QUESTION 1: What about your film excites you the most?

As a director, I'm always heavily involved with every department. However, my priority is performance. When it came to casting and directing a child as the lead in Kitten Heels, I wanted to cast a child who was still very much a kid. That was incredibly important to me. When I first met Eloise in the audition room, it was obvious that she wasn't trying to be a grown-up. She wasn't acting for me, nor her mother. She was just being a kid. When it came to rehearsals, I didn't want to over-rehearse her, nor influence her. Rather, I wanted to learn about her and try to figure out how to direct, not just a child, but this specific kid. So, we never ran lines. We just played pretend. I simply got to know her, and learned how her imagination worked. I prepared little games and surprises for set. I tried to find little ways to feed into her imagination and immerse her in the world of the film. Everyday was exciting and full of challenges. In a way, working with a child forced me to have fun on set.

QUESTION 2: What is it about your current movie that will influence your next film?

Kitten Heels taught me about my directing style. The moments of this film that I loved most were unplanned, like the water fight scene. While "normal Maya" is a total control freak, I think I discovered that "director Maya" is much more spontaneous. For my next film, I'd love to go into more scenes without a plan. I think directing on the fly allowed my actors to play. It made things feel real because it was real. That energy made set fun.

QUESTION 3: When youre shooting a film do you think of time as something you capture or something you construct?

I think of the film's time as its own entity. It's a living, breathing element. In my films, time is typically subjective to the perspective of my protagonists. I am less interested in recreating time, and more interest in the idea of how time feels. A minute can fly by in moments of chaos, or a minute can ooze like molasses in moments of discomfort. I often think about time in terms of memory. Some of the moments that shaped my childhood are composed of flashes and blurs. Others are slow, vivid, and incredibly sensory-- the kinds of memories you can smell.

QUESTION 4: Whats a limitation you wish you had on your next shoot that would force you into making interesting creative decisions?

Budget! Independent filmmaking is so rewarding because it forces you to do a lot with a little bit of money. With a limited budget, I have to get creative with my resources. I think this not only makes the process more exciting, but helps you learn more about your own film. When you're making props and thrifting wardrobe, you have to be incredibly intentional and examine things so closely. It's intimate.

QUESTION 5: If a film shoot is like a living organism which department do you think functions as its nervous system?

The AD is absolutely the brain of the shoot. The AD needs to know the shotlist better than the director and the DP. The AD knows what every department is doing and how long it takes to do what they have to do, before they do it. The AD controls the energy and the morale of the shoot. The AD has to plan for anything to go wrong at any given time. If the AD loses it, the shoot is not going to happen.

instagram: maya_corwin

5Q's w/: Maya Corwin "Kitten Heels" Director