The North Face LOOP 5
Ashima Shiraishi narrated by Ansel Elgort. She Moves Mountains Campaign.
Directed by: Natalia Leite. Creative Director: Ruben Beddeleem. Agency: SID LEE Production Co.: Reverie Content.
Making Kiki & the Mxfits – a film about a Latinx trans rebellion LOOP 5
So much fun shooting and premiering my latest short film with this incredible cast of queer Latinx misfits. With the help of casting director Arlie Day, we reached out to the Latinx trans community in LA to cast our leads. We ended up finding Cielo Oscuro, artist and performer, to play the role of Kiki, with supporting roles from Quinn Diaz and Caroh Lemus. Neither of them had acted before but they all delivered amazing performances and were joined by actors Sara Anne and Fenessa Pineda to form the MXfits crew.
The film tells the story of a group of high school friends as they grapple with their queer identities and their placement as outsiders in the school’s social pyramid. When Kiki, a trans member of the squad, gets thrown in detention for using the girl’s bathroom, the crew ignites a rebellion that places them in the spotlight and inspires a movement.
This short film was funded by CONDE NAST and produced by TOPPLE, Jill Soloway’s production company, for the initiative 5050by2020.
WATCH HERE–> Kiki and the Mxfits
At the premiere with producers Kella Birch, Andrea Sperling, Zackary Drucker, filmmaker Chelsea Woods, and Jill Soloway.
Vans LOOP 5
“Girls Skate” for VANS GLOBAL.
DIRECTED BY: Natalia Leite | FEATURING Atita Verghese and Lizzie Armanto | CINEMATOGRAPHY: Kevin Fletcher | EDITING: Mandy Brown | PRODUCED BY Rich Pring and Cathleen O’Connor Stern | PROD CO. Reverie Content
Glade LOOP 5
Agency: Ogilvy. Prod Co: Reverie Content. DP: Frederik Jacobi
On the latest issue of MovieMaker Magazine LOOP 5
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.
Recap on all the shooting last year LOOP 5
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.
Pretty cool to see your work plastered all over 5th Ave LOOP 5
This is from the VANS campaign film I directed — posted all around New York.
At FFFest LOOP 5
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
Kiki & the Mxfits LOOP 5
WRITTEN and DIRECTED by Natalia Leite. STARRING Fenessa Pineda, Sara Anne, Cielo Oscuro, Quin Diaz, Caroh Lemus, Kalia Prescot. PRODUCED by Andrea Sperling, Kella Birch, and Topple for 5050by2020 in partnership with THEM + Conde Nast. CINEMATOGRAPHY Michelle Lawler. PRODUCTION DESIGN Kelly Fallon. COSTUMES Tika Von Mehren. EDITING Mandy Brown.
She Moves Mountains LOOP 5
Tiera Fletcher as told by Amber Meighan. For THE NORTH FACE. She Moves Mountains Campaign.
Campaign Films Directed by Natalia Leite. Creative Director: Ruben Beddeleem. Agency: Sid Lee. Production Company: Reverie Content.
Op-Ed on TalkHouse LOOP 5
READ THE FULL ESSAY HERE: http://www.talkhouse.com/why-women-need-tell-rape-stories/
Lecturing at NEW YORK UNIVERSITY LOOP 5
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.
M.F.A Festival touring LOOP 5
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…
Hollywood Reporter, LA Times, and many more positive reviews for M.F.A. LOOP 5
LOS ANGELES TIMES:
FILM JOURNAL:
SLANT MAGAZINE:
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:
AND FROM OUR SXSW PREMIERE:
M.F.A. PREMIERE ! LOOP 5
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:
On MOVIEMAKER MAGAZINE LOOP 5
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/
Press Conference in Hungary LOOP 5
It’s long and we all look SUPER SERIOUS but… there were some interesting discussions here about M.F.A.
WATCH HERE
Montreal Talk Show at Fantasia LOOP 5
This log cabin set was fun.
Friday Aug 4th – I’ll be presenting “Blue Velvet” at the RUBIN MUSEUM LOOP 5
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
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