Wes Hurley was born Vasili Naumenko in Vladivostok, Soviet Union. After immigrating to the U.S. with his mother, Hurley studied drama, interdisciplinary arts and film at the University of Washington. His autobiographical dark comedy, Potato Dreams of America, premiered at SXSW 2021 in Narrative Feature Competition and is currently available on VOD and DVD. He has written, directed and produced dozens of award-winning queer shorts, three feature films and two seasons of Capitol Hill, a series he created for the Huffington Post which went on to be picked up for television in Europe and Canada. Hurley is a recipient of Creative Capital Award, Seattle Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture Award, City Arts Magazine’s Artist of the Year and Advocate Magazine’s Person to Watch. His documentary short Little Potato won the Jury Prize at SXSW, along with 27 other awards around the world, and is currently streaming on Criterion Channel. (Photo by Bronwen Houck.)
