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.
Desiree Akhavan
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...
Tags:TV WritingShorts

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