Colleen C Brady
Colleen C Brady is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, photographer, and seasoned commercial editor. Their work explores transformation and community identity, telling stories of resilience and hope that add nuance to people and places too often reduced to stereotypes.
Their debut feature documentary, Firebird: Built to Burn (2023), won three Best Director awards and two Best Picture awards at festivals and is now streaming on Prime Video and Apple TV. Their follow-up short, Amish Country Queer (2025), has won three Best Documentary awards and serves as a proof of concept for an upcoming feature. As a commercial editor, they have earned two Telly Awards. In 2026, the LGBT Center of Central PA named them Artist of the Year.
Outside the editing bay, Brady can be found taking a spontaneous road trip, kayaking, or watching a movie.
Little Echo Productions
Little Echo Productions is a Pennsylvania-based production company that tells stories of resilience and hope, built through artistry and community.
Places like Kensington and Appalachian towns are too often reduced to headlines and stereotypes. We bring nuance to the conversation by documenting the full humanity of individuals and communities, including their struggle, resourcefulness, humor, and hope. In a world drawn toward pessimism and isolation, our work shows that creativity and togetherness can light the way through even the darkest of times.
We approach every project as a long-term relationship grounded in trust, patience, and care. The people at the center of each film help shape how their story is told, so we honor lived experience and never sensationalize it.
Our work extends well beyond production. We design impact campaigns and host speaking series and community events that carry each film back to its place of origin and to new audiences. These programs open space for dialogue, deepen understanding across divides, and strengthen the bonds that help communities endure. Through documentary storytelling, Little Echo Productions preserves local history and challenges flattening narratives.
C.V.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2024 - Present Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer, Documentary, Little Echo Productions LLC
2020 - 2025 Director/Producer, Firebird: Built to Burn (2023), Documentary, Little Echo Productions LLC
2018 - 2020 Director/Producer, Geronimo the Series (2019), Documentary Series, Little Echo Productions LLC
2019 - Present Commercial Editor & Post-Production Manager
2024 Adjunct Film Professor, Fairleigh Dickinson University
2019 - 2024 Guest Lecturer for Honors Seminar, Fairleigh Dickinson University
FILM SCREENINGS
2026 Temple University Educational Screening, Philadelphia, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 717 Arts Community Center, Community Screening, Harrisburg, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, Educational Screening, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 The Fabulous Independent Film Festival, Sarasota, FL, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 CampOUT Poconos, East Stroudsburg, PA, Community Screening, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Philadelphia Fringe Fest Screening Event, Philadelphia, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 OUT at the Movies Int’l Film Festival, Winston-Salem, NC, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Grove & Pines Film Festival, Fire Island, NY, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Bridgeport Film Festival, Bridgeport, CT, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Susquehanna LGBTQ Film Festival, Harrisburg, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 GLO Harrisburg Annual Conference Screening, Harrisburg, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Lehigh Valley Pride Community Screening, Bethlehem, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Pride Center of New Jersey Community Screening, Highland Park, NJ, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Lucky Skipper Community Screening, Ashley, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 York County History Center Community Screening, York, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Harrisburg Fringe Fest Screening Event, Harrisburg, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Oasis Youth Center Community Screening, Tacoma, WA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 The Angel Hour Drag Show Community Screening, Lancaster, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Zoetropolis Limited Theatrical Run, Lancaster, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Queer West Film Fest, Missoula, MT, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 GLADLAW Community Screening, Boston, MA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 R.I.S.E. Queer Expressions Community Screening, St. Petersburg, FL, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 York Pride Pop-Off Community Screening, York, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Queer Showcase Community Screening, Houston, TX, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Lancaster Fringe Fest Screening Event, Lancaster, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Rehoboth Film Festival, Rehoboth, DE, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 GSA Leadership Summit Screenings, Carlisle, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 The Grotto York Community Screening, York, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Reel Teal Film Festival, Wilmington, NC, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 York College Educational Screening, York, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2026 Eastern PA Trans Equity Project Community Screening, Scranton, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2025 Red Rose Film Festival, Lancaster, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2025 CampOUT Poconos Community Screening, East Stroudsburg, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2025 Appalachian Queer Film Festival, Shepherdstown, WV, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2025 Backyard Docs Film Festival, Pittsburgh, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2025 Woods Hole Film Festival, Woods Hole, MA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2025 Southside Film Festival, Bethlehem, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2025 Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival, Jim Thorpe, PA, Director/Producer, Amish Country Queer
2025 Oil Valley Film Festival, Oil City, PA, Director/Producer, Firebird: Built to Burn
2024 Pottstown Film Festival, Pottstown, PA, Director/Producer, Firebird: Built to Burn
2024 Northeast PA Film Festival, Waverly, PA, Director/Producer, Firebird: Built to Burn
2024 Mountain Maryland Film Festival, Cumberland, MD, Director/Producer, Firebird: Built to Burn
2024 Zoetropolis Limited Theatrical Release, Lancaster, PA, Director/Producer, Firebird: Built to Burn
2024 UCPAC Film Festival, Rahway, NJ, Director/Producer, Firebird: Built to Burn
2024 Atlanta Docufest, Atlanta, GA, Director/Producer, Firebird: Built to Burn
2024 Poppy Jasper Int’l Film Festival, Hollister, CA, Director/Producer, Firebird: Built to Burn
2024 DocUtah Int’l Film Festival, St. George, UT, Director/Producer, Firebird: Built to Burn
2023 Theatrical Premiere, Phoenixville, PA, Director/Producer, Firebird: Built to Burn
AWARDS & GRANTS
2026 Artist of the Year Award, LGBT Center of Central PA
2026 Best Documentary Directing Nomination from Bridgeport Film Festival for Amish Country Queer (Short)
2026 Best Documentary Short from OUT at the Movies Int’l Film Festival for Amish Country Queer (Short)
2025 Best Documentary Award by Red Rose Film Festival for Amish Country Queer (Short)
2025 Best Short Documentary Award by Appalachian Queer Film Festival for Amish Country Queer (Short)
2025 Best Documentary Award by Jim Thorpe Independent Film Festival for Amish Country Queer (Short)
2025 Patron’s Circle Grant from Seed&Spark for Amish Country Queer (Feature)
2025 Best Picture Award by Oil Valley Film Festival for Firebird: Built to Burn (2023)
2024 Best Director Award by Northeast PA Film Festival for Firebird: Built to Burn (2023)
2024 Best Cinematography Award by Northeast PA Film Festival for Firebird: Built to Burn (2023)
2024 Director’s Circle Award by Poppy Jasper Int’l Film Festival for Firebird: Built to Burn (2023)
2024 Best Director Award by Atlanta Docufest for Firebird: Built to Burn (2023)
2024 Best Editing Nomination by DocUtah Int’l Film Festival for Firebird: Built to Burn (2023)
2024 Silver Telly Award: Social Video for “What Dad Really Wants for Christmas” Commercial
2021 Grant from The Film Fund for Firebird: Built to Burn
2020 Best Documentary Web Series Award by Astoria Film Festival for Geronimo the Series (2019)
2019 Bronze Telly Award: Social Video for “Santa’s Got a Pair” Commercial
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
2026 Speaker, Temple University
2026 Speaker, GSA Leadership Summit, Dickinson College
2026 Speaker, York College
2026 Speaker, GLO Harrisburg Annual Conference
2024 Speaker, UCPAC Film Festival
PHOTOGRAPHY, PUBLICATIONS & RESIDENCIES
2024 Pile Press: Issue #8, Photography Featured: “Undercurrent” (2024)
2023 Pile Press: Issue #7, Photography Featured: “Paired” (2022) & “Entry” (2020)
2023 Malposition Magazine: Issue #2, Photography Featured: “To Be Continued” (2020)
2022 The Ana: Issue #9, Photography Featured: “No Clear Path” (2021) & “Haze” (2021)
2021 Malposition Magazine: Issue #1, Photography Featured: “Shallows” (2020)
2020 Ramblr: Issue #3, Photography Featured: “Crossings” (2019)
2019 The Spruce Art Residency
EDUCATION
2018 Fairleigh Dickinson University, B.A. in Film; Post-Production Concentration, Summa Cum Laude