Dahl estate (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) to write in his voice when she created a slate of interactive stories for Nestle. She’s worked as a copywriter and has written and directed commercials for clients such as YSL, Amazon and DeBeers.
Awarded an American Film Showcase fellowship, she taught writing and directing in Amman, Jordan to Jordanians and Syrian refugees. She directs for Look What She Did, a non-profit that spotlights women who have been forgotten by history, founded by writer/director Julie Hebert. Halpern’s published fiction can be found in Joyland Magazine, Byline and Sundress, where she won the Best Short Fiction award for The House Where the Grifters Squat. Her nonfiction has been published in HuffPost, Gulf Coast, SheRa and Ms. in the Biz.
Halpern is a proud alumna of Hedgebrook, a funded writing retreat where women author change.