Biografie

Studied at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.

Credits Dawn Steel's fight for women in this industry as an inspiration.

Is an alumni of Florida State University's School of Motion Picture, Television, and Recording Arts known as "The Film School". She was one of 16 students accepted to the nationally renowned Film School and went on to receive a BFA in Film after leaving college early to specifically work with Entertainment industry powerhouse Dawn Steel and her company Atlas Entertainment before she passed away.

Graduated high school at 16. Spent most of her early childhood academic career in gifted courses 2 grades above her.

Is of Sicilian descent. Based the film Volare upon her father's experiences of coming to America.

So, what's your story?

You have to have big guts to withstand the pressures and the blockages in this industry, as there are many, and even more so if you are a woman. We each have our own path. If I can champion someone else on their journey, I am so happy to do it. I am only competitive with myself, meaning I push myself harder and critique myself harder than anyone else. We all have our stories to tell.

A lot of Hollywood is politics and timing. Accolades are great, but mean very little in the long term big picture. If your work stands the test of time, people take notice and that is what is more special, not how many awards it has won. I adored Little Miss Sunshine and can only hope that stories like that which are considered Independent come through to the studios quicker.

I have several that change daily, but always fall back to "It's A Wonderful Life" when asked. It is a long term favorite of mine that I watch every year around this time with my family. Directors like Frank Capra, Giuseppe Tornatore, Steven Spielberg, and Chris Columbus are inspirations. True storytellers; Championing the little man and really diving in to tell his story. I love that. They are consistently uplifting. I love the frame tale of Capra's work, playing with time, and the darkness and lightness of character. I am an audio visual type of director and thinker for that matter. I think in pictures but each is very rhythmic. Music is a huge element of each shot that I kind of plan to the beat of music of my head from Pre to Post. I learned subtext from Capra. Presentation and perspective are so important to all things in life. I am extremely detailed oriented as far as planning goes. Colors and placement of objects mean something in every frame of my film. Each character will have an arc no matter how big of a player they are, so this may come out in story or simply through something as general as a prop. I like to play with the yin and yang of characters and how they portray themselves. Lights and darks (of personality, of clothing, or rooms that they are moving into from the start of the film to the end of the film, elements that come out in clothing coupled with lighting choices, playing the opposite against a moral, Etc.) I love extremes. My favorite films are "It's A Wonderful Life," "Breakfast at Tiffany's," and "Life Is Beautiful." I think you can tell a lot of things about me as a person from that. As a filmmaker, you can tell that story is very important to me, as well as character. Genre is of no consequence; it is how you tell the story that matters. I love experiencing new films and directing, no matter what genre. Period. - Her response to "What is your favorite movie?"

I believe that the world has changed over the last ten years. You see more women in the workforce in powerful positions and that will only carry over to every position in the Industry of filmmaking. Why this change and acceptance of women as leaders? I think it is because of single parent families. We accept females as leaders more and more, and men are championing them more and more as time moves forward due to the divorce rate and mothers having to raise families on their own. Sons see their mother's fight and have a bit more compassion towards women. They have begun to champion them. I believe that is the kernel of where this may come from. Women have a history in filmmaking that hasn't been told to the masses. I urge everyone to research the first women filmmakers and you will see that they too wore many hats. The fight is more difficult for women, sure thing. But, it is changing. Women need to ban together. I try to champion every girl or woman I meet. We can be one tree with millions of branches." - Her response to the question regarding female directors and "What do you think of the Celluloid Ceiling?