Sally White

DIRECTOR'S CUT

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

Sally White came to me at one of the hardest moments of my life. I had just been displaced by the Altadena fires and was navigating two projects simultaneously when Katrina Jaxson brought me in. I received the script shortly before filming. There was no time for extended prep, just the work.

What drew me in immediately was the tone. Assumptions are funny. That is the truest thing about them, and dark comedy is exactly the right place to sit with that truth. Katrina and I see things almost the same way. She has had more success and I happen to be a little more alternative. The writing didn't feel far from my own experience at all.

On set I was quieter than usual. Appreciative of being there, grateful for the work, maybe carrying more than I showed. I spoke with the cast individually, gave them permission to pull their characters from within themselves, and let them rehearse into the truth of the scene. That approach, trusting the performance, trusting the story, is where I live as a director.

The message of this film matters. The absurdity of assumption, the cost of comfort zones, the way a name can carry more weight than a person, these are not abstract ideas. They are daily realities. Sally White finds the humor in that. And the humor is where the truth lands hardest.

DIRECTOR'S PRESS KIT