Filmmaker Statement

I wrote You Gotta Dance For It earlier this year after I decided to pursue directing as my career. This was my first short, and I produced, edited, and funded it as well. We filmed over the course of one afternoon near Rockaway Beach in Queens, NY in mid-May. One of the many highlights of making this film was collaborating with composer Ali Helnwein on an original score. We wanted the music to reference the jazz era’s call-and-response motif, with the trumpet accompanying her dancing and the drums alternating between two distinct jazz rhythms, one for each character.