JANUARY 2023
Artist Nancy Kwon and I did an artist talk at the Wedding Cake House in Providence, on Wednesday January 11th at 6pm, at the end of our duo artist residency. It was such a great residency and so nice to re/meet local friends and artists at our talk. Huge thanks to artists Xander Marro and Pippi Zornoza, the masterminds behind WCH, and huge thanks to the house itself- which never failed to provide ghostly inspiration.
OCTOBER 2022
I’m really excited to have been selected for an artist’s residency in January 2023 at the Wedding Cake House in Providence, RI. I’ve visited the Wedding Cake House and it’s such a beautiful, inspiring place, completely rebuilt and redone by the hands of local artists. I’m doing a Duo Residency with friend and artist Nancy Kwon. We have separate bedrooms and work spaces but share a parlour. It’s a short residency- 9 days- but I can’t wait to be in a dreaming type of mind frame as lately it’s been all work and no play… and you know what that leads to.
SEPTEMBER 2022
Very happy that Strawberry Shake has been selected for the New Hampshire Film Festival, Oct. 6-9th. Thank you~
june 2022
Thanks to the folks at the Woods Hole Film Festival for selecting Strawberry Shake to screen this summer.
March 2022
Delighted that Strawberry Shake is part of this year’s Richmond International Film Festival and will be playing there in June- never played there before!
January 2022
Thank you to Moscow Shorts International Short Film Festival for programming Strawberry Shake.
November 2021
Mancarimea means The Itching in Romanian… A non-profit named Bloc Zero in Bucharest asked to include The Itching in their 'Show Me Emotion' program, aimed at teenagers, as well as in their permanent educational catalogue. I get the most excited at these types of screening/viewing possibilities, especially international ones, because it means contact with a group of people I wouldn’t have connected with otherwise! THANKS Ramona and Bloc Zero.
SEPTEMBER 2021
Thank you to the jury at the University Film and Video Conference 2021 for choosing Strawberry Shake as the best narrative film this year. It’s the first time I’ve attended the University Film and Video Association’s annual conference (… attended from my apartment on Zoom :).
August 2021
I’ve never been in a film festival in my home state of Rhode Island before. I love Rhode Island and still have a lot of family and friends there, so this is awesome. Too bad that this year the festival will be mostly online, but hopefully we can still mingle, and maybe there will be some in-person events. Thank you RIFF!!
July 2021
Thanks so much to the sharp kind folks at the Free Range Film Festival in Minnesota for programming Strawberry Shake. We wish we could be there this summer with you!
June 2021
We are so delighted to be screening at the Athens International Film and Video Festival this fall. More details coming soon, but for now just wanted to say thank you so much to them for including Strawberry Shake in the program.
April 2021
There are film festivals you may like, or love, and then there are film festivals you LOVE. We are so happy that Strawberry Shake is included in the Maryland Film Festival this year because we LOVE them! The only thing that would make us happier would be to go to Baltimore and attend in person, but they are wisely not bringing in any filmmakers that don’t live in the city due to the pandemic. So we’ll have to watch from afar, with popcorn and beer on our couches. But still, we can’t wait to see all the other films and participate in online conversations when possible. Thank you MDFF!
We’re thrilled that Strawberry Shake is one of the 22 narrative shorts playing at the Independent Film Festival Boston! The curation at this festival is excellent, and they are super friendly and kind to filmmakers. Even though the festival is virtual this year, playing close to home (RI) is a thrill. Can’t wait! May 6 - 16 online. Check out their website for details.
MARCH 2021
Dearly Beloved I don’t know how New York State Council on the Arts has managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat and support the arts during such a Covid year, but they have! And I’m so appreciative and also so super excited to therefore be making a short movie about the great purple one called DEAR PRINCE! NYSCA has provided majority funding for my last 3 shorts and I owe them everything- thank you NYSCA. Do you love Prince? Did you love Prince in the 80s? Can’t wait to talk with you.
November 2020
Thank you to the amazing Tacoma Film Festival for bringing Strawberry Shake to life and for programming it in their virtual fest, running Nov. 13 - 22. We are so thrilled to be in a shorts program there and to be starting our festival run, and look forward to seeing all the other films.
Thanks also to artist Madeline Rupard who created this stunning poster for the film.
APRIL 2020
Thank you to Pratt Institute for awarding me a Faculty Development Grant in support of my new short animation DEAR PRINCE. This movie is very personal to me, and I really can’t wait to bring it to life! More soon.
AUGUST 2019
Thanks to the Bend Film Festival for inviting me to be on the Selections Committee for this year’s festival. It’s always informative to be on the other side of these things.
FEBRUARY 2019
I’m excited to be working on some post elements of “Strawberry Shake” with some wonderful collaborators.
There’s some animation playing on TV in a family living room scene in the film, and the lovely Maya Edelman will be creating animation for that, with composer Ryder McNair creating the animation’s music.
In other music news, the inspiring Rafael Toral has agreed to allow portions from a few of his beautiful songs to play as ambient soundtrack music in the film, and one of my favorite bands Hospitality has lent a song to be played as if from a radio/computer in a fun mother-daughter scene.
Ceramic artist Nancy Kwon is starting work on film titles, and the ever graceful Eli Cohn has started designing sound.
I still have editing to do. It’s been a process. But I’m starting to see the l—i—g—h—t.
AUGUST 2018
We just finished shooting "Strawberry Shake," and are now moving onto post!
Here's a few pictures from set of our glorious leads: Lucinda Lee Dawson Gray; the rabbit; and then me hugging Lucinda Lee and the amazing Jack Casey.
April 2018
I'm very excited to have wonderful producers Kyle Eaton, Allison Rose Carter, and Jon Read as partners on "Strawberry Shake." We're going to shoot the last week in June/first week in July-- wish us luck!!
January 2018
I just got back from a 2-week residency at Yaddo, in Saratoga Springs, NY. I stayed in a lovely house (that kind of looks like a mini ski chalet) called Pine Garde, with a bedroom, bathroom, and work studio all connected on the second floor. The rooms were warm and quiet with lots of light. The only thing I saw was a deer that came by at distinctly emotional moments, and the only thing I heard was the occasional jarring sound of ice chunks sliding down the roof on their way to the ground. It was below 0 degrees out much of the time, but really who could complain when the other fellows and I only had to leave our studios and walk a minute or two twice a day to be fed? Huge, heartfelt thanks to Yaddo for the support. It really is a magical place, and I am in debt to them for the focus which allowed me to work on the visualization of my short film "Strawberry Shake."
August 2017
Thanks to the New York State Council on the Arts for asking me to be a panel member for the Individual Artist Grants.
MARCH 2017
Thank you to Yaddo for inviting me for an artist's residency for a few weeks in December 2017 - January 2018. I was there once before about five years ago, and it was an amazing inspiring time. Something to look forward to!
FEBRUARY 2017
The Itching won the Audience Award at the Final Girls Berlin Film Festival. Check them out!
jANUARY 2017
The Itching is free! Free online finally! Here are the links, with lovely reviews of the film at Short of the Week and NoBudge:
There will also be a local screening of The Itching along with other NoBudge films at Videology in Brooklyn on Monday January 30th at 9:00pm.
December 2016
I am so excited to have been awarded a New York State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Grant to make my new live action short Strawberry Shake. There isn't a lot of funding for short films, especially fiction projects, and this kind of support makes the project possible. Thank you very much NYSCA! I'm grateful. I hope to do you proud.
The Itching won a Jury Citation Award from the Black Maria Film Festival. This festival will tour the US & internationally in 2017, and we are so happy to be a part of it.
The Itching won Best Short Animation at the Monster Film Festival in Australia! Thank you fellow monsters.
The Itching won second prize at the James River Film Society's Juried Short Film Competition. Thanks to the judges and to the James River Film Society.
November 2016
The Itching won Best Animated Short at the St. Louis International Film Festival. Thank you St. Louis and jury!
The Itching received a Special Mention from the Jury at the FKM Fantastic Film Festival of A Coruna. Thank you FKM and jury!
October 2016
The Itching won Best Animated Film at the New Hampshire Film Festival. Thank you New Hampshire and jury!
The Itching got a great write-up in the Halloween edition of the Canadian magazine Rue Morgue.
Thanks to the lovely ladies of The Muff Society for this interview.
September 2016
The Itching won two awards at the Columbia Gorge Film Festival- a Legacy Award called the Bullet Award and a Jury Award for Best Short Animation. Thank you Columbia Gorge!
August 2016
Thanks We Are Moving Stories for this interview.
Thanks also Screen Anarchy for this awesome review of The Itching!
May 2016
I just got back from a 2-week artist residency at the Ucross Foundation, which is on a 20,000 acre cattle ranch in Ucross, Wyoming, population 25. There was a really nice group of people there- 2 visual artists, 1 choreographer, 2 composers, 4 writers, and me. The food is to die for and the people that work there are kind and fun. I showed up sick, and was stunned by the landscape, and somewhat overwhelmed (see pictures below). I got better, the sun came out, we hiked and rode bikes, and I ended up writing a script for my next short film (a live action). At present, the script's called "New Puppy," and it's different than the script idea I had going into the residency... which I owe to the rabbits, birds, cows, rattlesnakes, and silence/stars (and to my friendly fellow-- albeit limited in number-- human beings).
April 2016
The Red Rock Film Festival invited me to be on the Grand Jury to judge films in the 'animation short' and 'short-shorts' categories. Thanks Red Rock!
The Itching was awarded 'Best Animated Short Film' at the Sarasota Film Festival and at the Athens International Film Festival. The Itching was also awarded the Grand Jury Prize for the 'Graveyard Shift Shorts' category at the Nashville Film Festival (tied with the film 'Horn'). Thank you to these festivals for showing our film, thank you to the juries, and thank you to the wonderful audiences! It has been so great to talk with people about the film after being holed up with it for so long.
February 2016
At Sundance, The Itching was awarded the Debra Hill Film Grant from Women in Film Los Angeles! WIF awarded two short films and two feature films from the Sundance program. The Debra Hill Film Grant is an "award for an independent filmmaker whose work represents a singular vision and ability to think beyond the normal conventions of filmmaking." We are thrilled and honored. Here is the announcement in indiewire.
The Itching was also selected as one of "25 Must-See Sundance Short Films by Women Directors" by Hollywomen.
JANUARY 2016
I'm really excited to be going to an artist's residency at the UCROSS FOUNDATION in May 2016.
I've never been to WYOMING (the residency is in Ucross, Wyoming)- can't wait. Thinking of flying into a nearby city, renting a car, and melting into the landscape.
