Joel Moffett was raised on the island of Maui where he graduated high school from Seabury Hall. He holds an MFA in Film Directing from the American Film Institute and an MFA in Theatre Directing from Humboldt State University.
Collectively, his films have screened in hundreds of festivals all over the world. Top honors have been received at the Los Angeles International Film Festival, the Palm Springs International Shortfest, the Uppsala International Short Film Festival, the Nashville Film Festival, the Aspen Shortfest, Cinequest, Clermont-Ferrand, the Washington D.C. Independent Film Festival, World-Fest Houston, the CINE Awards, the Chris Awards, the London Independent Film Festival, the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival, the Toronto Independent Film Festival, the Student Academy Awards, the Student Emmy Awards, and UFVA among others. He has received grants from the NEA, the NEH (through UHM), the AFI, the Tides Foundation, the Lane Family Foundation, and the Colin Higgins Foundation.
While in Los Angeles, Joel taught screenwriting and Directing at the American Film Institute for nine years. During this time he also taught screen acting, production, and directing classes for the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University.
Joel was part of the initial hire of full-time ACM faculty in 2005, whose charge it was to help launch a new film program. In this capacity, he was awarded a Chancellor’s Citation for Meritorious Teaching, and currently serves as an Associate Professor.
Email: moffett@hawaii.edu
Phone: (808) 956-3918
