Spotlight Events feature conversations with high-profile film and television artists and industry professionals who share helpful advice and insights on their career experiences and creative process.

Megan Park’s hilarious and touching second feature, My Old Ass, had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival where it received rave reviews and was quickly acquired by Amazon Studios in a competitive bidding war. The film follows bright-yet-irreverent Elliott (Maisy Stella), an 18-year-old girl who comes face-to-face with her older self (Aubrey Plaza) during a mushroom trip the summer before college. Through Elliot’s funny and earnest journey of self-discovery and first love, she must decide if she’ll take her own advice to change her life before leaving her childhood home. The Hollywood Reporter called it a “warm blend of comedy, romance and whimsical collapsed-time fantasy” and highlighted Park’s distinguished voice as both a writer and director.

A seasoned film and television actor, Park made her feature directorial debut in 2022 with The Fallout starring Jenna Ortega, Maddie Ziegler and Julie Bowen. The film, which she also wrote, received the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Narrative Feature at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival, as well as the festival’s Brightcove Illumination Award for Park’s screenplay. New York Times included The Fallout among their Critic’s Pick list and Park was included in Variety’s coveted annual “10 Directors to Watch for 2022.”

In this Spotlight Event, Park discusses balancing comedy and tragedy, redefining the coming of age genre, creating a visual style that enhances your tone, and getting powerful performances.

Megan Park

Megan Park is a director, writer, producer and actress with a uniquely authentic voice known for telling compelling stories that highlight heartfelt human experiences. Park’s sophomore film, MY OLD ASS, produced by Margot Robbie’s Academy Award®-nominated LuckyChap and Steven Rales’ Academy Award®-nominated Indian Paintbrush, had its world premiere at Sundance, a first for Park, where the film received rave reviews and was quickly scooped by Amazon Studios in a competitive bidding war. It will be released in select theaters September 13 and everywhere September 27. The film follows bright-yet-irreverent Elliott (Maisy Stella), an 18-year-old girl who comes face-to-face with her older self (Aubrey Plaza) during a mushroom trip the summer before college. Through Elliot’s funny and earnest journey of self-discovery and first love, she must decide if she’ll take her own advice to change her life before leaving her childhood home. With a 91% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, The Hollywood Reporter called it a “warm blend of comedy, romance and whimsical collapsed-time fantasy” and highlighted Park’s distinguished voice as both a writer and director. Collider lauded Park by saying she “isn’t just two for two with solid films as a director. She’s made two true home runs. Such assured, soulful writing and directing.” more...

Erica Elson

Moderator | Digital Course & Event Producer

Erica Elson is a Producer, Writer and Educator based in the mountains outside Los Angeles. Her short film, WING NIGHT, premiered at Method Fest in Los Angeles. She is the co-author of the book THE AWKWARD HUMAN SURVIVAL GUIDE and co-hosted a podcast by the same name on the 5by5 network for five years. Elson's articles have been published by HuffPost, Lifehacker, and Reader's Digest. Prior to working in education, she worked in television development and writers’ rooms such as VH1’s HINDSIGHT, where she had the chance to write for the spinoff web series PLANET SEBASTIAN. more...

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