Dani Hanks (they/she) is a disabled Webby-award winning writer/director who challenges the status quo with a bit of comedic flair. Their Banff-nominated web series, “Fake News Writer,” was optioned in 2019 after winning the Webby against Hasan Minhaj and James Corden for Best Entertainment Series. Since then, they have worked on projects in development at FilmRise, RKO, and TikTok. Their work has been showcased in over 30 film festivals around the world. Most recently, their original pilot was selected for the Stowe Story Labs TV Writers’ Room.

After receiving their BFA in drama at NYU Tisch, Dani finally “came out” as a writer/director, according to friends who had “known since high school.” Major themes in Dani’s work include gender, sexuality, mental illness, and disability. A direct result of inhaling too much formaldehyde as a kid in their parents’ pathology lab, the stories they’re drawn to are often weird, darkly humorous, and off-the-beaten-track.

Dani daylights as a laboratory technician cutting animal tissue at NYU Langone, much to the dismay of their pet rats. They love baking from scratch, playing board games, writing and singing indie songs, and chatting in American Sign Language.