hal whitman
writer, director
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// biography
Hal Whitman is a writer and director working in short-form narrative, based in Los Angeles. His films are built around a small cast and a single interior pressure, shot close and cut so the audience arrives at a feeling slightly before it arrives at the explanation.
stop it. (2026) is his most recent short. It follows an anxious young man whose day repeats while his own brain supplies a montage of self-help advice he never asked for. It runs 8 min and was shot over three days in Los Angeles, with a cast of six.
// director’s statement
With the dream of filmmaking in my pocket, I drove across the country from Tennessee to LA. Getting my first short film shot in under 6 months of being in town, I am overjoyed to present stop it. The film is an interpretation of my experience with mental health, social shame, and how to break the loop of self-deprecation.