Todd Stephens

Todd Stephens is an American film director, writer, and producer. He was raised in Sandusky, Ohio, which has served as the setting for several of his films in what he calls his "Ohio Trilogy" or "Sandusky Trilogy". Many of his films are gay-themed.
Stephens studied film at New York University. He both wrote and produced the autobiographical coming out film Edge of Seventeen, which was released in 1998 and is based on his own experiences as a gay teenager in Sandusky in the 1980s.
He made his directorial debut with Gypsy 83 in 2001, a road film about two goth outcasts traveling from Sandusky to New York City. After facing pressure to make more mainstream films, Stephens directed Another Gay Movie and its sequel Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild!, which premiered at the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco.
After a twelve-year hiatus from directing, during which he worked as a college professor, Stephens returned with Swan Song, which completed his Ohio Trilogy. The film stars Udo Kier as a retired gay hairdresser inspired by a real-life Sandusky figure named Pat Pitsenbarger. The film premiered at South by Southwest in 2021 and received nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Male Lead.