Screenwriter/Director/Editor/Colorist

A Song For Danny was my thesis film at the University of Texas at Austin, and was my return to directing narrative stories after SOL. At the time I was torn between staying in Austin with my friends who I deeply cared about, and moving back to New York, which had not been kind to me in the past. I felt the best way to explore this concept was to make a film about a struggling musician who is living a fulfilling life in Austin with a girl he loves when he is presented the opportunity to launch his career back in New York and redeem himself professionally, even though it meant reuniting and working with people who he had had professional and business issues with in the past. This shoot was incredibly ambitious. We shot in two cities (Austin, Texas and New York City), had all original songs written by the incredibly talented Joe Bowman, and recorded all the music live on set, a feat many feature musical films don’t match. The style and tone were inspired by films such as The Last Waltz, Once, and Inside Llewyn Davis, as well as the music of Tom Waits and Billy Joel. This was also the first film where I had a team and crew to collaborate with and what a joy and learning experience that process was. I’ve worked with several members of the crew and team on projects since and hope to continue to do so in the future.