He grew up in New York City then attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and Columbia University, where he graduated from in 2001 with a BA in English and Film. He has written and directed four short films including Four Lean Hounds (2003), which he directed right out of Columbia, then The Westerner (2010), and his other shorts _Yes (2011)_ and _Citation (2012)_, which were each made on a budget of five hundred dollars before directing his first feature. Aside from screenwriting and directing, he also writes for the theater including a play entitled "Remission". He spends his time between Los Angeles and New York.