"Smoking Gun" on Station 19

Fun news from this past week - "Smoking Gun", a song I cowrote with the extremely talented Valen, was used in an episode of the new Grey's Anatomy spinoff, Station 19. It's not exactly the way I envisioned first having something to do with a Shondaland show, but I'll take it :)

EDIT - The clip containing our song is no longer available on YouTube, but you can still hear it on Season 1, Episode 4 of Station 19.

Awards update!

Fun news from Copa Shorts Film Fest! While I unfortunately wasn't able to attend this festival in person, I heard today that Girl Meets Roach was awarded Best Comedy by the jury, and was also screened in the Best Of Fest screening block on the final night of the festival.

As you can see we're pretty happy about it!

We wish we could have been there! Thank you Copa Shorts! We are honored, and so glad you enjoyed our film.

NewFilmmakers NY / Happy Holidays

Girl Meets Roach had a great screening at NewFilmmakers NY this week, part of a holiday-themed evening of short films. It was a real honor to screen at Anthology Film Archive in Manhattan. The building is so beautiful, and has so much history. And for me it was especially fun because screening in New York meant that a bunch of my family members were able to attend. It was the perfect way to close out 2017. More festivals coming up early in the new year!

Happy Holidays to everyone, and best wishes for a healthy and productive 2018.

Oh, Canada

Hello from Toronto! I'm here for the ReelHeART International Film Festival, which is taking place all this week. The festival kicked off Monday night. There are people here from all over the world, and everyone is super-friendly, so it's been easy to make new friends. Last night, since it was the 4th of July, the evening party was a festive BBQ on a rooftop patio downtown, with ridiculously pretty views of the city skyline.

Not too shabby.

The films I've seen so far have been fascinating, and the weather has been beyond gorgeous, so I had to steal some time today to wander around and soak up the sun...and when I happened to walk past Tot the Cat Cafe, well, it seemed like the right thing to do to go in and say hello to some furry friends.

My new BFF.

Tonight Girl Meets Roach is screening as part of a "Girl Stuff" block at the Carlton Cinema in downtown Toronto, before an Irish feature called The Randomer. I've had the pleasure of meeting the producer and lead actress of The Randomer, who are both lovely, so I'm really looking forward to that one. Here's hoping everyone enjoys Girl Meets Roach!

Imbroglio update!

Time for some updates about Imbroglio! It's been a while since I've mentioned the action short Christopher wrote/directed, and I produced, last year, but we've been hard at work on it these past few months. Now, at long last, the editing, sound mix, color correction, etc etc etc are all done - and it looks GOOD. We're so happy to have it finished and to finally be able to share it with the world.

And fortunately, that's going to happen soon! Imbroglio will be making its World Premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal this July. Fantasia is a very cool genre film festival, and we're super-excited to be part of it. Looks like a few trips to Canada are coming up!

Exciting news from Threadbare Mitten!

It all happened so quickly I didn't even have the chance to post about it, but Girl Meets Roach was accepted into the first annual Threadbare Mitten Film Festival in Charlotte, Michigan, which took place this past weekend. I was really happy about being part of this festival, because they were looking for quirky, unique films - which meant Girl Meets Roach was a great fit.

We unfortunately weren't able to attend the festival, so I didn't find out at the time, but I learned today that Girl Meets Roach won the People Pleaser Audience Award! It's the only Audience Award available to non-Michigan productions, so we're very honored to have received it, and so happy that the audience enjoyed our film so much.

We pleased the people!

Many thanks to the festival organizers and the audience at Threadbare Mitten! Next stop, Toronto!

Festival Updates!

Our festival run continues! This July, Girl Meets Roach will be screening at two different festivals - the ReelHeART International Film Festival in Toronto, and the New Hope Film Festival in Pennsylvania. I'm so looking forward to both of these festivals. I was born in Toronto (yay dual citizenship) so it's going to be such a treat to bring Girl Meets Roach to my native city. And New Hope is the coolest town - I used to visit there while growing up in New Jersey, and it's such a fun, artistic area.

Good times ahead!! Stay tuned for more details as they come in.

Updates on the way!

Hi again! We have some more exciting news coming up regarding Girl Meets Roach, but I can't announce it quite yet...so stay tuned!

After SLOIFF

We got back from San Luis Obispo a few days ago, but I'm still smiling about what a great time I had. San Luis Obispo International Film Festival was the World Premiere of Girl Meets Roach, and I'm pretty sure having this as our first festival experience has spoiled me a bit - it's certainly set the bar high! From the personal festival concierge, to the amazing swag bag filled with local goodies, to the filmmaker tent with social gatherings every night, Wendy and Nancy and the rest of the team at SLOIFF went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed. I was a little nervous to head up to the Festival by myself on Wednesday (the rest of the Girl Meets Roach group couldn't join me until the weekend), but from the moment my train pulled into the local station and my concierge Amy was waiting to meet me, I knew I was in good hands. The first people I met at festival headquarters quickly turned into awesome new friends, and from there, my days were filled with excellent films and excellent people. (And excellent wine!)

Obligatory selfie with my badge.

Our two screenings for Girl Meets Roach were so much fun - it's hard to describe the feeling of watching the film with an audience for the first time, but it was a mix of elation and terror. The audiences really seemed to enjoy the film, though! They laughed in all the right places and asked some great questions during the Q&A sessions. One audience member came up to me afterward and told me the film was "painfully relatable" - which is pretty much exactly what I was going for, so I'll call that a success!

In addition to attending our own screenings, I had the chance to see a bunch of other wonderful films over the course of the Festival, including a large selection of powerful and fascinating documentaries, all of which completely blew me away. Getting the chance to talk to the people who made these films only enhanced the experience. It was fantastic to meet so many talented, friendly filmmakers and film lovers. SLOIFF is certainly an experience I will cherish, and I can't wait to go back!

Thank you SLOIFF!

Off to SLO!

The time has come! I'm on the train to San Luis Obispo for the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival - and the World Premiere of Girl Meets Roach! Our screenings are on Saturday and Sunday at the Palm Theatre, and I'll also be participating in the Women In Film Panel on Saturday morning and the Filmmakers Panel on Sunday morning. If you're in the area, come join us!

Festival details, as promised!

Exciting news! The schedules have been released for both the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival and the Garden State Film Festival. We're so excited to share Girl Meets Roach with audiences for the first time. Here's the info:

SLO Film Fest - our World Premiere!

Saturday 3/18 @ 1.30pm and Sunday 3/19 @ 1pm

Palm Theatre, San Luis Obispo CA

Garden State Film Fest

Saturday 4/1 @ 12pm

Resorts Casino Hotel, Atlantic City NJ

Tickets are available on the festival websites, and we'll be posting more news and updates on Twitter and Instagram so be sure to follow me (Twitter feed is to the right) and our production company @kingfishfilms to stay in the loop.

Festival news!

Exciting news! This week we learned that Girl Meets Roach has been chosen as an Official Selection of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, which will be taking place in March. We're beyond excited to be a part of this really exciting festival, and cannot wait to attend.

And as if that weren't enough good news for one week, we were also notified that Girl Meets Roach has been chosen as an Official Selection of the Garden State Film Festival! New Jersey is the home state of King Fish Productions, so we are very proud to have our film screening there.

More details to come about our screenings at both festivals! Stay tuned!

Headshot time again...

New year, new headshots! Last month I had a very fun shoot with Tandem Photo and Reel, and the results are in. Working with Allison was a great experience. The shoot was quick and enjoyable - and very reasonably priced. I highly recommend Tandem to anyone in the LA area who is looking to get new headshots.

Head on over to my headshot gallery to check out all the pics!

That's a wrap!

Well, we did it! That is, we officially completed production on Girl Meets Roach. We wrapped on Sunday night after a second long, but super-fun, weekend of shooting. I can't wait to see how it all comes together! Next stop for the footage is our editor, my supremely talented friend Kylie. There's still plenty to do, but for now, we celebrate!

The final slate! Me and Christopher (director/brother extraordinaire).

Production Post

Not to be confused with post-production! We are still very firmly in the middle of production on Girl Meets Roach. We decided to film over two weekends, to best accommodate everyone's schedules, and we've now reached the midway point! The first weekend went really well; it's a small cast and crew, and everyone is extremely friendly and professional. We're also thrilled to be working with Icemen Audio again, our friends from At The Maple Grove. If anyone in the LA area ever needs some top-notch sound guys, they're the ones to call. I couldn't be happier with the team that we've put together!

Our sound and camera teams! Clockwise from top: Chris, Ryan, Jordan, & Evan. 

Our second round of filming won't be for another couple of weeks, but there's plenty to do in the meantime. Can't wait to dive back in!

A girl (and a roach) on a mission.

Happy New Year!

2016 is upon us! And it's already shaping up to be an exciting year. King Fish Productions is currently one week out from the first day of production on Girl Meets Roach, a short film I wrote and am producing (and am acting in, of course!).  It's a breakup comedy about a brokenhearted young woman who hides in her apartment after being dumped... and makes an unlikely friend.

There's plenty left to do to get ready! Producing uses an entirely different set of brain cells than acting and writing, which is good - it lets me revel in my obsession with list-making, and I get to surround myself with cute office supplies and organizational aids. Our production team is coming together - and of course the film will be directed by Christopher Zatta! Lots of work ahead, but it should be a lot of fun too. Check back soon for more updates! And Happy New Year!

November updates!

I've been out of town for the past couple of weeks, hence my lack of posts. But fear not, my time away was well-spent! I've been soaking up some theatrical greatness on the other side of the pond; namely, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which I saw a few years ago when it first opened and adored so much that I had to see it again, and the Barbican's production of Hamlet. (Yes, the one starring Benedict Cumberbatch.)

And don't think we neglected the world of British film and TV! Because we certainly did not - visits were made to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Leavesden, the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff, and Barry Island, aka the home of Gavin and Stacey.

Me with my new BFFs. (Marco's Cafe, Barry Island, Wales)

It was a wonderful trip. And now I'm very excited to be home and back to work on some fun upcoming projects, including a short film which will be going into production in early 2016, and a comedy/horror web series that should be making its way onto the interwebz in time for next year's Halloween. Happy November, all!

Festival updates for Amnesia Bachelor

This past weekend was an exciting one for Amnesia Bachelor - we screened at both the Sham Film Festival and the Broad Humor Film Festival in the same day! Crizazy. Unfortunately I was not able to attend Sham (alas, distance) but, along with a few lovely members of the Amnesia Bachelor team, I got to see it on the big screen at Broad Humor.

It was very cool to watch Amnesia Bachelor with an audience of people who (a) had never seen it before, and (b) were not affiliated with it in any way. It made their laughs even sweeter! Afterwards, one audience member, whom I'd never met, came up to me and said Amnesia Bachelor was her favorite short in the program. A better compliment I couldn't hope for! That, in addition to meeting some awesome and talented fellow filmmakers, made for a very enjoyable weekend.

Lindzi (with a Z), Linzi (with a Z but no D), Karen, and our co-directors!

New Demo Reel

Happy Friday everyone! I recently finished updating my demo reel, and am excited to share it here! Hope you enjoy...

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Amnesia Bachelor is going to Broad Humor!

Another exciting day for Amnesia Bachelor! I am beyond happy to announce that we've been accepted into the Broad Humor Film Festival. It's the 10th anniversary of this awesome festival, which is devoted entirely to showcasing funny, talented ladies and the work they create. We're thrilled to be a part of it - and also thrilled that it's taking place right here in Los Angeles at the end of September! I suspect some of our own funny, talented ladies will be in attendance...

Amnesia Bachelor is on a roll!