Thank you Twister Alley!

I had a wonderful time at Twister Alley Film Festival this past weekend. It was my second visit to Oklahoma (the first being FLY Film Fest last August) and I hope I'm able to go back there again! It really is a beautiful part of the country. And, thank goodness, despite the festival's name, I didn't see any twisters!

The beautiful Woodward Theatre.

I did see some wonderful films, though, and make a bunch of talented new friends. At this point I've seen a fair number of the films that have been on the festival circuit lately, so it was a nice chance to revisit some favorites as well. The whole festival was a wonderful experience; Josh and everyone in charge were so welcoming and friendly. By the end of a couple days I felt like I'd known everyone for ages. It was hard to leave! Particularly because this will likely be my last festival trip for a while.

I did get a nice surprise on the last night - a Director's Choice Award for Girl Meets Roach! A wonderful way to start wrapping up our festival run.

Director's Choice! Thank you Twister Alley!

Chilly fun in Fargo!

Just back from a wonderful weekend at Fargo Film Festival, which is - as you may have guessed - in Fargo, North Dakota. (You betcha!) Everyone involved with this festival is absolutely lovely, and I had a great time. It certainly didn't hurt that Fargo Theatre is gorgeous! A beautifully restored historic venue, and one of the prettiest we've had the pleasure to screen in.

Perfect venue.

And then of course there was the fact that it SNOWED! As someone who grew up on the East Coast, the lack of snow in LA is always a bit of a disappointment. So I took advantage :)

New besties.

Overall a lovely weekend! Thank you Fargo Film Fest for having me! It was an honor to share Girl Meets Roach with you.

A Dam Good Time (sorry)

I had a blast at the Dam Short Film Festival in Boulder City, NV, this past weekend. What a great fest! The organizers were so lovely and thoughtful, and really took care of the visiting filmmakers. Fun parties, friendly and talented people, and a ton of quality films. I even had the chance to meet a filmmaker whose film I first saw, and loved, last September at Sydney Indie - and wouldn't you know, he lives in LA. One of the best parts about attending festivals close(ish) to Los Angeles is that a lot of the other filmmakers are LA-based, too, which makes future collaborations very possible.

Thank you DSFF for an awesome time!

...I  also took a small La La Land-related detour. When in Boulder City, right?

Just casually waiting for Ryan Gosling.

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!

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.

Farewell GSFF!

We had a really nice time at the Garden State Film Festival this past weekend. Christopher and I were beyond thrilled to have so many members of our family there to support us - our parents, our brother, a bunch of aunts and uncles and cousins. Our screening was in a beautiful event space at the Resorts Casino Hotel, and watching Girl Meets Roach with an audience was even more fun this time, since I'd gotten over the first-screening nerves.

A bunch of different groups of people approached us after the screening, to tell us how much they loved the film and how it made them laugh - one girl said it actually made her cry! And over the course of the weekend, other audience members who recognized me (a perk of being the lead in your own movie, I suppose) kept introducing themselves and saying how much they enjoyed Girl Meets Roach. Between that and the dance parties each night, it was a really fun time.

The best part of the weekend, though, was getting to share it with my family. The hardest part about living out in LA is being so far away from most of them. It's always a good time when we get to spend time together!

The Siblings Zatta

New Jersey bound!

It seems like we were just up at SLOIFF, but it's already time for our next festival - this time, Garden State Film Festival in Atlantic City, NJ! We can't wait to have our East Coast Premiere in our home state, not least because we have a lot of family coming to the screening. New Jersey here we come!

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.

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!