SJ Chiro is an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...

. She has made her feature film directing debut with ''Lane 1974'' in 2017 and later directed ''East of the Mountains'' in 2021.

Career

SJ Chiro was born and raised in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

She graduated in theater and French literature from the

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

. Chiro started her career with short films ''Little Red Riding Hood'' (2006), ''Third Days Child'' (2008), ''A Water Tale'' (2009), ''The Epiphany'' (2011), and ''Howard from Ohio'' (2011). Chiro adapted "The Hypocrisy of Disco: A Memoir" by Clane Hayward as ''Lane 1974'', her award-winning and debut feature film. The film was produced by Chiro, and Jennessa West, and its cast include Sophia Mitri Schloss,

Katherine Moennig Katherine Sian Moennig (; born December 29, 1977) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shane McCutcheon on ''The L Word'' (2004–2009), as well as Jake Pratt on ''Young Americans'' (2000). Moennig played the role of Lena in ...

, Sara Coates,

Jasmin Savoy Brown Jasmin Savoy Brown (born March 21, 1994) is an American actress. She has appeared in the HBO mystery drama series '' The Leftovers'' (2015–2017), the ABC legal drama series '' For the People'' (2018–2019), and the Showtime psychological dr ...

and Linas Phillips. It premiered at the 2017

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

, received positive reviews and was distributed worldwide by The Orchard. Chiro used her own childhood experiences and spent nine years in making the 1970s-

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

-set film. Chiro directed ''East of the Mountains'', starring

Tom Skerritt Thomas Roy Skerritt (born August 25, 1933) is an American actor who has appeared in over 40 films and more than 200 television episodes since 1962. He is known for his film roles in ''M*A*S*H'', '' Alien'', ''The Dead Zone'', ''Top Gun'', '' A R ...

. The film was released in 2021.

Filmography

Awards

*2017 New American Cinema Competition at the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...

: ''Lane 1974'' *2017 Golden Space Needle Award nomination at the

: ''Lane 1974'' *2017 SXSW Gamechanger Award nomination at the

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

: ''Lane 1974'' *2021 Jury Prize at the Yale in Hollywood Fest: ''Lane 1974''

References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women film directors American women screenwriters Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women {{US-screen-writer-stub