1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?

I don’t have the “I’ve always wanted to be a filmmaker” story. Growing up I just wanted to help people - that was my ultimate dream. Get good grades. Become a doctor, maybe a therapist. Two semesters into college and I changed my degree from biochemistry to theatre - probably my first identity crisis, but I'll save that convo for another time. I started off as an editor, writing small things, doing miscellaneous jobs on set. I ended up going back to school in 2015 to pursue directing. I quickly started gravitating towards character-based stories with a cinéma vérité approach - capturing truthful, honest moments. Movement, fashion - anything with people and emotion. After graduation, I moved to Brooklyn and started working in the ad industry. Last year put a lot into perspective for me - so right now, my sole focus is creating work that I'm passionate about.

2) What was the initial idea for this project and how did it evolve from there?

This film was my undergraduate thesis, so it's in this weird in-between of evolving naturally and needing to be completed on a strict deadline. I knew I wanted to make a film that said a lot and a little at the same time. My main objective was for it to capture what I was feeling. It was a difficult film to write - depression is something I had a hard time talking about a few years ago. I was hurting and didn’t know how to communicate that to anyone. NOVEMBER stems from that.

3) What was the biggest challenge in making this film? And the easiest part?

The writing process was by far the biggest challenge - I can get really in my head and stew over the most insignificant details. It feels really precious to me - the entire production starts with the writing and I really want to provide myself with a solid foundation. So I sit with it and sit with it and sit with it until it’s finally ready.

Making the film, the collaboration, was a dream. Filmmaking is hard, but the people I was working with made the process easy.

4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?

Ida by Pawel Pawlikowski - it’s so quiet, still, and yet one of the boldest films I’ve ever seen. It’s set in 1962, Poland, and is centered around a young woman who finds out she’s Jewish right before she takes her vows to become a nun. She goes on a journey with her only living relative to figure out who she is and what happened to her family. I’m not sure how many times I cried. Less is more with this one - it’s incredible.

5) What’s next for you?

I’m currently in pre-production for another month film - DECEMBER. It's about identity, queerness, southern culture - I'm super excited to be making it. More on that later. I also have a dance film titled ROOM that will be out in the world soon, keep an eye out. A few other fun projects in the works. More movement/dance films, music videos - it's been a wild year filled with collaboration for me.

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www.maeganmann.com | IG: @__mvnn__