To Kill A Wolf
In a modern re-imagining of Little Red Riding Hood, a social pariah discovers a teenage runaway in the Oregon Wilderness and does his best to help her find a way home - a troubling exploration of trauma and redemption.
In a modern re-imagining of Little Red Riding Hood, a social pariah discovers a teenage runaway in the Oregon Wilderness and does his best to help her find a way home - a troubling exploration of trauma and redemption.
On the fringes of the Oregon wilderness, two strangers with troubled pasts are brought together when a reclusive Woodsman discovers a teenage runaway, Dani, hypothermic and barely conscious in the woods. After saving Dani from the elements, The Woodsman begrudgingly agrees to take the teen to her grandmother and the two become unlikely travel companions. As they make their way across the state, they forge an unexpected bond and test their abilities to trust one another. Ultimately, with each other's help, they come to face the demons that haunt them and discover a way to start their lives anew.
Raised in the wilds of Eastern Washington, Kelsey Taylor attended Loyola Marymount University where she earned a degree in Film Production and minors in both Film Studies and Music.
Kelsey's filmmaking career began as a cinematographer and camera assistant, which built a strong foundation for visual storytelling before her transition into directing. Her breakthrough sci-fi short film, ALIEN: SPECIMEN, was created through an initiative with 20th Century and has accumulated over 6 million views.
As a DGA commercial director, Kelsey has worked with brands like Volkswagen, Walmart, and Verizon her work ranges from comedy to dark world building. Southwest Airlines tapped Kelsey to direct their first branded short film, ALONE IN TOMBSTONE, a modern Western that further proved her chameleon-like ability to work in any genre.
Drawn to stories that live in the gray and allow for shifting perspectives, Kelsey's feature film, TO KILL A WOLF, which she wrote, directed and produced, is a modern reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood told through the lens of sexual grooming. The film premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in August 2024 and has gone on to win awards like, Best Directing at the Bend Film Festival, Stubbornly Independent at the Tallgrass Film Festival and Best Film at Film Fest Knox, winning an Oscar-qualifying theatrical release for the film which is slated for summer 2025.
Her next film, THE BAD THINGS, was a semifinalist in the 2022 Academy Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship competition. TO KILL A WOLF was a quarterfinalist in 2018.
Most recently, Film Independent selected Kelsey as one of six fellows in their 2024 Episodic Directing Intensive. Kelsey is represented by Bellevue and commercially by Eleanor, the only Black and woman-owned production company in the US, and most recently crowned “The 2024 Production Company to Watch” by AdAge.
World Premiere - Edinburgh International Film Festival 2024
US Premiere - Mill Valley Film Festival 2024
Austin Film Festival - 2024
Santa Barbara International Film - 2025
Bend Film Festival - 2024
Bend Film Festival - Best Director
Film Fest Knox - Best Film
Portland Film Festival - Best of Portland
Tallgrass Film Festival- Stubbornly Independent
Gasparilla International Film Festival - Grand Jury Award Best Feature Film
DP - Adam Lee
Producer - Joseph Restaino
Actress - Maddison Brown
Actor - Michael Esper
Composer - Sara Barone