An experimental short film about: memories, fading dreams, the body as a temple, and chakras. Prompted by a twilight state that became more of a sound and color study in an attempt to play with the concept of synesthesia and inspired by abandoned houses in my hometown. I worked very intuitively and subconsciously to create this work, and now I’m just realizing it holds additional deeper meanings. Influences: Suspiria, Samsara, Koyaanisqatsi, I’m Thinking Of Ending Things, and Mandy.

An interview with discarded objects, this Public Service Announcement addresses the global urgency of climate change with a specific focus on Planned Obsolescence. A lot of my life has been dedicated to raising awareness of environmental issues, educating future generations, and taking action, small and large, to create change. I am the block captain for my street in South Philly, my husband and I pick up trash every weekend on our block, I am a member of The Mural Arts Program: Trash Academy group and I used to be the lead teaching artist for the A20 (Arts and Artists Outdoors Program) and Students for Environmental Action. This short film is inspired by The Brave Little Toaster, Creature Comforts, and Wallace and Gromit.

A pair of ghosts despair over the state of the world and the fact that they can’t vote despite bogus stories that keep grabbing headlines, so they do what they know best: haunt those who can.

Logline: Mother Nature leaves a voicemail. Her children have not picked up the phone in years. When will they answer or will the line go dead?

After a year in quarantine, a woman makes peace with her fearful inner child about returning to a world that feels foreign and unsafe due to society’s push to pretend like it never happened.

I've taken refuge in rewatching old VHS videos. I dusted off my Digital Handycam Camcorder that has long since been discontinued by the manufacturer, and was surprised when it still worked. I quickly became reacquainted with its tapes. During this time of reflection, separation, and isolation I’m longing more and more to see the faces of my family and friends. I’ve been playing these old home movies over and over--in an attempt to be there again. This contrast makes all of this, that much more valuable. Once things aren’t there that’s when you realize the very ordinary moments are SACRED.

SOLSTITIUM: 23.4° (23°27´) chronicles my Summer Solstice from sunrise to sunset. After finding a time capsule that I made ten years ago, rooting through many memory boxes, and meticulously documenting each day during the pandemic, I decided to do something different. It was time to let go, set intention, and accept impermanence so that tomorrow can be better than yesterday. We will do better.

Viridescent means becoming green. The heart chakra or Anahata chakra is located at the center of the spine at heart level. Anahata roughly translates to "unhurt." It acts as the center of compassion, empathy, and love. In studying one color, green, I've discovered the spectrum, all the variations within. In the words of John Muir (influential naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States.) "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." This quote reminds me of some of the themes of The Alchemist which I was re-reading alongside the creation of this project. The Alchemist tells the story of a young shepherd named Santiago who finds a treasure beyond his wildest dreams. His journey teaches him to listen to his heart and, more importantly, realize that his dreams, or his Personal Legend, are not just his but part of the Soul of the Universe. "All you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation. Listen to your heart. It knows all things because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there." This piece features imagery inspired by Koyaanisqatsi, The Wizard of Oz, and my newest pet (Leon The Christmas Chameleon), closely associated with adaptation and versatility. Recent research has shown that "forest bathing," another name for a Japanese practice that began in the 1980s, is highly therapeutic, helping alleviate depression and boost the immune system. While spending time in wooded areas, we inhale compounds called phytoncides produced by various trees. They have antibacterial and antifungal qualities that help plants fight disease. When people breathe in these chemicals, our bodies respond by increasing the number and activity of T-cells, a type of white blood cell that are the immune system's first responders to any virus. Conserving, protecting, and restoring green spaces in and around our communities is probably as important to our physical and mental health as reducing the global climate and extinction crises. The healing power of nature recognizes the body's inherent ability to heal itself. This begins at the cellular level. This short film also features conversations around the kitchen table from old cassette tapes surrounding the holidays of 1971 and 1986. The big themes are change, conservation, capitalism, modernization, and the passage of time. Footage and photos were taken with an iPhone for this challenge. View the VIRIDESCENT photo series here:

I recently published my children’s book: Like The Sun Holds The Moon: A Children’s Book. The story that is at the heart of my children’s book is an origin story that has been holding me together for years and has helped me make sense of a divorce that really splintered my family. This year during the pandemic I finished final edits with my editor on my novel: Like The Sun Holds The Moon: A Novel: A unique story that tackles the issues of divorce and chronic illness, written during a very pivotal time of my life. A short film that would feature the first chapter of my novel and act as a stand-alone-piece where: a Ava Luna comforts her younger brother, Ray, with a story about how their parents met and why they cannot stay together. WAXING CRESCENT is a slice of the Like The Sun Holds The Moon universe where key characters and their relationships are introduced, with the goal being to create the whole feature film: featuring actors and an animated scene that depicts Ava Luna’s origin story. Ava Luna is our protagonist, 18 years old, airy and passive, a sucker for romance who usually has her head in the clouds. She is a college freshman who resembles her mother with long dark wavy hair, brown eyes and fair skin. She has a preoccupation with space, her ex-boyfriend, her divorced parents and her mother’s upcoming surgery. She copes with all of it by contra dancing and daydreaming while working as a waitress at a nearby restaurant in her hometown. For those who don’t know, contra dancing is a type of folk dance similar to swing dancing and ballroom dancing. Ray is Ava Luna’s younger brother, 16 years old, fiery, volatile and impulsive yet deeply sensitive with dirty blonde hair who resembles his father. He never seems to get enough sleep and for that is always tired, irritable and feisty. He copes with all of it by taking long aimless drives away from it all. Synopsis: We open with the sun which is almost tucked in tight behind the clouds. The stars are beginning to prick through. The sky glows purple as the sun’s warm pinks mix with the waxing crescent moon’s cold blues. Ava Luna and Ray are sitting on the trunk of Ray’s beloved yet rusted-out junker of a car eating water ice on the first day of spring. It is the first time in 3 months since they last saw each other since Ava lives with mom and Ray lives with dad. (with dialogue and authenticity similar to: All Families are Psychotic by Douglas Coupland and No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July). Ray confesses his secret wish that his parents were still together and Ava Luna promptly steps in to comfort her brother. We fall into Ava Luna’s daydream, an animated illustration of the story she tells for how their parents met and why they cannot stay together, drawing from the illustrations from my children’s book, very reminiscent of: The origins of love by Hedwig and the and the angry inch (with lush vibrant colors and hints of magical realism). She compares their mother to the moon and their father to the sun: two independent forces that must remain on their own separate orbits, yet still come together for short periods of time and exist in harmony. Her story weaves in how her parents met at a contra dance many years ago. Back in reality, Ray is temporarily comforted but strikes back quickly with anger at a careless spill that Ava Luna makes on Ray’s clothes from the water ice they were eating. They drive off in haste, in a puff of exhaust and Ray’s anger. I hope you will consider: my short film. It’s time to make: WAXING CRESCENT.

Two adorable animated villagers meet on a digital island and start by flirting but end up having a very deep existential conversation about life, the universe, and everything.