Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr. is an award-winning African American writer and film director born and raised in Leimert Park, Los Angeles. Inspired by social issues, character studies and crime films from the 70s, 80s and 90s, Bryian’s work often examines the elusive question: what drives people to do bad things?

Bryian’s first feature film, Cinnamon (2023), is a stylish thriller and heist movie that tells the story of a struggling small-town gas attendant who will do whatever it takes to make her Hollywood dreams come true. Directing from his original screenplay with an all-Black cast, Cinnamon is the first movie produced under Tubi and Village Roadshow’s new Black Noir Cinema initiative, a program created to spotlight and support young Black filmmakers making modern-day Black exploitation movies.

Prior to shooting Cinnamon, Bryian wrote and directed two award-winning short films: Chickens (2017), a powerful critique of police brutality and institutionalized racism, and Good Guy With A Gun (2020), a biting satire told from the perspective of a narcissistic incel that aims to spark conversation around gun control and toxic masculinity in America. Both films are a part of Bryian’s own brand Alternative Horror, a media company launched in 2016 that infuses current events into horror films in order to highlight social issues in American culture. Bryian is passionate about using horror genre tropes to tackle taboo subjects and make social commentary in order to bring about political and social change. In his own words: “I like to make movies that scare me; it just so happens America's past, present, and future are my biggest fears.”