Hali Gardella is an independent film and commercial director based in Los Angeles and has worked across advertising, film, and TV for 12 years. Her work is playful and full of color, often combining a documentary-style approach with highly stylized visuals. She loves to explore female-driven stories and contemporary art & culture.

Her branded work has won Clio and Promax awards, has been broadcast on national TV, and featured on multiple taste-making outlets (Refinery29, Architectural Digest, VICE, Bustle). Her recent clients include major brands such as Target, Ulta Beauty, Cointreau, and QuickBooks.

As a documentary filmmaker, she has produced TV series including "United States of Scandal with Jake Tapper" (CNN), “F*ck That's Delicious” (VICELAND), “RELEASED” (YouTube Originals).

Hali moved to Los Angeles in 2010, where she worked in various roles on large commercial sets for two years, and then became director's assistant to Spike Jonze. She worked with Jonze on projects including the Academy Award-winning film "Her" (2013) and the Kenzo World perfume commercial (2015).

From 2016-2019, she worked at VICELAND in Brooklyn, where she wrote, directed, and produced interstitials & promos for the TV channel.

In 2021, her comedic short film "Sirens of the Swamp" was screened at the New Orleans Film Festival and Miami International Film Festival. That same year, she directed a poetry & dance film called "Small Kindnesses", commissioned by the Sun Valley Writers Conference.