Writer/director/actress Desiree Akhavan tells how she protects her vision and grows her work across shorts, features & TV.
Key Insights
  • Listen to your voice and trust your instincts on committing to projects and your creative approach to each film - focus on making your best version.
  • Your journey and career as a writer/director changes drastically throughout and between projects: It’s a cycle between writing, pitching & funding, production, post-production, distribution, then back to writing.
  • Making films is a creative endeavor although you'll need to make smart and strategic business decisions along the way to sustain your work and career
  • Your creative choices will be challenged and tested at times - be very clear and articulate about your decisions and empower yourself to defend them when necessary
  • Don't chase money or approval - build a body of work by making projects cheaply and in your own voice
  • Filmmaking should be joyful- although it’s an incredibly difficult thing to do, it shouldn’t ever be punishing. If that happens, assess what’s going on and make changes.
Writer, Director
Desiree Akhavan is the co-writer and director of "The Miseducation of Cameron Post", which won the 2018 Sundance Grand Jury Prize. She also wrote, directed, and stars in the show "The Bisexual". more...

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