Steven Hatathlie Tallas is an Navajo Award-Winning Filmmaker known for his debut feature film, 2020’s Rez Dogs. Which was shown around the world and won several awards, including best feature film. Growing up on the Navajo Nation, Steven wanted nothing more than to see someone like himself starring in the movies he enjoyed most. With his penchant for storytelling and love of cinema, it’s no surprise that he found his calling in filmmaking.
He began creating films as a teenager on the Rez, learning from online resources and his experiences as an extra on film sets throughout New Mexico and Arizona. Paired with his passion for sharing his heritage, Steven uses filmmaking to create opportunities for fair representation of the Navajo Nation in art and media. His goal is to share the stories and the humanity of Native Americans that Hollywood has often overlooked. Through his work, Steven also hopes to create films with messages and characters that younger generations can identify with, films that he hopes will make his younger self proud.
He was the proud recipient of the Senator John Pinto Grant. He also partnered with Jon Proudstar of Reservation Dogs to create a short film called Second Sunrise using the Vision Maker Short Film Grant. He was also a part of several Native American Media Alliance’s fellowships including the Feature Filmmakers Lab and the Writers Seminar. He is now in the post-production of Second Sunrise and in preproduction for a documentary called Surviving the Heat looking at the engineering of Hogan a Navajo traditional dwelling which will be premiered on PBS NOVA. Visit StevenHatathlie.com to learn more about his projects and screenplays.