DIRECTORS

Donna is a film and stage director and writer whose focus is stories about women with unusual and heroic skills, humanity, or insights. She explores cultural silencing, ancestral powers, and isolationism, versus community. Her projects are Nicholl SFs, Gotham No Borders, Slamdance Labs, Austin Film Fest, and MIPTV/Cannes Series selects, among others. Her family-mockumentary-mystery, Death of a Saleswoman, about glass ceilings faced by high-achieving women, took home wins from international festivals, sold at Cannes/ AFM/ Berlin markets, and streams globally on multiple platforms. Her short film, The Girl Next Door, about a voiceless harmonica virtuoso, screened at 56+ international and U.S. festivals. She's developing the feature version, Natalia Rising, in addition to other feature projects. Donna created and leads the #MentorLatinaDirectors Fellowship for Latina and Indigenous TV and Film Directors via Alliance of Women Directors. She also directs theatre, and is a member of Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative. She develops her works with support from Film Fatales, Alliance of Women Directors, Stowe Story Labs, CA Center for Cultural Innovation, Sundance Collab, Reel Sisters/African Voices, PageCraft, and Women in Film. She's a former skydiver, rock climber, and experienced off-road driver. She has both science and legal backgrounds as well. Updated Comedy/Dramedy Reel: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/978561720/8afb75910e