Check Out Amanda D’Ambrosio’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda D’Ambrosio.

Hi Amanda, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My love for telling stories developed throughout my youth and molded me into the filmmaker I am today.

When I was in the sixth grade, my elementary school hosted a theater troupe called the Imagination Machine that performs students’ original short stories onstage. My teacher had us write our stories a few weeks before they performed. Mine was about flying unicorns (but not pegasus apparently) living in Canada. I never thought I would get picked, and I really just did mine for fun, but on the day of the assembly for the Imagination Machine’s performance, I saw my parents sitting on the side of the auditorium in the audience. They performed my silly little story, and since that fateful day when I was 10 or 11 years old, I knew I wanted to be a writer.

Then in high school, I would see movies with my dad and his friends, who are all animators, filmmakers, and creatives. The movies were always fun, of course, but the real fun came afterwards, when I got to hear their thoughts on the film. I felt most alive listening to their critiquing jokes or how they think they filmed a particular shot, and even I would join in with my thoughts often enough. I knew then that I wanted to be a filmmaker.

Combining the two things together, I decided to go to school for Cinema and Television Arts at California State University, Fullerton. This is where I made my directorial debut short film (which I go into more detail about later), honed my filmmaking craft, and made lifelong friends that I still make films with today.

After my directorial debut and two years of filmmaking experience in various roles, I am currently in the fundraising stages of my next short film, “The Dove.” Based on real events in my life, “The Dove” centers on a grieving high schooler who is struggling to cope with her mother’s passing, until she is visited by her mother’s spirit in the form of the dove that was released at her funeral.

The synopsis is as follows: After her mother dies, 16-year-old May is angry. She’s angry at the world’s expectation of her to carry on even though her world has shattered. She’s angry at her father for trying to get her to grieve the way he wants her to. And she’s angry that her late mother, Diana, is leaving posthumous messages everywhere that she is still with May. May avoids her mother’s signs from beyond the grave, seeking no comfort in the notion that Diana can only be in her life through the painful memories of her suffering. It is only when the dove released at Diana’s funeral returns to May that she begins processing her grief, realizing that Diana’s signs were to communicate that she is free from pain and at peace. A testament to a mother’s endless love that transcends even death, “The Dove” is a deeply personal story of love, loss, and the hope of healing.

As I mentioned, this story is based on real events. My mother died when I was 12. My brother, dad, and I each released a dove at her funeral. We watched them fly away, and we thought that was it. But a week later, one returned to our living room balcony. My whole family knew that it was my mom, DeAnn, checking in, telling us she was okay.

I wasn’t healed from my grief just like that. But my mom’s visit let me know she’ll always be with me. “The Dove” is my love letter- to my mom, and to anyone who needs to know that love and hope transcends loss.

Our GoFundMe is currently live, and you can support us here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-fund-amandas-next-film-the-dove

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I know I still have a long road ahead of me to get to where I would like to end up in my filmmaking career. My ultimate aspirations are to become a showrunner in comedy TV. If I can make people laugh for a living, I’ll die happy. One of my favorite shows of all time is “New Girl,” and I greatly admire the creator Elizabeth Meriwether, who built the show from the ground up and kept it running to its consistent quality for all 7 seasons. I would love to do something similar and create a show that is loved by audiences and has great rewatchability.

But before I hopefully get to that point, there have been some interesting bumps along the way to get to where I am today. The most notable is that my directorial debut “Natural Selection” was incredibly close to not being made because of the red tape coming from the College of Communications at my school, who oversee the film program. The funding we receive to make the film is a grant from the Golden Globes given to two students per semester. The grant money became tied up with the dean of the College of Communications, who seemed dead set on keeping it to distribute to the non-film programs that she prefers. It took a significant amount of emails, meetings, and phone calls to get the grant money to my team and I. It delayed our filming and we even cut it so close to filming that in one instance we secured our location on Friday in order to film the next day on Saturday. Thankfully the incredible dedication and hard work of my team ensured a successful shoot despite the weaponized incompetence coming from the bureaucracy above us.

It escalated to the point where I wrote a letter to the Dean of the College of Communications’ bosses to expose her actions. This led to her resignation, and I hope that now that my time at Cal State Fullerton has come to an end, the new Dean is more welcoming to their film students.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The label of “filmmaker” can mean a lot of different things. Currently what I do to pay my bills is assistant direct and produce indie projects, while my non-paid personal side projects include writing and directing. An assistant director is what is known as the “boss” on set. I handle all logistics while on set including staying on schedule, ensuring cast and crew know where they need to be, and keeping the set running smoothly so that the director can achieve their vision. A producer is all about logistics before set. Securing locations, getting contracts signed, and making sure there’s food for the set is just some of what a producer does. I enjoy doing both roles, and there’s always the extra fun challenge when I’m both producing and assistant directing for a project.

Currently I am most proud of my award-winning comedy short film “Natural Selection.” My written and directorial debut tells the story of a young woman’s journey to find love- backed by a nature documentary narrator following her every move. The story is based on my personal struggle of being single while wanting to find a life partner. So, I took my genuine dissatisfaction with my love life and made it into something I could laugh at. The nature mockumentary style came about when I wanted to subvert the usual rom-com stereotypes where the main character usually narrates their woes. Running with the saying “love is like a jungle” allowed “Natural Selection” to come to life, and it was an incredibly rewarding experience from writing it to the festival season that is now drawing to a close. “Natural Selection” was met with an incredible film festival run, having been featured in over a dozen festivals and earned several awards.

What I feel sets me apart from other filmmakers is that all of my work revolves around one idea: You are not alone. Regardless of genre, I really like to focus on how the struggles you are facing are not forever, and you’re not the only person facing them, even if that’s what it feels like. Nicole from “Natural Selection” is not the only person who has felt as though they’ll never find their soulmate and will (albeit dramatically) die alone. May from “The Dove” is not the only person who has experienced grief, and she’s especially not the only person who has felt like the one person who you want to talk about your grief to is the very person you’re grieving. I want my audiences to feel no matter what they face in their lives: you are not alone.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Being in the Valley (La Crescenta) is a great fit for me because I enjoy the comfort and community of the suburbs while being less than an hour away from any comedy show, concert, or other live event that I want to experience in the city.

I grew up hanging out with friends along Honolulu Avenue in Montrose, eating frozen yogurt and walking its blocks in the cool evening air. From watching and participating in the Montrose Christmas Parade for years, volunteering at bingo nights with the American Legion, and performing in the marching band at Crescenta Valley High School, I will always cherish the charming, sleepy-town energy that my hometown has while still having great character and life to it.

In a recent instance, one of my team and mine’s fundraising efforts for “The Dove” was hosting a script reading event at a theater in Pasadena. The script was read in front of my family, fellow filmmakers, community members, and people who loved my mom. It was an incredible night and helped jumpstart our fundraising to reach our goal. It was also deeply inspiring and humbling to have hosted such a successful event because there are few other places in the world where people embrace the arts with open arms to support independent storytelling.

If I had to pinpoint what I dislike about our city, I would say that I wish we were kinder to each other. There’s that old saying about how the east coast is kind, but not nice, and the west coast is nice, but not kind. There’s a superficiality to parts of the city that I wish we didn’t feel the need to keep up appearances so we can have real interactions with each other. This is coming from a belief that filmmaking is about honesty, about telling stories on the human condition. It can be difficult sometimes to feel inspired when you cannot create a genuine connection with another person. That being said, my feelings around this issue mean that I approach each person I meet with kindness and compassion in the hope that we all treat each other with a little more kindness.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://amandardambrosio.my.canva.site
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanda_d_ambrosio/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandardambrosio/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@amandardambrosio
• Other: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-fund-amandas-next-film-the-dove