As part of this month’s Inside Out x NOW Digital Residency, we’re profiling a number of filmmakers and community members associated with Inside Out. See all of the profiles here.
What do you do in your industry?
I’m a film director.
What’s your most recent film about?
My debut feature, Half the Picture, celebrates the groundbreaking work of female directors and includes interviews with Ava DuVernay, Lena Dunham, Jill Soloway, Miranda July and many others. It also investigates the systemic discrimination that has denied far too many talented women opportunities in Hollywood. We’re thrilled to be Inside Out’s Women’s Centerpiece Gala film on Saturday, May 26th at the TIFF Bell Lightbox!
If you had to cook one dish to impress a potential film financier, what would it be?
If funding for my upcoming films depended on my cooking skills I’d be screwed, to be honest. But if I HAD to make something, I do make a mean kumquat pie (which is kind of like key lime pie), from kumquats grown in my backyard.
What’s one way the Canadian film industry could be more inclusive?
That’s the big question that people are struggling with right now, but the answer is pretty simple. It’s opening one’s heart and mind to people and stories who may be different from ourselves and then financing those stories and hiring those artists. So much time, money and effort goes into programs, initiatives, panels and discussions which are often well meaning, but the answer comes down to paying work. And as recent successes have shown (Wonder Woman, Black Panther, Moonlight, Transparent, Chewing Gum, Jane The Virgin, Mudbound, etc, etc, etc), the audiences are out there and there’s money to be made telling these stories.
In your opinion, what are some ways that Inside Out has impacted the LGBTQ community?
As a straight lady living in Los Angeles, I can’t speak to the specifics of the LGBTQ community in Toronto, but I will say that festivals that offer supportive places to gather where audiences can recognize themselves on screen is everything. It’s everything. It’s the reason we make and consume art/movies/theatre/music – to see ourselves represented and to learn about and be connected to one another.
Are there any filmmakers who inspire you right now?
So many, including all the incredible directors we interview in Half the Picture: Ava DuVernay, Brenda Chapman, Catherine Hardwicke, Chris Hegedus, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Jamie Babbit, Jennifer Phang, Jill Soloway, Karyn Kusama, Kasi Lemmons, Kimberly Peirce, Lena Dunham, Lesli Linka Glatter, Lucy Walker, Lynn Shelton, Maria Giese, Martha Coolidge, Mary Harron, Miranda July, Nell Scovell, Nisha Ganatra, Patricia Cardoso, Patricia Riggen, Penelope Spheeris, Rachel Feldman, Rosanna Arquette, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Tina Mabry.
These directors reflect the diversity of women’s experience. They work in all different genres, approaches, budget levels. But they are all artists, they are all fighters, they are all dreamers and I admire their work, tenacity and generosity immensely.
Visit the Inside Out x NOW Digital Residency
