Women in Film Part 4: Grace Rowe

If there's anyone who can prove they are that girl, it would be Grace Rowe, a one-woman band who wrote, produced, and starred in her first feature film, I AM THAT GIRL (SDAFF 09). Grace shares her thoughts and womanly advice with SDAFF for Women's History Month.

What are you working on now?
I just finished writing a big-budget feature comedy and before I write my next indie feature, I’ve been prepping for the online DVD launch (available now!) of my first feature film, I Am That Girl (www.iamthatgirlmovie.com). I promised myself I wouldn’t write my next project until I make some money back on my first film, but the other day I had an amazing dream about the whole movie and I woke up and wrote the first thirty pages. So sometimes you can’t stop the process!

People assume I am….
A director. This has gotten me in trouble in the past. I’ve been to several film festivals where people introduce me as the director (of both American Seoul and I Am That Girl.) Once the director was standing right next to me and I had to re-introduce myself as the producer and writer, not the director. However I do think that this is a sign that in the future I will direct. Either that or it’s a sign that people see the control freak in me!

My female hero is….
Oh jeez, there’s so many. Where to begin? The most important one though, is my mother. She is the most brave and fearless woman I know. She survived a war, mastered another language, and left the comforts of family to move halfway around the world to seek opportunity for her unborn children and rose to the top of the corporate ladder to became the highest paid woman in her company. Intelligent, dedicated, passionate, goofy, and generous to a fault- I hope I have inherited some of her qualities.

Being a woman means…
Knowing you’re smarter and using it as a secret weapon. (They never see you coming!) But sometimes it means you have to work harder too…

The best advice another woman has given me is…
“It’s just as easy to love a rich man as it is a poor man.” Ha ha! Just kidding. (I only wrote that because that’s the first piece of advice another woman has told me that I can remember!) Let’s think…aha, yes. My very close friend once consoled me when I was disappointed about some of my work and she said, “In every other profession, people are not expected to make it by the time they’re twenty. As an artist, you have to have time to grow…enjoy this time now and trust that you will get better with time, just like a cellist gets better with practice, or a carpenter, or a painter-- you too, will get better.” (I might have added the part with the cellist, but you catch my drift.)

Favorite movie & why….
The Celebration. It made me realize that you can make an incredible movie with a Hi-8 video camera. It had everything a great movie should have. Incredible acting, an incredible story, incredible cinematography, incredible editing, sound, etc. All for pennies on the dollar of what it costs to make most Hollywood movies. It was created by the “Dogma” filmmakers of Denmark, and If you haven’t seen it…prepare yourself. It’s pretty dark.

My dream project is…
A secret I hold close to me in hopes that one day I will have the guts to find a way to make it happen even though my life could possibly be at risk if I made it. (Now aren’t you intrigued?)

Biggest obstacle you’ve overcome…..
All the days I wonder whether I will have the strength to hold on…to stay with it…to never give up…never surrender!

Biggest accomplishment so far in your life…..
Making my first feature film, I Am That Girl, and winning a Best Actress Award for my performance in it.

Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
Producing, acting, writing…much like I’m doing now but with more calm, more confidence, and more expertise!

Anything else you want to share?
Uhhh…just another shameless plug. Check out my movie at www.IAMTHATGIRLMOVIE.com and also check out my blog, AMASIAN GRACE It’s all about my experiences as an Asian American actress, writer, and producer and if you join the mailing list, you’ll receive a free newsletter, a free mp3 from the original soundtrack of “I Am That Girl,” and $8 off the movie!

Please support Grace and I AM THAT GIRL by purchasing the film today at www.IAMTHATGIRLMOVIE.com