Sophia Banks defined herself as a director with the award-winning short she shot for Christian Siriano, Making It On Time, featuring women wearing couture gowns skateboarding through the moody streets and industrial back alleys of Downtown Los Angeles. This short was nominated for over 15 awards including winning Film Fest Miami and being nominated for Best Short, Best Fashion Film, and Best Director at film festivals around the world including: Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, Moët & Chandon Tribeca Film Festival, Berlin and Milano Fashion Film Festivals, Los Angeles Film Awards and many more.
She also directed and won awards for many commercials for such brands as: Pepsi, BMW, Target, Doritos and Ford as well as fashion films with Pam & Gela, Ralph and Russo, Valentino, GenLuxe Magazine and several music videos.
Her background is from 15 years in fashion prior to film, founding legendary store Satine and winning multiple awards including Vogue Australia Top Fashion Export and Harper Bazaar Fashion Leader many years in a row. She then launched her fashion line Whitley Kros worn by many celebrities and touted by Forbes as Top Ten Designers on The Rise.
But she craved more and after years of creative directing she moved to her final goal, film directing, with study at schools like USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, UCLA and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.
A stint shadowing famed German director Wim Wenders sealed the deal and Banks dove head-first into her most meaningful adventure as a fearless female director.
In addition, she is hard at work on several films, the first of which—a short titled, “Unregistered”—will be released in 2018. Other exciting projects include a digital series currently in development about the dark side of social media. She also is creating a feature film about Artificial Intelligence to be shot in the first half of 2018.
A self-professed “tech geek” who loves cameras and has a knack for visual effects, Banks epitomizes the brazen, forthright nature of unstoppable women everywhere and brings unparalleled beauty and style to each project bearing her name.
