Nicole Pouchet

(she/her) A former Broadway assistant director, Nicole Pouchet is a novelist and writer/director for the award-winning fantasy series, Strowlers. She is currently in development on the feature film, Her Mad Hatter, an adaptation of the best-selling fantasy romance novel.

Her horror/social thriller short, Retch, premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) in 2019, won Best Film at the Seattle Black Film Festival in 2020, and has shown on DirecTV, Amazon, PBS, and Alaska Airlines. Her subsequent films -- a sci-fi short called Such an Honor and a fantasy animation/live action blend called Lioness have been official selections at dozens of festivals worldwide.

Prior to filmmaking, Nicole owned a bi-coastal marketing agency with tech, entertainment, and nonprofit clients. In addition to managing her staff of ten employees, she oversaw multi-million-dollar budgets with consistently high ROI. She sold the agency in 2016 to fully focus on her craft.

A 2024 Artist Trust fellow, Nicole continues to write/direct projects that incorporate social commentary into genre film. She has served as a Board Member for Destiny City Film Festival, for Northwest Screenwriters Guild, and for Zombie Orpheus Entertainment; and as a lecturer for the University of Virginia, Clarion West, SIFF, and Women in Film.

Director’s Reel - 2024

Novels

Nicole’s fantasy romance novels have been Amazon bestsellers and won 1st place in Romance Writers Association contests. Check out her Goodreads page for more information.

Speaking and Teaching

A graduate of Duke University’s drama and film programs, Nicole teaches film and writing courses for esteemed institutions such as Clarion West, TheFilmSchool, Women In Film, Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), and the Northwest Screenwriters’ Guild (NwSG).

Courses include:

  • Adapting Prose to Film @ Clarion West

  • Afrofuturism @ SIFF

  • Great Screenplays, Great Films? @ SIFF

  • Writing Your Short Film @ Women in Film

  • Cinema DNA: GET OUT and the Black Perspective @ SIFF

  • Writing the Horror Film @ NwSG

  • Saving the World One Film at a Time @ TheFilmSchool

  • Producing for the Festival Circuit @ Seattle Film Summit