Whitney Skauge

WHITNEY SKAUGE (they/them) is Director/Editor working in documentary film. Over the past decade, Skauge has worked and collaborated with film studios, media companies, and non-profits including: two-time Academy Award® winning Breakwater Studios, Lena Waithe's Hillman Grad, Patrisse Cullors' Abolitionist Entertainment, Youtube, The Sundance Institute, Women In Film and Interloper Films. Skauge is currently a film mentor, teaching, uplifting, and supporting the next generation of filmmakers at the youth media non-profit Spy Hop. Their debut short film, The Beauty President, honors AIDS activist and drag artist Terence Alan Smith. The film premiered at SXSW in March 2021 and was produced by Academy Award®-winning company Breakwater Studios and Executive Produced by Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani of Hillman Grad Productions. Highlighted screenings include the BlackStar Film Festival, AFI Docs, Frameline: San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, the Camden International Film Festival, Outfest: Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival, Hollyshorts, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, and dozens of other festivals around the world. In addition to festivals, The Beauty President was shown in art institutions such as The Leslie Lohman Museum in New York City, The Fowler Museum at UCLA, and The Crenshaw Dairy Mart in Los Angles. In October 2021, the film launched the inaugural short documentary program at the Los Angeles Times, LA Times Short Docs.