Garrett Batty

Garrett Batty is an American film director, writer, and producer known for his film The Saratov Approach. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and a native of Park City, Utah. Batty began making short films. He attended Park City High School and often attended the Sundance Film Festival. In both high school and college, Batty participated in acting, improv comedy, and filmmaking. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His short film "#Pound# 646" was shown at the 2008 LDS Film Festival and later compiled into the Best of LDS Film Festival 2008 DVD. In 2009 he wrote, directed, and produced Scout Camp, a movie about a group of boy scouts starring Shawn Carter and Kirby Heyborne. According to Batty, the film produced enough money to "pay back all of [its] investors." It was released on October 9, 2013, and grossed $2.1 million; it was Batty's first theatrical release. After Saratov 's success, Batty released another film documenting a true story about LDS missionaries, Freetown, in 2015. Filmed in six weeks in Ghana, it depicts the missionaries' struggles during the First Liberian Civil War. Batty worked alongside screenwriter Melissa Leilani Larson on Freetown, for which they were awarded the 2015 Ghana Movie Award for Best Screenplay. about the imprisonment of Joseph Smith, told from lesser-known jailer Samuel Tillery's perspective. It grossed $265,279.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Winner of the 2014 Filmed in Utah Award for Best Screenplay (The Saratov Approach) Winner of the 2014 Filmed in Utah Award for Best Director (The Saratov Approach) Winner of the 2014 Filmed in Utah Award for Best Feature Film (The Saratov Approach) Winner of the 2014 AML Award (film category) (The Saratov Approach) Winner of the 2015 Ghana Movie Award for Best Screenplay (Freetown, with Melissa Leilani Larson) Nominated for the 2015 Ghana Movie Award for Directing (Freetown) Nominated for the 2015 Ghana Movie Award for Best Picture (Freetown) Finalist for the 2015 AML Award (film category) (Freetown) Nominated for the 2016 Black Reel Award for Best Foreign Film (Freetown) Nominated for the 2016 Nigerian Entertainment Award for Best Picture (Non-Nigerian) (Freetown) Finalist for the 2019 AML Award (narrative-feature-film category) (Out of Liberty)