The Homecoming wins big!

More news on The Homecoming front! 

In September, we screened The Homecoming at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival in Milwaukee, WI and the BronzeLens Festival in Atlanta, GA. For both festivals, we took home three awards combined:

Best Student Film - BronzeLens Festival

Best "Voices Heard Film - Milwaukee Short Film Festival

Audience Favorite - Milwaukee Short Film Festival

I will be traveling to Milwaukee, WI for the Milwaukee Film Festival at the beginning of October as we will be screening in their Black Lens Shorts: Family Matters program. I am excited to bring the film to Milwaukee and to finally begin networking with the local filmmaking community there.

Global Chinese Universities Student Film and TV Festival

I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Hong Kong for the 13th Annual Global Chinese Universities Student Film and Television festival this past April held at the Hong Kong Baptist University's Film Academy. What a wonderful experience it was!

Participants in the 13th Annual Global Chinese Universities Student Film and TV Festival

I got to meet student filmmakers from all over the world, from the UK, Prague, Australia, Korea, China and more. The best part of being at the festival for me was watching all of their films and getting a new perspective on filmmaking. Studying film in the States, living so close to Hollywood, and reading the trades everyday, it makes it very easy to have a myopic view of cinema. Thankfully, experiences like this allow me to open my mind to so many different expressions of cinema and visual storytelling that ultimately make me a better filmmaker.

Q&A Panel Discussion after our respective film screenings

The festival was so much fun, and what made it even better was that our film The Homecoming won the silver award for Best Foreign Film at the awards show for the festival. I am so honored and proud that even though our film deals with the particularly American issue of mass incarceration, that the film was still able to touch people on a universal level. I must say that I was completely humbled by all of the people who came up to me after our screening to tell me how much they were moved by and loved the film.

Receiving the Silver Award at the Awards Ceremony

A huge thank you to everyone that supported me and the film, and to our gracious hosts at the Global Chinese Universities Student Film and TV Festival!

Meredith MacRae Award

I am pleased and honored to share with everyone that I have been selected as the 2015 Women in Film Meredith MacRae Memorial Award recipient at Chapman University. 

The Meridith MacRae Memorial Award is given to a graduate student in the MFA program who has shown excellence in acting, producing, and directing (like Meredith MacRae herself).

As a recipient not only will I receive a grant for my thesis film which is fantastic, but I also get to become a member of Women in Film AND I get a mentorship for the next year.

I am so honored to receive this award. It's a great feeling to have your work recognized. 

Cry Uncle Update!

We have picture locked Cry Uncle! 

I am so excited to move onto the next stage of production: sound. 

Thank you to everyone who watched our movie (several times) and gave us notes good and bad along the way.

Only a few more weeks until the industry screening at Chapman. 

I love my life!! 

Cry Uncle : That's a wrap & First Cut

We wrapped production of Cry Uncle last Sunday and already, my wonderfully talented editor, Nicole, has finished the first cut of our film Cry Uncle.  

I am excited to screen it for my classes over the next few days and get feedback.