It's always been difficult for me to find funding for a story that I want to follow in real time. Financiers are hesitant to support a project when they don't know the outcome.

Since I shoot, record audio and edit, I was able to begin the filming without hiring a crew and create a sample to show broadcasters and grant organizations.

Learning how to do some of the technical work on the film can be helpful too and allows you to start the film on your own. However, if you are passionate about an idea, just begin.

Crowdsourcing is an invaluable resource for filmmakers, but be prepared for an enormous amount of work.

When I was growing up in the '50s, I had never heard of a "woman film director," so I did not consider it as an option. But I was fortunate that in the late-'60s and '70s, because of the feminist movement, women were stepping into all sorts of careers that had been closed to them in the past and film was one of them.

Even after forty years of directing, shooting and editing films, when I collaborate with a male partner, people still perceive the man as the primary filmmaker.

It's always been difficult for me to find funding for a story that I want to follow in real time. Financiers are hesitant to support a project when they don't know the outcome.