Adam Salky

Adam Salky (born 1978) is an American television and film director. He is also a discipline head in film directing at the American Film Institute.^[1] His debut film as a director was the romantic drama Dare (2009).

He was raised in New York City, and he cites the diverse population and "frenetic cityscape" as an important influence.^{[citation needed]} He graduated with a Bachelor's degree from Emory University.^[1] He did an MFA at Columbia University in the film division.^[1] During his studies at Columbia University, he directed several short films which won awards, and he received the James Bridges Award.^[2]

His feature film debut as a director was Dare, a 2009 romantic drama film written by David Brind.^[3] It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and then garnered a positive response at other film festivals.^{[citation needed]} In 2015, he directed I Smile Back, starring Sarah Silverman, based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Amy Koppelman, who wrote the screenplay with Paige Dylan. The film is about an upper-middle-class wife and mother struggling with mental illness and addiction. It premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.^{[citation needed]} In 2021 he directed the film Intrusion, starring Freida Pinto and Logan Marshall-Green.^[4]

In 2016, Salky was chosen to participate in Warner Bros. Television Directors’ Workshop. He directed three episodes of NBC’s TV show Blindspot.^{[citation needed]}

Salky worked as an advisor at Sundance Institute's Sundance Labs program. He has worked as a guest lecturer at Columbia University and University of Southern California, teaching film direction. He has also given guest lectures to high school students on film directing.^{[citation needed]}