In every film, there is the story that you knew you were telling, the story the audience perceives. But there is always some other story, a secret story. It might be the result of your hidden motivations for making the film, or, instead, the result of themes that only became clear to you after you made the movie. It might be something very personal, or it might be a story you didn’t even know you were telling. What is your film’s secret story?

With Equity, we were seeking to tell a story about the strength and drive of female ambition in male dominated work environments like Wall Street. Amy Fox’s brilliant script had a tenacity and steely fiber that was inspiring. In shooting the film, I was deeply connected in conversation to the actors about what type of strength it took to push forward and fight for recognition as a woman on Wall Street. But in the edit, we discovered the story underneath the story, how sometimes that fight for recognition can meet impossible circumstances, resistance at every level, and land in a place where ambition turns into something a bit more unsettling — ruthlessness.

[PREMIERE SCREENING: Tuesday, January 26 at 6:00pm — Library Center Theatre]

Sundance Responses 2016