Rose Kreider is an up-and-coming film director who got her start in the industry as an actor and model. She has appeared in various background scenes on Netflix and HBO Max, as well as shows like Pawn Stars. After receiving recognition for her ideas from peers and colleagues, she transitioned into directing and has since directed two feature films that are available on streaming platforms and television in over 35 countries. Rose has been recognized internationally in film festivals, winning awards for Best Drama Feature and Best Director in a Drama. She is currently working on her latest project, a drama comedy called “Wish You Well,” which is set to be released in the spring. In addition to her work in film, Rose has created a platform for female directors in the state of Washington. Despite the challenges she has faced, Rose perseveres through and continues to believe in herself and her vision.
HEY ROSE, WELCOME TO BLACKBIRDNEWS.COM! CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY IN THE FILM INDUSTRY AND HOW YOU GOT STARTED AS A DIRECTOR?
Hi, and thanks for speaking with me! I started acting and modeling right around when covid hit. I pursued modeling more heavily first; participating in virtual runway and pageant shows and earning a spot to walk for a handful of designers in NYFW (New York Fashion Week) in both 2020 and 2021. Then, I switched gears and turned my focus to acting, where I found opportunities in various background scenes on Netflix and HBO Max, as well as shows like Pawn Stars. I loved the Seattle industry so much that my peers kept coming to me stating how great of a content creator or filmmaker I’d be because I had so many great ideas. Even my partner thought so! That skyrocketed me to where I am today, having two movies on streaming platforms and across television in over 35 countries and more than 10,000 streams. I have also been recognized internationally in film festivals such as one in London where I was awarded Best Drama Feature for The Woman and at New York Film Festival as Best Director in a Drama award. I have three movies in production this 2023 and one is soon to be released this Spring, stay tuned and follow me on my socials!
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE A PLATFORM FOR FEMALE DIRECTORS IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON?
I was inspired in general about the community Seattle has been able to create within the modeling/acting/film industry. I became aware that the people who’ve been around the Seattle film industry the longest were males and they are the ones who in most recent years have been credited a lot of recognition and awards in our local film festivals. I didn’t think that was all that fair, so I decided to take every opportunity in acting that I could for 2 years; doing Netflix and HBO Max background roles and one night I had a dream about a movie that no one had done, or none that I had heard of, so I woke up and wrote it all down in my bedside journal. I contemplated it for a week or so and then many of my peers said how I’d make a phenomenal director, so that is ultimately what pushed me into directing!
YOUR FIRST PROJECT, “THE WOMAN”, IS AN ORIGINAL FEATURE FILM. CAN YOU SHARE WITH US WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE THIS FILM AND WHAT THE PROCESS WAS LIKE IN BRINGING IT TO LIFE?
Well, The Woman came to me in a dream in October of 2021. The process began with writing out the story from beginning to end with my co-writer, Steve Wilhelm, out of Bellevue, WA for a couple of weeks. At the same time, I was piggy backing on speaking with my cast and offering them roles. I do my ‘auditions’ different that any other casting director I know. I just have a phone call with them and see if my character that I’m writing fits the mold of the actor and if the audience could connect with them, also. After I secured the cast and crew which took from end of October to end of November, and had the screenplay finalized, I had many cast/crew calls and made sure everyone was prepped for set in January. Another thing I like to say I do differently compared to other directors is I send out the screenplay at least two weeks in advance to bring in stronger chemistry between the actors so that they can practice with one another before arriving on set. This has shown to work out to my benefit because I have had many compliments on how the actors connect on screen from my viewers. We filmed from beginning of January to mid-February and worked our butts off to have the feature film with a run-time of 60 mins edited and ready for release by March 13, 2022! Typically, you allow a few months to edit a film, especially a feature, and I have taken that into account for my future films.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR LATEST PROJECT AND WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM IT?
My latest project which is currently in filming progress until March 5th is called Wish You Well (IMDB page here: www.imdb.com/title/tt26771346/) This film is a drama comedy and has been filmed in and around Seattle and featuring my favorite beach again that was in The Woman, Golden Gardens! The storyline is about 3 college friends named Blair, Clementine and Nova who can disprove the old folktale that a coin heads up are always lucky and that a coin tails up are never lucky. Through this journey together, these friends grow closer and find an important meaning to life: learn to be grateful for what you have in life and to make it a priority to wish well on others. A total college nostalgia film! Like all my films, this will soon be available worldwide and on a streaming platform near you this spring!
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU HAVE FACED AS A DIRECTOR AND HOW HAVE YOU OVERCOME THEM?
As a director, you wear all the hats. You must be extremely strong-willed, responsible, and organized to succeed, with or without a production assistant. I have had to deal with hard-headed actors on and off my set, as well as many people telling me “No”. I just persevere through and continue believing in myself, my vision and know that I am making the right decisions for how I run the set and what goals I need to accomplish in order to make the film a success. I have never had a single actor tell me they haven’t had fun on my set. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. I do, however, have very general film set rules as per any set, big or small. Sometimes it became a challenge to ensure everyone followed said rules and understood them. The Woman was a learning experience and I have pivoted many things in hopes to avoid the same challenges from happening again.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING DIRECTORS, ESPECIALLY WOMEN WHO ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN THE INDUSTRY?
It may seem deterring and intimidating at first, but just put your mind and all your energy into something and produce! Even if the budget you have is $0. If there’s a will, there’s a way. Believe in yourself and what you’re capable of and understand your vision and do not let anyone change that.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT A PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING MOMENT YOU’VE FACED IN YOUR CAREER AS A FILMMAKER AND HOW YOU OVERCAME IT?
One challenge was just grasping the fact that there are so many moving variables as an independent filmmaker. If you’re not on a large production lot with millions in budget, then the director is responsible for all things for the film set, as well as all the cast and crew. I have never had a problem taking the lead or staying organized, but the aspects of angles and time it takes Infront of the camera and utilizing the budget money accordingly is not something I was used to in the beginning while filming The Woman. I was also super eager to get my movie released and didn’t realize the effort it took to edit a film and how many hours that entailed. I had long, sleepless nights working on editing with my postproduction crew on many occasions, especially leading up to the release. To be completely honest, we were editing the film’s last touches THE NIGHT BEFORE the premiere where 85 people were planning on watching at The Edmonds Theater! I was also excited to get my film on television that I signed a contract with a scam company before finding the perfect distributor I have today. I think I didn’t know the meaning of true patience until my second film was released in June 2022.
FINALLY, WHAT ARE YOUR LONG-TERM GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS FOR YOUR CAREER IN THE FILM INDUSTRY?
My long-term goals are to become the female version of Tim Burton but with drama feature films and shorts. I believe the sky is the limit and have dreams of working across the globe with top-tier actors and collaborating with other filmmakers alike. When I release a film, whether it’s a short or feature, my goals for each are television and beyond. I never stop at just YouTube like most Seattle-based filmmakers do. That will never be me.
ADDITIONALLY, WE’D LOVE TO KNOW WHERE OUR READERS CAN FIND YOU ONLINE, SUCH AS YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES OR PERSONAL WEBSITE.
Instagram link @rosekreider
Facebook link @Rose Kreider
IMDB The Woman- @The Woman
IMDB A Room By The Road- @A Room By The Road
IMDB Wish You Well @Wish You Well
Wish You Well movie official website rosekreider.wixsite.com/wishyouwellmovie?fbclid=IwAR3bBRMAXRqcpGJ6vVz7RWzG62kW4CLQbTrNXTa_nmPrjn7Q6Yz0Sm5izxs
My Rose Kreider Productions website- hrosekreider.wixsite.com/website
The Woman official trailer- youtu.be/5zamntoxGqM
