Shea Formanes

The eldest child of a Filipina immigrant and a first-generation Filipino-American, Shea Formanes is a Seattle-based writer, filmmaker and photographer from New York City. A Dean’s Medal nominee and English Honors graduate from the University of Washington, Shea writes genre-bending stories complicated families from BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities, who heal from trauma through trust. They wrote/directed the romantic coming-of-age short film, The Kettle, the sci-fi/drama stage play, Bahay Kubo, and their award-winning debut feature film, I Watched Her Grow. Shea wrote, and is set to direct, her next short film, Diwata, which was a Finalist for the 2025 Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge through CAPE and Janet Yang Productions. Diwata was also a Finalist for the San Francisco Indiefest Screenplay Competition, a Finalist for the Nevada City Film Festival, a Semifinalist for the BlueCat Screenplay Competition, and a Quarterfinalist for the Los Angeles International Screenwriting Awards.