JOHN VARKADOS is a Korean American filmmaker and U.S. Veteran born in Seoul and was adopted and raised in Pennsylvania. Varkados’ latest feature AYE, MA’AM is currently in-development. The script is currently being proposed as his thesis to obtain his second MFA at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Dramatic Writing.

Varkados’ grad student short film AN AMERICAN SUNSET was nominated for the 2023 Webby Awards, won an honorable mention for the December 2022 Best Student Film at the Los Angeles Film Awards, and nominated for the October 2022 Best Student Film at the New York International Film Awards. Varkados’ first production and thesis at Boston University won the 2020 Telly Awards, 2020 Asian American International Film Festival, and 2020 Independent Shorts Awards. Varkados’ first full length feature he produced and managed won the 2021 Sweden Film Awards and 2021 Silicon Valley African Film Festival.

Varkados has directed and produced fiction and television for Netflix, Discovery, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and Tubi. He has promoted diversity in the arts by mentoring youth visual storytellers through programs like iD Tech, iPOP!, and Boston University. He graduated from Berklee College of Music and received an MFA from Boston University.