Vahan Bedelian is an independent filmmaker from Irvine, California best known for his short film The K-Town Killer, which premieres at Tribeca Festival in June 2023.

A common theme in Vahan’s work is a meditation on the way violence is used in film. Growing up in Irvine, the safest city in America, Vahan was rarely exposed to violence until he was jumped during his first week of college by 15 people without provocation. This pushed him to enroll in martial arts, through which he was immersed in violence. But Vahan is also a lifelong pacifist and abhors violence of all forms.

His fascination with the duality of fighting inspired him to shoot a series of documentary short films on fighters titled "Amateurs." He formed a niche as a martial arts filmmaker, and today, he makes commercial content for clients such as the UFC, PFL, and Top Rank Boxing. He attended Loyola Marymount University in 2019, from which he graduated in 2022.

Vahan rejects the celebration of violence in cinema as spectacle and seeks a more realistic depiction, not just in terms of choreography, but tone. This meditation is especially reflected in The K-Town Killer, which is about a prizefighter hiding her career from her mom, who she has to defend from an abusive landlord.