LOS ANGELES—Lynn Shelton, an independent filmmaker who directed “Humpday” and “Little Fires Everywhere,” has died. She was 54.
Shelton’s publicist, Adam Kersh, said in a statement on Saturday that she died on May 15 in Los Angeles from an unidentified blood disorder.
Shelton had become the leading voice of the new American independent cinema movement. She caused waves with her low-budget films, then made splashes through her work on television including “Mad Men,” “Fresh Off the Boat,” “The Mindy Project,” and “GLOW.”
She directed four episodes of the Hulu miniseries “Little Fires Everywhere,” starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.
“I wish we had made more,” Duplass said. “Her boundless creative energy and infectious spirit were unrivaled. She made me better. We butted heads, made up, laughed, pushed each other. Like family. What a deep loss.”
Shelton began her filmmaking career in her mid-30s after initially being an aspiring actor and photographer. She went on to write and direct eight feature films in the span of 14 years.
The statement said she had an “infectious laugh, was full of life and had an esprit de corps that touched many.”
Ava DuVernay said Shelton changed her life after handing her an award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012.
