Hey Jerrika, it’s been a month! What have you been up to?

Glad you asked, stranger!

In January, I was cast in an indie feature called Teacher of the Year. Last week, I was in New Orleans shooting a commercial with Todd Stashwick and notable director, David Shane. And this week, I can officially say the film I wrote/directed is complete.

…And as of five minutes ago, I completed my director’s statement and, gotta say, I’m proud. I’d like you to be first to read it:

As a proud hermit with a tendency toward the quirk, many films purport to be aimed at me and my ilk. There’s a recognizable formula to those stories: Lovable Loser secretly hates her life. Lovable Loser’s gay friend and/or black friend pushes her to make a change. Lovable Loser subsequently falls in love. Lovable Loser is elevated from loserdom through love of Lover.

It’s enough to make you puke.

If these are the films aimed at my demographic, where’s the capable, interesting woman who’s comfortable with solitude and not obsessed with cheese (or any other quirk-of-the-week)? Where’s the woman who is introspective, intelligent and only just a little stagnant? Where’s the woman who is more concerned with why she’s doing than what she’s doing?

I hadn’t seen that woman. Then I realized I had to write her.

The one thing I keep coming back to since beginning this process is how relatable everyone finds The Girl. She seems to exist beyond demographics, beyond tropes. Her tale of ‘otherness’ is universal – and that’s something those other movies fail to understand. We’ve all felt like the ‘other.’ No one person belongs all the time. Yet, we’re so attached to  our particular experience and we use it as a point of isolation rather than unification. 

This isn’t just a tale about an outsider. It’s a story about belonging, longing, and the gulf of choices between the two.

-Jerrika, Writer/Director/Producer

See you on the red carpets.