Chad Alexander Hartigan was born in Nicosia, Cyprus on August 31, 1982, the son of an Irish father from Limerick and an American mother from Sparks, Nevada.
His parents met as Christian missionaries at a Youth with a Mission camp in England, where they were married before relocating to Nicosia.
He graduated and was accepted to the North Carolina School of the Arts, the only college he applied to.
Hartigan's first feature as director, Luke and Brie Are on a First Date, premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 2008 and went on to spawn an Argentine remake in 2013 called Luna en Leo, which was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay by the Argentine Academy of Cinematography Arts and Sciences Awards.
In 2014, Hartigan returned to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival to serve on the Independent Camera jury.