Kaila Gutierrez is a Mexican-American writer and director from the Coachella Valley, based in Los Angeles. She received her M.F.A. in film directing from Chapman University, and her graduate thesis film, Touch, premiered at the New York Latino Film Festival. Touch also earned her a spot among the five selected filmmakers for the 2024 Latino Filmmakers Network Hub at Sundance. Recently, she was selected for season 2 of the Mitu x Walmart Filmmaker Mentorship Program, where she developed her short film Nana Carmen. The film showcased at the 2024 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and the Bentonville Film Festival and earned her the Best Director award at the Mexican American Film and Television Awards. Kaila is a part of the 2025 Latino Film Institute Fellowship program, sponsored by the Netflix Creative Fund, where she wrote and directed her latest short film, High Beam. Her films explore the ever-changing dynamics of personal relationships through generational, cultural, and familial divides.