About

Daniela Castillo is a Mexican American filmmaker. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in Film, Television and Media with a Screenwriting submajor. Born in Puebla, Mexico and raised in Traverse City, Michigan, Daniela is an award-winning writer, director, poet, playwright, actor, and artist, actor, and musician.

In 2020, she won Best Script in the 9th Annual Michigan Playwright’s Festival, and the 1st place Playwrighting prize in the 2021 National Literary Magazine Competition. In 2024, Daniela was awarded the first place prize in Screenwriting at the Hopwood Writing Awards for her feature-length script, “Righteous Women,” as well as the Leonard and Eileen Newman Writing Prize for Dramatic Writing and Naomi Saferstein Literary Award. Her work has premiered at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, Lightworks Film Festival, Traverse City Film Festival, and Frankfort Film Festival.

Daniela was a 2023-2024 John H. and Patricial W. Mitchell Scholar, where she studied under Hollywood filmmakers such as Kemp Powers, Jim Burnstein, Doug Miro, Nancy Savoca, Phonz Williams, Cindy Davis, Matt Price, Jim Patterson, and Mark Cendrowski. Daniela worked for Warner Bros. Entertainment as a Marketing College Ambassador.

Daniela is a 2024 OptiMize Social Innovation Challenge participant and summer Fellow, where she wrote, directed, produced, and starred in her latest short film, “Righteous Women,” a proof-of-concept for her feature-length film of the same name. The short film will be screened in the Ann Arbor Michigan Theatre, and the Traverse City State Theatre.

Contact Daniela at castillomdaniela5@gmail.com