Biography

Riles Lamar Hinson (born August 16, 2004) is an American filmmaker, actor, and singer. Graduating from the University of Northwestern - St. Paul with a degree in film, he has often worked with fellow students on projects even after graduation. Most notably, he co-directed "Unsuitable" (2023) and "GLARE" (2025) with frequent collaborators: Ian Porter and Landon Groen. Riles's films have won multiple awards at a handful of film festivals. In 2023, "Unsuitable" won the Audience Choice, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor Awards at the Five16 Film Festival. In 2024, his solo directorial debut (for short films), "Entropy" won the Best Cinematography Award at the Five16 Film Festival and the Best Narrative Short Award at the Intercollegiate Film Festival put on by the Twin Cities Film Festival. Riles currently works as a filmmaker on staff at River Valley Church in Minnesota. He is also working on building his freelance portfolio, with hopes to direct more films in the near future. In 2026, he acted in a film directed by Ian Porter, "CASH OUT!" which has been accepted into two film festivals so far.