Interview

Exclusive Interview With Director @MirandaSajdak via @stacyamiller85

Miranda Sajdak is a director with vision.

  She has cleared ideas and passion for her work. I recently had the opportunity to interview her and found her answers well enlightening.  Read on to find out what she had to say.

Why did you want to become a director?
“I decided to become a director after seeing the film A League of Their Own. It was the first live-action (non-Disney animated) film I saw in theaters, and I left knowing I wanted to make movies. I was inspired by seeing the female friendships, which felt relatable to my life at the time. Once I saw that movie, I knew I wanted to direct, and haven’t changed my mind on that since.”   
 What challenges have you faced as a director?
“I’d say the biggest challenges as a director are access to resources. Unlike many other arts (writing, painting, etc), you really need access to money and people. While you need some of those things to write or paint, if I wanted to self-publish a novel, I could just type it up and publish it tomorrow, and wouldn’t need to have the resources you need as a director to succeed. One of the things I like most about directing is the collaborative process, but it really is hugely collaborative, especially for classical narrative. You need a cinematographer and an assistant director, make-up, wardrobe, an editor. While you can often get friends to collaborate with you – and I definitely suggest that – I like to pay my crews and cast as much as I can on the low budget side of things, so you need more than just yourself and an idea – you need financing and people. And that can be a challenge.” 
 Walk us through the typical day as a film director?
“Well, there isn’t really a typical day, which is one of the great things about it. In development, I might be working with the writer to make sure a scene is polished or that the emotion on the page is at the most heightened level. Then in pre-production, I’m working on shot lists and storyboards and collaborating with department heads to make sure my wardrobe head knows what to buy/rent or my prop master knows what the characters need to hold or my locations manager knows where we’re shooting and everything is in place for those areas. I sort of tend to be a director with some producing elements, so I like to double-check to make sure things like permits are in place, which probably bugs my producers to no end. Once on set, then it’s really focusing on the creative side – making sure the actors, cinematographer, and department heads are comfortable and aware and unified in the vision of the story.”
Can you share one high point of your job as a director?
“I’ll share two! The first was directing SNAPSHOT with Savannah Dooley back in 2010. We were honored to get Anne Ramsay on board to star, and she’s one of the women from A League of Their Own. So that was a big deal to me – to really work closely with someone whose work I’ve admired for so long. My second high point is coming up, and that’s prepping to direct my next short NO TRACE; I’ve had great response to the script so far, especially from the actors and DP, and that’s really when you know you’ve got something magic on the page. I’m thrilled and excited to work with everyone involved, and the team that’s coming together is better than I could ever have imagined. We have James Kyson from HEROES, Pia Shah from GREY’S ANATOMY, and hopefully another favorite actress of mine from some very popular TV shows will be leading the short. So, that’s super exciting.”
How do you encourage any backers involvement in projects you direct?
“I like to be really open about things. I’m very approachable (my Twitter handle is @MirandaSajdak), and I like to just be friendly and conversant. You’ll never get an auto-DM from me about my projects. Everything I type is self-generated, so I try to be as friendly and approachable as possible. I’ll talk about the minute details of the project, what’s going on, what stage we’re in, etc. I like people to know where we are, so they feel comfortable investing. I’ve crafted some very useful troubleshooting skills over the last few years – I had a project a few years ago where, on day 1, both make-up and DIT didn’t show, and I had two replacements arrive within an hour. It was a harrowing moment for me during set-up, but I’m really comfortable with solving problems as they arise and making sure everything gets done on time and budget.”
Can you talk about your current project?
“I can! My current project is called NO TRACE (gofundme.com/MirandaDirects), and it stars James Kyson from HEROES and Pia Shah from GREY’S ANATOMY. The project is an action short and follows an undercover cop who robs a bank for the mob, only to find herself on the run from her former partners. It’s got twists and turns, exciting action sequences, and will just be a killer ride. I’ve had lots of industry readers take a look at the script, and I like to share as well with backers at various levels. I’m big on collaboration. You may have noticed from my current casting that my two announced leads are people of color, and that’s really important to me as a director. I’m an out member of the LGBT community and familiar with struggles with disability, too, so while I definitely benefit from white privilege, I try to be someone who’s listening to women and minority communities and embracing inclusivity. The project I did in 2010 was an LGBT project that went to Outfest, so, for this one, I’m really trying to focus on making it entertaining, but also making it something we don’t see a lot of – and we don’t see a lot of POC leads to begin with, and certainly not in high-level action roles. Minor spoiler alert, I intentionally made James also the male romantic lead, as we really don’t get to see that often for East Asian males. That mattered to me a lot. It was also something that was somewhat accidental, as I realized during writing and casting that my first choices for these particular roles were people of color anyway – I wanted them because they’re the best people for the job. I look at the first movie that changed my life, and it was about women working together. You’d probably never see a film like that greenlit today, with that many female leads and a female director. And as a lesbian, I recognize what it feels like to be marginalized or not catered to by the film industry. So, while I definitely benefit from white privilege, I try to listen and be open and be a part of the change I’m always talking about on Twitter. Long answer to a short question! But that’s what my project is really about – it’s a fun action movie with inclusivity as a vital part.”
 
 What would you like people to know about you and your passion for directing?
“I’d love people to know that I’m really dedicated to making fun, entertaining films that may subtly circumvent the status quo, without preaching or proselytizing. I want to make things that are entertaining and that do well and that people enjoy – but that are also real. And my real life is full of diversity, so that’s something I like to reflect, and something that motivates my passion for getting behind the camera and telling, hopefully, unique and enjoyable stories.”

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