Payton Burkhammer

Writer and Director

Payton Burkhammer is an award-winning indie film director based in Akron, Ohio. In 2023 she was selected for the Cleveland Indie Film Incubator, a six-month program for writer/directors with innovative script ideas to participate in workshops, receive production assistance, and fully realize their short films. She is also a founding member of Girl Set Cleveland, a group that provides free workshops to women, trans, and non-binary individuals to gain hands-on training in film production roles.

My Work

Video

Rabbit

Creator: Payton Burkhammer

Rabbit

Creator: Payton Burkhammer
Rabbits symbolize many things in our culture, like resurrection, rebirth, fertility, and luck. 'Rabbit' explores two characters dealing with opposite ends of the cycle of life—one an expectant mother, the other coping with the recent death of a parent. The unwilling neighbors must work together to dispose of the dead rabbit between their properties. Though their philosophies on death are radically different, they find a meaningful connection through caring for the rabbit's body and experience the full cycle of death and rebirth in this short story.
Video

The Back of Your Eyelids

Creator: Payton Burkhammer

The Back of Your Eyelids

Creator: Payton Burkhammer
After a recent breakup, social media obsessed Maria faces her deepest fear - spending the night alone. What will she do to pass the time? Not even she knows. Through facing her ex-boyfriend, celebrating her birthday, and a chance encounter with a delivery driver, she learns a lesson in what it means to choose yourself.