Filmmaker Statement

Growing up in the entertainment industry during my most precocious and formative teenage years, I suddenly found myself struggling to grapple with life, death, and what family means to me... dramatic, I know. But truly, I landed in hyper focus therapy at just 14 years young and sank into a depressive hole as I came to terms with the ambiguity of life. "Rise and Shine" is the first tenderly hard-hitting film that I chose to pour all of my being into. After a string of comedies that helped distract myself from my anxieties, I was finally ready to step out of my fear and address the time to move on.