“AFI won a leading two of the eight total competitive awards tonight, with They Won’t Last from Richard C. Bailey, Brandon Gale and Portlynn Tagavi taking the Comedy prize.”
-Deadline
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Out of Tune
We follow Maya from adolescence to adulthood, hiding, stumbling and otherwise challenging what it means to be Black. A grown woman still in search of her authentic voice. Yearning to live comfortably, Out of Tune.
Director - Portlynn Tagavi
Producer - Alexis Sterling
DP - Kalilah Robinson
Writer, Producer - Erika Hamilton
EPs - Christian Loubek, Mel Jones, Kristen Gerweck
Co-Producer - Diana Zollicoffer
Production Designer - Danny Cistone
ABOUT
Portlynn Tagavi is a Writer/Director known for her distinctive approach to narrative storytelling. Originally from Chicago and Houston, she transplanted to California in 2010 to study Character Animation at CalArts, where she pulled an ungodly amount of all-nighters in order to hone her skills in visual language and narrative structure. She eventually got decent enough at it to snag a Story Internship with Pixar Animation Studios where she learned that all-nighters were just par for the course.
Before making the move to live-action directing, Portlynn worked as a Character and Story Artist for major studios such as Fox, Paramount, Psyop, the Jim Henson Company, and DreamWorks.
After earning her MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute (AFI) in 2019, Portlynn quickly established herself in live-action filmmaking. Her short film They Won't Last was shortlisted for the 2020 Student BAFTA and earned numerous accolades, including a Student Emmy for Best Comedy Short.
She also completed the festival run for Out of Tune (written by Erika Hamilton), which won the Audience Award at Dances With Films and has screened at numerous festivals including MVAAFF.
Currently, Portlynn is a 2024 Directing Fellow in Film Independent’s prestigious Project Involve Program. She recently completed post-production on her short film Mosh (written by Harim Sanchez) which will be showcased at the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival.
In addition to her live-action projects, Portlynn works as a full-time Story Artist and contributes her storytelling know-how to Netflix, where she led the 2023 Netflix Story Trainee Program.
She still pulls way too many all nighters and has developed a significant coffee addiction.
CONTACT
Please use the form below to get in touch regarding work inquiries, teaching, guest lectures, interviews, etc. Thanks!
You can also email me at PORTLYNNTAGAVI@GMAIL.COM
