Miranda July

Director/actor Miranda July had already achieved tremendous success as an artist by the time she made her first big-screen effort. She'd been quoted as saying that by the time she was 23 she was earning a living entirely from her creative efforts and without the help of a day job, and her list of accomplishments certainly reflects this. By the year 2005, she had showed her multi-media art in such venues as the Institute of Contemporary Art in London and The Kitchen in New York, published short stories in publications such as The Paris Review, The Harvard Review, and Zoetrope All Story, and recorded two EPs and two full-length LPs. It was in 2004, however, that she won a spot at the Sundance workshop and developed the film Me and You and Everyone We Know. The quirky and emotional comedy incorporated much of July's own video art. Writing, producing, directing, and staring in the feature film paid off for her in a big way; it won numerous awards including the Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The film also enjoyed a successful wide release, establishing a cult audience that caused the film to border on a sleeper hit.