Stein was born in
Dallas,
Texas. The oldest of four, he began making films as a child on VHS camcorders with his siblings, which evolved into making half-hour movies in his teenage years with his school friends. He graduated from
Hillcrest High School and the
Business Honors Program (BHP) at the
University of Texas at Austin. In 2011 he made the short film,
Wayfarer as part of his admission into
Art Center College of Design, where he pursued an
MFA in
directing and studied under
Allen Daviau. As a student, he won a Silver Addy Award at the
American Advertising Awards. Beyond his student work, Stein made the film,
Tumble Dry Low in 2015 on a shoe-string budget of $1,500. It premiered at the
Seattle International Film Festival,
Tallinn Black Night Film Festival, and
San Diego International Film Festival, winning the Gold Remi award in the Live Action Narrative category at the 48th
WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. It was featured on Short of the Week and released by Omeleto, where it received over 2.5 million views. With the film, Stein was included in the 2015
Shoot "New Director's Showcase." Stein's 2015
television advertisement for
American Airlines was included in
Shoot's "Best Work You May Never See." In 2016, he directed documentary shorts featuring
UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks and
UFC contender
Donald Cerrone. In 2018, Stein directed documentary shorts for
VICE featuring
NBA basketball player Courtney Lee and
Olympic gold medalist Candace Parker about becoming the first female athlete to
slam dunk in a basketball game. In 2020, Stein's script, ''Man in the Maze (I'itoi)
, a narrative feature set in the same world as Burros,
was selected as a quarterfinalist for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. In 2021, his short film, Burros'', premiered at the 20th Annual
Tribeca Film Festival after it was developed through fiscal sponsorship by
Film Independent. The film stars a cast of first-time actors from the
Tohono O'odham Nation, where it is set and focuses on the Tohono O'odham living on the
Mexico–United States border,
immigration, and the
Mexican drug war. The film qualified for the 95th Annual
Academy Awards following its Jury Award win in the Live Action Short category at the 25th Annual
New York International Children's Film Festival. The festival jury included
Uma Thurman,
Geena Davis,
Matthew Modine, and
Kyle MacLachlan. Stein lives in
Los Angeles. == Filmography ==