“You’re never too old to reinvent yourself.”
KELLY KRAUSE is a genre filmmaker with a background in archaeology, burlesque and witchcraft.
After more than fourteen years in the archaeological sector, working with projects and institutions that include the Egyptian Ministry of State of Antiquities, UNESCO, History Channel, Discovery Channel and the Qatari Royal Family, Kelly was ready for her next adventure. Returning to her creative roots in theater, she took up burlesque. Fast forward a couple of years and Kelly was writing a short script for her next act—she was hooked!
Kelly’s screenplays are among the Top 1% of the Coverfly Red List, and have placed highly in PAGE, Screencraft, Roadmap Writers, GenreBlast, and Table Read My Screenplay, among others.
As a director, Kelly's focus is on creating empathy, especially amidst uncomfortable backdrops or circumstances. Her psychological horror short, Storage (2023), was backed by Couper Samuelson, President of Feature Films at Blumhouse (Get Out, Whiplash, M3GAN). The film won Best Dark Drama at Oregon Screams Horror Film Festival and was a finalist in several other festivals around the world. Kelly is also a guest director on the forthcoming web series Bernadette the Brave — she and her teammates completed 32 shots within a five-hour window, and they did it with smiles on their faces.
Kelly is the Co-founder of Nyx Horror Collective, a producer for 13 Minutes of Horror Film Festival, which streams on SHUDDER, and a Co-Founder of the Stowe Story Labs/Nyx Horror Collective Fellowship, which benefits a woman-identifying horror screenwriter. She and her co-producers at Nyx were awarded Best Short Film by the 2022 Rondo Hatton Awards (a.k.a. "the horror Oscars") for 13 Minutes of Horror: Sci-Fi, the only women-led project nominated in that category.
Kelly is currently developing her own production company, Dark Coven, which aims to develop an equity-driven, co-op style production model for indie genre projects from underrepresented voices.
Kelly fenced sabre for Boston University and was previously scouted for the Egyptian National Boxing Team, but don't worry, she prefers to kill you with kindness rather than with her hands (or sword!). She is also a practicing witch and isn't afraid to use her powers for good. Firmly into her fourth decade, Kelly's journey has taught her to never wait for permission to create and that you're never too old to reinvent yourself — go get it!