Biography

[her path into filmmaking] I actually didn't fully realize I wanted to make movies until my senior year at Sarah Lawrence, when I took my first directing and screenwriting classes. That's when it clicked: filmmaking is the perfect intersection of all of my interests.

[classic novel she'd most like to adapt] Macbeth! Some of my favorite movies are based on Shakespeare plays, like My Own Private Idaho, Clueless, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. I love that this body of work exists in the public domain that's overflowing with timelessly poignant tales and characters. Lady Macbeth's story and the play's underlying commentary on the inescapable trap of womanhood is something that's always stuck with me. "Out damned spot!"

[her approach to filmmaking] I thought I wanted to be some sort of academic for a while there, considering getting my master's in women's history. No shade, but moviemaking is much more exciting. But I guess that explains why my approach to filmmaking tends to be kind of annoyingly academic.

[sex in her film Daddy (2022)] It's ingrained in us that sex is inherently degrading to women-especially something like ejaculating on a woman's face (the opening shot of the film). Many people view that as degrading and dehumanizing, and there's this sense that there must be something wrong with you if you enjoy that. But it's really just not that big of a deal if you don't think it is.