ABOUT US
Paper Horse Pictures is an award-winning independent production company founded in 2017. With a focus on empowering distinctive creative voices to tell ambitious stories, the company develops, finances, and produces independent films of every size.
Parker Croft / Co-founder
Parker Croft is an American director and screenwriter known for portraying flawed, conflicted characters and exploring themes of mortality and love through a bold, voyeuristic visual style. His short film As Easy As Closing Your Eyes (2024) won 144 awards across more than 200 festivals, including 16 for Best Director. His additional credits include The Liars of Black Mountain Road (2026), produced by Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin and premiered at the Cinequest Film Festival, the animated stop-motion film Hell (2026), which premiered at Animation Dingle, and his debut short Suncatcher (2019), which screened at 62 festivals and received 13 awards. He also co-wrote the feature Falling Overnight (2011), winner of the Cinequest Special Jury Prize. Croft co-founded the production company Paper Horse Pictures, based in West Hollywood, in 2017, has directed music videos for artists including The All-American Rejects, and has served as a festival judge at the Hollywood Shortsfest and the Starling Film Festival.
ELISA Croft / Co-founder
Elisa Croft is a screenwriter and producer with over twenty years of experience in film and television. She co-founded Paper Horse Pictures with Parker Croft instead of going on their honeymoon and has been producing distinctive, award-winning work ever since, including the music video Send Her to Heaven by The All-American Rejects, the narrative short The Liars of Black Mountain Road, and Hell, the first stop-motion animated installment in the Hard Times anthology. Beyond film, she is a CPG marketing expert who co-founded First Friday CPG, writes for The Spaghetti Test, and is currently working on her first novel.