| Brandon Sonnier was born to a young, single mother in Houston, Texas where he
spent many of his formative years in Trinity Gardens, a tough neighborhood sandwiched
between Houston’s notorious 3rd and 5th wards. At age 10, Brandon’s mother moved the
family to the quiet, country town of Hempstead, Texas. It was in Hempstead that
Brandon was first introduced to creative writing and storytelling through his participation
in Odyssey of the Mind, an international education program that provides creative
problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Through
his 10 minute written skits with this well-known group, Brandon became fascinated with
the idea of telling stories for large audiences.
Watching his mother hold down several jobs while raising three young children
taught Brandon that with enough determination and hard work, you can achieve anything
– even at a young age. By the time Brandon entered high school, he had already spent
countless hours shadowing independent filmmakers on small movie sets around the state
of Texas. While still in high school, Brandon wrote his first feature length screenplay and
completed several short films of his own. Through his resolve and strength of character,
he secured a full scholarship to the University of Southern California in their prestigious
School of Cinematic Arts, where he eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in
Cinema/TV – Production.
In 2003, at the age of 20 and in the middle of his sophomore year at USC,
Brandon Sonnier became one of the youngest filmmakers ever to have their feature
length film screen at the acclaimed Sundance Film Festival. THE BEAT, his debut film
that he wrote, produced and directed, told the story of an aspiring hip hop artist struggling
to find his path in life. Brandon went on to win multiple awards for excellence in writing
and directing for his work on THE BEAT, including “Best First Feature” at the Pan
African Film Festival in Los Angeles. The summer before his senor year at USC,
Brandon wrote, produced and directed a commercial for NIKE entitled PRACTICE that
received much praise within the commercial directing community. After graduation,
Brandon directed his second feature film THE LIST, a romantic comedy starring Wayne
Brady, Sydney T. Poitier, Illeana Douglas and Flex Alexander. THE LIST premiered as
an ABC Family Original Movie in May of 2007 and garnered three NAACP Image
Award nominations, including “Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic
Special.”
Brandon is currently in post-production on his third feature film, BLUES, which
he also wrote and produced. Independently financed, BLUES was shot in and around Los
Angeles in nine days for $65,000 in the Fall of 2007. With an ensemble cast of up-andcoming
actors, BLUES is a gritty thriller that follows two friends as they make a decision
that will forever change their lives.
Brandon lives in Los Angeles with his wife Sarah and his dog Tanner, an adorable
pit-bull mix. |
