Writer / Director Olivia Newman's longstanding passion for writing and acting paved the way for her successful launch into filmmaking. Raised in Hoboken, NJ by openminded, politically active, musically minded parents that met in the PeaceCorp, her childhood was shaped by performing in the school plays of the school her mother founded and spearheaded & by a year abroad in France her junior year in H.S. A crisis of identity in college led to a discovery of French Cinema & an eventual launch into directing when she enrolled at Columbia for grad school. A Sundance Screenwriting & Directing Lab alum, her films have received support from the Sundance Institute, HBO and The Caucus Foundation, and have been broadcast on PBS. She is in postproduction on her first feature, First Match, soon to be released on Netflix. Join us for this inspiring talk that touches on everything from outsiders, to racy too-young screenings of The Accidental Tourist, to Ed Harris giving film notes on a pregnancy ball.