Maria Tran is a multidisciplinary creative (film director, actor, producer) from Australia, now based in Las Vegas, and the founder of Phoenix Eye Films, a female-led production company. She holds a Bachelor of Psychology.

She developed and directed the Echo 8 Trilogy, an independent action feature film series produced outside traditional industry systems and released on Amazon Prime. Rooted in microbudget filmmaking, her work emphasizes efficiency, physical storytelling, and practical execution, while centering female-led narratives within genre-driven stories.

Her early career includes work on international productions with Jackie Chan and Roger Corman, contributing to her foundation in action filmmaking. In addition to her feature work, Maria has directed short films including Operation Kung Flu, Obsidian, and Hit Girls. She received Best Director for the horror film Midnight Never Sleeps, starring Ana Thu Nguyen (Mortal Kombat 2).

Maria has delivered over 100 workshops in acting and filmmaking across Australia and internationally, and has been featured as a speaker at TEDx. She is a Community Leader with the Sundance Institute Collab program (2025–2026) and teaches at the Las Vegas Actor’s Academy.

She also works as a game show host for Family Feud Live at the MGM Grand, provides business and creative consulting for the Las Vegas business community, and leads the Vegas Asian Network.