Walter Thompson-Hernández is a SouthEast Los Angeles born and raised writer/director and Sundance Lab alum. He began his career at The New York Times, where he worked as a global subculture reporter from 2018 to 2021. During that time, he authored the award-winning book The Compton Cowboys: The New Generation of Cowboys in America’s Heartland, which is currently being adapted by Searchlight Pictures. In 2021, he was named one of Variety’s “Top Ten Storytellers to Watch.” The following year, his Sundance-winning short IF I GO WILL THEY MISS ME launched development on its feature adaptation. In 2022, he was recognized by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the “25 New Faces of Film.” In 2025, Walter directed SHOOTING GUARDS, a feature-length documentary for Netflix, and debuted his first narrative feature PIPAS (KITES) at Tribeca Film Festival, where it received a Special Jury Prize for bold storytelling. He is currently in production on his third narrative feature, SPACESHIPS, set in Barcelona, Spain.