Senior Brady Hayes premieres 'The Rim 2' at Ethington Theatre
Photos by Ralph Freso
Filmmaker, storyteller, dreamer.
These are the words that served as a mantra for Brady Hayes as he discovered and grew his love for filmmaking.
Undeniable zeal and passion led Hayes to becoming one of the most produced Grand Canyon University students in the college’s film program. He has won multiple awards and, most recently, hosted his third film premiere in Ethington Theatre for "The Rim 2: Search Party."
“My dream job is to make big Hollywood movies,” Hayes said. “I am looking forward to the end, where I get to do that, but I am so much more excited for these small stepping stones to get to that.
“I like taking initiative, and I find pride in putting myself out there, trying to get things done, so this was a big test run for me. It was more about becoming a better filmmaker than just getting people to see it.”
Storytelling captivated Hayes at an early age.
From writing and drawing to making short YouTube skits with friends, he dabbled in various forms of creative art.
But a high school media production class made it clear to Hayes the creative platform he wants to pursue. He wants to reach the community through filmmaking.
“I fell in love with moviemaking. I got into this mindset of, if this is going to be a viable career, I have got to do it myself. So, I saw GCU and something about its community spoke to me.
“I pushed myself in every aspect because I had never written a script before, directed or casted. But I can’t just wait around for somebody else to be like, ‘Do you want to be in my film?’ Instead, I got to be the guy that asks people to be in my films.”
Last year, Hayes took his first big shot at filmmaking when he released “The Rim.” It's a 45-minute film featuring a group of friends who travel to Payson, Arizona, and encounter a beast that lives in the woods, the Mogollon Monster. They learn to work together and escape the danger.
After an unexpected packed Ethington house at “The Rim” premiere took Hayes by surprise, he was sure he had chosen the right career path.
Projects began to roll one after another, quickly expanding Hayes’ portfolio and skillset. From thrillers and mysteries to action and romance, his work was recognized for various efforts.
Some include Audience Choice in the 2024 GCU Film Festival for his film "Beat-Up," first place and Best Cinematography in the GCU 48 Hour Film Challenge and Best Creative Exploration for "Headspace" in the 2025 GCU Film Festival.
He has made waves outside of GCU's film community, too.
His short film "Shiver," for which he won a Bridges Larson Promising Young Filmmaker Scholarship, landed several awards and nominations in 2024 from IFP Phoenix, a nonprofit that supports and connects independent filmmakers in Arizona and is part of the Phoenix Film Foundation. He made the film in less than 10 days and wrote, directed, produced, edited, costume designed and was prop handler, casting director and lighting director.
Also, this past summer, he won the Audience Choice Award from the IFP 48 Hour Film Challenge for his film "Transference."
“I have never seen anybody so passionate about filmmaking,” Hayes’ friend, Evan Gallett, said. “He breathes and sleeps filmmaking, and his mind is always working.”
Added Michael Orr, Hayes’ friend, “Once this started getting serious for Brady, you can see the directing coming. He is just one of those people you got to follow because his passion is prominent when you are working with him.”
While premieres are not a traditional part of the college’s program, Hayes’ relentless pursuit of sharing his art and creating a community with it, led him to hit the Ethington stage again with a premiere of another self-made 2024 film, "Ghost Problems,”
But he knew what the audience really wanted was a sequel to “The Rim.”
He returned to Payson with his crew at the start of the year and rented three cabins to stage the continuation of the storyline following the same group of friends endangered in another Mogollon Monster situation.
“When we used to film our goofy YouTube videos almost 10 years ago, he would just call me and say, ‘Hey, I got an idea. Come over,’” Hayes’ friend, Bradley Widhalm said. “The improv of it was the best part, but then it just became a thing.
“From high school to now, the growth has been astonishing. It’s amazing watching him work because something pops into his head and, right away, he’s got everything visualized.”
Aside from GCU classes, Hayes spent hours on YouTube watching tutorials and teaching himself how to put together quality work. One of his go-to activities became meeting with Gallett, Orr and Widhalm to talk story ideas, research best places to shoot, how to cast the right actors and continuously create films.
Next step? Graduate from GCU in December with a plethora of films under his belt.
“This is definitely a proud moment,” dad Mike Hayes said. “To see the passion that was in him when he was young actually happening at college. As a parent, it makes you really happy to see your kid jumping into something they are passionate about.”
GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at [email protected]
