About Me

Current Living: On the the Upper West Side, NYC! It’s pretty amazing. I get to pretend I’m Kathleen Kelly everyday. On my morning walks to work, I pass by the 91st Flower Garden in Riverside Park. It’s pretty magical.

Favorite Books: To Kill A Mockingbird, Life of Pi, The Lord of the Rings and anything by C.S. Lewis. In YA, I love the Graceling series

When I was a kid I wanted to be: A news reporter, but I think this was because I liked their outfits on TV.  I always knew I'd be a writer though. The first "book" I wrote was a sequel to Titanic, it took up two composition notebooks. 

Favorite Music: Smashing Pumpkins, Queen, Switchfoot, Arcade Fire, Mutemath. I'm also big on film score! It's mostly what I write to. Favorites include Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Steven Price and Junkie XL. 

Side note, I'm a bit of a music fiend in general. Check out my monthly mixes! 

Favorite Television Series: Sooo if we're talking drama I'd have to say Breaking Bad. It is, hands down, the best, show, ever, made. If we're talking comedy though, it will always and forever be The Office. 

Some of my favorite Films: Lord of the Rings (if I HAD to choose between them, I'd say Return of the King), You've Got Mail, The Sound of Music, and The Exorcist. 

Least Favorite Film: Practical Magic

Special Skills: I'm really good at assembling furniture, and mildly enjoy it. I've played bass for years, and recently picked up the drums (wanna jam, though?) 

Before I Die: The only thing I wanna do before I die is stick my head from a car top while in a tunnel. Listening to Bowie's Heroes. Feeling the wind in my hair. 

*Deep breath* here we go. Fun fact, I didn’t think I would shoot this film this year. For a long time, it felt like the stars weren’t aligning, until, at one moment, they did. An opportunity stood before me and I had to decide if I wanted to take it, or play it safe and wait for a “better” time to film this thing. I also knew that because it was a proof of concept for my first feature, it needed to be on another level from anything I’ve made before.

During this time, I was dealing with a lot emotionally and in my personal life. It was a dark winter, but thankfully, this film felt like the universe sending me a lifeline.

I’m proud to say that in the span of just 4 months, I got the green light, went into pre-production + filming + post and now I have a film that I love more than anything else I’ve made before.

Congratulations to my entire team who worked so hard and whose talent is evident on the screen. This film 100% wouldn’t be what it is without any of you. Special shout out to my DOP @bradreeb who went ham on his first time shooting on ARRI RAW. To my editor @deandrevidale who put up with my endless notes and 9 drafts before we got to picture lock. Lastly to my muse @brockolooser who I’m sure almost tore her diaphragm on multiple occasions on set lol thanks for the dedication to my insanity, Brock. This is the most stunning performance I’ve seen you thus far.

Thank you all who continue to support my film journey. Sweetheart is now yours to watch! Stream it on ALTER now and leave a comment or message :) I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Love,

Neesh