Filmmaker Statement

After being selected as a fellow for the program, we were tasked to create a project with the theme of 'identity'. "Dog Lady" is an answer to the question of identity. Boiling down who we are into the simplest and most visceral answer, I kept coming back to the notion ' you are what you love'. Often times we our identities are tied to other people and created in relation to others - as a parent, a sibling, a friend - or to our profession. I hope this film makes viewers question identity outside the box of defining one's self and purpose in life in what is 'acceptable' or not. As a filmmaker, I often measure my milestones differently than that of peers outside the industry. The story of Daisy's love for her dog, Gigi is one that parallels this notion of living for what we love, no matter what others think. Identity can be what you make it and it can be what drives your happiness. If you are a dog lady, then be a dog lady.