I’m sharing it all — how I got financing for my first feature, how I survived the hustle and managed to pay rent, how I learned to trust my gut, push through rejections and remember the big picture. The article also includes tips from talented colleagues/friends Ry Russo Young, Erin Lee Carr, Quinn Shephard, Katja Blichfeld and others.

Sharing a few pics of my travels shooting around the world for different projects. 2018 was a big year for commercial directing. It was a whirlwind flying from India to NY to Vancouver to LA to Saudi Arabia….! I got to join the DGA this year (health insurance finally!) and work on budgets 1000x bigger than I had on my features. I learned so much about communicating with crew from different cultural backgrounds (some that barely spoke English) and the experience of filming other parts of the world was moving and eye-opening.

Vancouver has the best crew

Directing in Saudi Arabia was one for the books

Here I am location scouting in Jeddah…

My producer Oualid also had to pretend to be my husband in Saudi.

Working with DP Norm Li in Vancouver.

This one is from the Vans shoot in India. Shooting in a crowded market with DP Kevin Fletcher.

Talking about films, gender, and representation with filmmakers Crystal Mosselle and Merra Menon. Discussion moderated by Emily Yosida. At the Female Filmmaker Festival this month. Check out their website to see a video of the panel. www.fffest.org

READ THE FULL ESSAY HERE: http://www.talkhouse.com/why-women-need-tell-rape-stories/

Come here me talk about the films and ridiculous moments that lead me to my career today. Like that time I rode a horse into a strip club for a Vice shoot…

Lecturing at NYU on Thursday (11/16) at 5:30pm.  34 Stuyvesant St, Einstein Auditorium. Open to the public.

The highlights where definitely SITGES and Overlook — cause the horror film crowd is the best! We also screened in Hungary, Montreal, New York, and had a blast sharing the movie at film festivals. Still doing a few university screening. Feeling ready to start working on the next feature…

Super excited to announce that M.F.A. premiered in theaters across 14 cities in the U.S. on October 13th. It’s now available on VOD/itunes/Amazon and DVD/Blu-Ray. More about the movie and how to watch it here: www.mfamovie.com

A few photos from our premiere party at The London Hotel in West Hollywood:

I shared everything I learned while directing the rape scenes in M.F.A. with MOVIEMAKER MAGAZINE. Here’s an excerpt:

Read about it here: https://www.moviemaker.com/archives/series/how_they_did_it/how-they-did-it-mfa-rape-scene/

It’s long and we all look SUPER SERIOUS but… there were some interesting discussions here about M.F.A.

WATCH HERE

This log cabin set was fun.

Come hear me ramble about how much I love David Lynch and his gem of a movie “Blue Velvet.” The RUBIN MUSEUM invited me to pick and present a film this Friday. I see this as an odd coming-of-age story, about getting in touch with your dark side and your deeper desires, about sex as horror, about the underbelly of America — told through the beautiful surrealist vision that only David Lynch could imagine.

Get tickets here: http://rubinmuseum.org/events/event/sound-blue-velvet-08-04-2017

It’s been a four months since I premiered my feature “M.F.A” at SXSW and already so much has happened. We sold the film to multiple territories and to MPI for a theatrical domestic distribution which will happen mid-October. The film has played in festivals in Montreal, Ireland, New York, Oregon, and will soon play at Sitges in Spain. The Overlook Film Festival which takes place at the same hotel where The Shinning was shot was incredible and I met so many wonderful people who love the horror/thriller genre as much as I do.

Super excited for the film’s release in the fall. I’ll be posting invite to events and panels soon! xxo