To create for me is to deepen and expand my horizons of what can be understood about the way one moves through the world, and what that looks like in relation to one another and through environments. 

I go through days accumulating questions without simple answers, and it’s the boundless potential of creative expression that makes me excited on how to infuse these questions into stories and characters I have written and the ones I hope to. 

I gravitate towards all kinds of topics, genres, peoples, cultures and movements, so the curiosity of these many wonders feels like an endless opportunity to create. Much of my work is deeply personal, drawing from my life and of those I know, so I feel, and I hope, that my approach to filmmaking is intrinsically tied to my self-expression.

What’s the most empowering thing you’ve done so far in your career, and what’s been the toughest challenge you’ve had to face?

It feels deeply empowering to complete anything. I would say each time I have completed a film feels like the biggest triumph.  It’s not too hard for me to start something but seeing it to the end is the real struggle. Writing my first feature was a long, wonderful, daunting, emotional and often isolating process. To have stuck with it for the years I did and then to tell myself it was done was one of the biggest challenges.  It’s nearly impossible to know when something is done. I never really feel it is. 

As a filmmaker, what do you believe is the most important narrative to tell right now?

Any narrative that can give an audience the opportunity to sit deeply and critically with matters of living in this world and the human condition are stories that I feel are most important. Life has always been made up of complex and contradictory experiences, and to showcase this on screen with love, care and good craftsmanship always makes me leave the theater feeling inspired and more connected to the larger picture. And it could take any format or genre, whether it’s documentary, drama, romance, comedy or an experimental film. The beauty of filmmaking is that truths can be unveiled through an endless array of genre and characters, and an artist has the opportunity to transport their viewer into any kind of universe to offer a fresh and bold perspective.

When I consider an idea to embark on, I try my best to approach it in a way that feels like I’m the only person who could tell it in this way. I often feel everything has been done before but that there are new and interesting ways to offer a perspective. Coming from a multicultural household, I think a lot about the nuances of this upbringing, and infusing stories with details from experience and observation, which could bring forth an original form of representation. I’m not sure if that is changing the status quo but can only hope that I can contribute an exciting take on a familiar situation. 

As far as creative industries go from a filmmaking standpoint, which is the only industry I can somewhat confidently speak on, I would say that my concerns lie in what narratives are making it to audiences. There are so many wonderful stories to be told, and they continue to, but I’d rather see films that take emotional and creative risks get funded rather than safe, formulaic storylines that don’t seek to push boundaries.

Film is often a reflection of society. What does filmmaking allow you to convey that photography can’t?

Filmmaking is the sum of so many mediums of expression. While photography is undeniably evocative, it is one of many elements of filmmaking and I enjoy the other spaces filmmaking allows me to play in. Filmmaking is moving picture and sound, a different sense of time to journey into a narrative. The experience of watching a film is to see dozens of collaborations that melt into every frame on a screen. Film allows me to find a story through varying interests that feels reflective of my thought process. And from sight to sound, costume and set design, to characters, all these elements lift words and actions from a script to become a more tangible experience.

You’re on the rise—what’s next for you? What’s your ultimate creative goal you haven’t hit yet?

I am in the process of working on a longer form story. I would say this has been the ultimate goal to reach at this creative juncture.

For the young women out there looking their big break, what’s the one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you were starting out?

I was extremely lucky at the get-go of starting my film career with various mentors in my life, so any advice I can give is intrinsic to the words of wisdom that have been given to me over the years. I would say to anyone who is embarking on a new path is not to be afraid to try, to fail, or start over. Nothing will be perfect nor should it be, and though it’s great to have high expectations, it’s also important to remember that you only get closer to achieving huge aspirations step-by-step. Trusting your intuition and being honest with yourself is key, and I think is the path to cultivating a body of work that feels original, which is the one thing you can call your own. There’s so much noise out there, so shutting it out especially when writing and ideating will do a great service to creating. I would also say that finding your people, community, collaborators is what will really bring light to your life both professionally and personally. I couldn’t have done so much up until now without the trusting relationships and creative collaborations.