Hi, I'm Daniela. Welcome to my personal lair on the Internet. This is where I write about storytelling, activism, technology and pop culture. Sometimes I post videos.
I update my lair when the mood strikes me. Follow me on Twitter for daily updates (@dcap).
Tag : leah-meyerhoff
Women’s History Month 2012: ’31 ladies who rock’ countdown!: filmmaker Leah Meyerhoff
Known for
– Working on her first feature film “UNICORNS,” a Sundance Lab finalist from executive producer Allison Anders (Things Behind the Sun)
– Having her short films screened in over 200 film festivals, winning a dozen international awards and distributed by IFC, LOGO, MTV, PBS, Reelport and Skandinavia TV
– Her profile in the docudrama series “Film School” on IFC
Affiliation
I met Leah in early 2008 after randomly stumbling across her blog. At the time “UNICORNS” was still in development and I was impressed by her body of work and digital savvy. I took a leap of faith and emailed Leah to see if she needed help with “UNICORNS” — as a trade, I would learn more about her pre-production workflow and decision-making process. Leah met me in person shortly after that and I appreciated her open, friendly personality, film production knowledge and generous recommendations. Between 2008-2010 I volunteered on “UNICORNS” and in the process I learned volumes about what it takes to succeed as an independent filmmaker.
Why Leah rocks
Leah rocks because she’s not afraid to draw inspiration from her family and personal life, which informs her work. As many folks who watched “Film School” know, Leah cast her mother in her short film “Twitch.” Toni Meyerhoff, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis shortly before Leah was born and has been in a wheelchair ever since, made her acting debut in “Twitch” and also has a role in Leah’s upcoming feature, “UNICORNS.” If you have a few extra minutes, be sure to watch “Twitch”:
From the day I met her until now, Leah has remained a loving, generous person who takes time out of her busy schedule to help others. Be sure to follow “UNICORNS” on Facebook to find out how to attend a screening in your area. To wet your whistle, here’s the synopsis:
still from "UNICORNS" - http://www.unicornsthemovie.com/gallery/
“I Believe In Unicorns” tells the story of an awkward teenage girl who escapes to a fantasy world when her first romantic relationship turns abusive. From Student Academy Award nominated director Leah Meyerhoff (Slamdance Grand Jury Prize winning short Twitch), executive producers Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging, Things Behind the Sun), David Kupferberg (Magic Valley) and Robin Leland (4th and Goal) and producers Heather Rae (Oscar nominated Frozen River) and Mark G. Mathis (Oscar winning Precious, Brick) Unicorns combines social and magical realism to address issues of teen dating violence from a new perspective.
Unicorns stars Natalia Dyer (The Healer), Peter Vack (I Just Want My Pants Back), Toni Meyerhoff (Twitch), Julia Garner (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Joshua Leonard (Blair Witch Project, Higher Ground) and Amy Seimetz (The Off Hours). A Sundance Lab finalist, Unicorns is supported by an Emerging Narrative Filmmaker Grant from the Independent Feature Project and fiscal sponsorship from San Francisco Film Society. Unicorns recently won an All Access Grant from the Tribeca Film Institute.
I’ve decided that (as part of this daily blogging experiment) I’m going to kick-off a “5 Rad Things” post that I’ll feature every Wednesday on The Lair.
Hump days are sometimes hard for me, so little factoids/delights that I manage to pluck from the web and turn around in my head are often just what I need to get me through them.
Here are 5 rad things that I’m going to “privately” (ha) obsess over today:
Did you know that Sonic 1, 2, and 4 are available for the iPhone? YES!!!! THEY ARE!!!!
Sonic the Hedgehog was the first game I really got into after Super Mario 3. The Sega Genesis console was the first game system I ever co-owned with my brother, and playing Sonic with him is a memory that brings me a lot of joy. I’m so excited about playing Sonic 1, 2, and 4 when I am on the subway while ignoring creepers. YAY!
If you’re a sneaky devil, there are *ahem* “ways” to get the games for free…. 😉 But you really should pay for them after you’ve tried them out. Developers need to eat too.
Yup, most tech journalists and insider bloggers are saying that the iPad 3 shouldn’t be expected until March 2012. All you gadget heads out there are probably crying right now. Shaddup, ya babies! This is a good thing. I was actually considering getting the iPad 3 this fall, but now I’m glad it’s being delayed because hopefully that means the new version will role out with even more improved features.
Corvida chews on her iPad 2 at a screening of “The Triplets of Belleville”
In our consumer culture, so many folks scramble to buy things they don’t really need. Apple counts on this to feed their bottom line by releasing “new” versions of the same product within months of each other, with only minor improvements. At this stage in my career, it benefits me to have an iPad so I can do product testing. However, it doesn’t benefit me to waste money. So I’m fine with borrowing my friend’s iPad 2 until the iPad 3 is released next year. No biggie.
From Cynopsis: Facebook Studio, the page on Facebook designed to share best practices for Facebook marketing from agency pros, is slated to launch a live Web series today at 11 a.m. pacific time called Creatives Talk. The show features interviews with creative thought leaders from fashion, TV, advertising, storytelling and more discussing their creative processes.
The first interview is with Brian Seth Hurst, CEO of the Opportunity Management Company, discussing marketing and multi-platform storytelling. You can watch on the Facebook Live tab on Facebook Studio.
Facebook has made it even easier for businesses and individuals alike to create their own engaging products for Facebook and to integrate Facebook into their multi-platform experiences. Check out the guidelines here. As you can see, there’s a very helpful section on plugins and mobile development.
Leah Meyerhoff is a friend I met through the Internet in 2008. I don’t remember how I found her, but I remember being struck by the content on her website and wanting to learn from her. I emailed her and she agreed to meet me in person. Since then, over the years I’ve volunteered my time during pre-production on her first feature “Unicorns” and learned a lot in the process. Her Flickr set alone is a wealth of information for first-time directors. Leah is a very loving, driven, and talented person and I’m grateful to know her.
About “Unicorns”
“I Believe In Unicorns” tells the story of an awkward teenage girl who escapes to a fantasy world when her first romantic relationship turns abusive. From Student Academy Award nominated director Leah Meyerhoff (Slamdance Grand Jury Prize winning short Twitch), executive producers Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging, Things Behind the Sun), David Kupferberg (Magic Valley) and Robin Leland (4th and Goal) and producers Heather Rae (Oscar nominated Frozen River) and Mark G. Mathis (Oscar winning Precious, Brick) Unicorns combines social and magical realism to address issues of teen dating violence from a new perspective.
Unicorns stars Natalia Dyer (The Greening of Whitney Brown), Peter Vack (I Just Want My Pants Back), Toni Meyerhoff (Twitch), Julia Garner (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Joshua Leonard (Blair Witch Project, Higher Ground) and Amy Seimetz (The Off Hours). A Sundance Lab finalist, Unicorns is a supported by an Emerging Narrative Filmmaker Grant from the Independent Feature Project and fiscal sponsorship from the San Francisco Film Society. Unicorns is currently shooting in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area.
I’m so happy that she’s reached this benchmark and that “Unicorns” will soon be a visual treat for anyone who can get to the big screen (and I’m sure other screen options as well 😉 ). Her newsletter say they are currently gearing up for an additional fantasy shoot and extensive stop motion animation before heading into post production. If you would like to get involved, contact her. They are also looking for an editor based in New York.
Please send recommendations to: info AT unicornsthemovie DOT com
To stick with my theme of rad things, I’ll end this post with her rad bio:
Leah Meyerhoff is a Slamdance Grand Jury Prize winner and Student Academy Award finalist currently pursuing an Masters in film at New York University. Her short film TWITCH has screened in over 200 film festivals, including Cannes, Palm Springs, Chicago International, Clermont-Ferrand, Newport International, Milan International and Woodstock. After winning a Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance and Best American Short at the Avignon Film Festival, TWITCH went on to become a finalist in the Student Academy Awards and win a dozen additional awards including Best of Fest at the Golden Star Shorts Fest, Best Female Director at the West Chester Film Festival, and an Honorable Mention at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.
TWITCH was distributed domestically by IFC and internationally by Reelport and Skandinavia Television. Leah has since directed a Converse commercial and several music videos including TEAM QUEEN for Triple Creme, ETERNAL FLAME for Joan as Police Woman and LIKE OUR FATHERS for Luff, which have screened at dozens of film festivals including Frameline, Reeling, NewFest, and the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. TEAM QUEEN was a finalist for the Planet Out Awards, won Best Music Video at the Fort Worth LGBT Film Festival and is now airing on LOGO, while ETERNAL FLAME is on MTV Europe.
Leah has received press coverage from The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Film Threat and The San Francisco Chronicle among others. She was also profiled on the IFC docudrama series Film School, directed by Nanette Burstein. Leah graduated with Honors from Brown University with a Bachelor’s degree in Art-Semiotics. She continued her studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before transferring to New York University where she is currently a Dean’s Fellow in Graduate Film. Leah has taught undergraduate film courses at New York University, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, New York Film Academy, and Polimoda in Florence, Italy. She has also been on numerous filmmaking panels and was recently a jury member for Slamdance and HollyShorts, as well as a current programmer for Rooftop Films.
Leah is currently working on her first feature film, a Sundance Lab finalist and IFP grant winner called UNICORNS.
Leah is a Slamdance Grand Jury Prize winner and Student Academy Award finalist currently pursuing an MFA at NYU. Her short film TWITCH has screened in over 200 festivals, won a dozen international awards and was picked up for distribution by IFC and Skandinavia TV. Her music videos TEAM QUEEN and ETERNAL FLAME have screened in over 50 festivals and are airing on LOGO and MTV Europe. She was also profiled in the docudrama series “Film School†which continues to air on IFC. Leah has been a featured panelist at film festivals across the country and recently served on the Slamdance narrative jury.
Unicorns tells the story of an awkward teenage girl who escapes to a fanatsy world when her first romantic relationship turns increasingly abusive. This will be Leah’s first feature film. I discovered Twitch and Leah by simply googling local filmmakers who had made award winning short films. I contacted her a few months ago on her website and since then I have been incorporating some of my classwork for The New School into assisting Leah on Unicorns.
I attended last night’s reading both to observe and to participate. Besides assisting Clarissa Delos Reyes with setting up the room and prepping the reception snacks, I also brought along my Panasonic DVX100b to help Brian Gonzalez shoot the reading.
I had never attended a reading before so it was a great learning experience.
