A gigantic heartfelt thank you to the Dublin International Film Awards for honoring me with the Best First Time Filmmaker Short award 🏆
As a Canadian, Irish, & American citizen, being recognized in Ireland 🇮🇪 means a great deal to me. Ireland’s care for what happens in the USA matters deeply to me.
Having never directed a film before, I was overwhelmed with nerves and anxiety as I co-created this project. For years I’ve shown up on set as a producer, a helper/advisor in every area I could, a PA, a stand-in, a body double, an actress—yet never as the director.
The stars of this documentary are the people who poured their hearts out to me during their on-camera interviews and entrusted me to ask the tough—often emotional—questions. The privilege of telling even a small part of their stories is more than I could have ever imagined.
As a first-time director, I made many mistakes along the way. Yet I’ve learned so much. I’ve spoken with countless aspiring directors over the past year; they carry passion projects they long to direct but fear stepping into that role. I’ve told them: just do it. I had no idea what I was doing, but with the support of my producer,
@carole.joyce.18 , DP
@exar7 , editors, composer, music producer, makeup artists, graphic artist
@miracle_alphonse , our publicist,
@emfergussonpr , EPs, and everyone who contributed their time, we created something that has now won 21 awards around the world.
Yes, I made mistakes. But I now know that every time I step into this role, I’ll still be nervous—and I’ll still prove to myself that I can do it, even while living with invisible conditions and daily disabilities. On shoot days, anxiety would often rise, wondering if my body would cooperate. When it didn’t, my crew lifted me—guided me to a private room, helped administer medication, and I returned to filming within an hour.
That’s why I urge all aspiring directors to GO FOR IT. Don’t let anything stop you. You can do it.
The stars of the show ⬇️—thank you for your courage and your vulnerability:
@dr.yusefsalaam
@kateboccia
Betty Anne Waters
Evelyn Ware Cox
Billy Joe Holmes
@kitcummings88
@idairataveras
@evie0916
Frank Boccia
@join.nia 
