Shortly after my twenty-sixth birthday, I directed my first feature film. I poured everything I had into that movie—two years of my existence, my energy and creativity, my life savings—and when it was finally finished, I was so proud of what I had accomplished. The year that followed brought on a barrage of rejections. Of the dozens of festivals I submitted to, not a single one wanted to screen my film. My first movie was an incredible learning experience, but it was also a wake-up call. Filmmaking is time consuming, it’s expensive, and it will drain you. I could no longer spend my time making something just because it might be commercial enough to sell; I needed to give that energy to the movies that I personally wanted to see on screen. I had to dedicate that passion to the stories that I needed to tell. D.O.D. is one of those stories. I have been writing and directing in Los Angeles for the past fifteen years. Among my films are the features The Shadows of Ants and The House with Hell Inside, as well as the shorts In the Funny Papers, To Love, Death in Hollywood and Social Media Presence. The latter two both won the Universal Studios Film Festival, which afforded me filming opportunities on the sets of the Universal Studios backlot, where I recently completed shooting for my upcoming feature Eat Me. Read less