Our crew was mostly female and half native Greek. Our cast was mostly local to the Peloponnese in Greece, where much of the film is set. For all of us it was our first feature film in our respective positions. Our script defies norms with its atypical arc and stars a female antihero.

Nia on Vacation is a narrative feature film in its fine cut stage. It is a true to life dramedy about a Nia, an unenthused young woman perpetually in a rut. When the chance to escape arrives in the form of a plane ticket from her estranged brother, she jumps at the chance. What follows is no vacation.

At its core, Nia On Vacation is about expectations unmet. It is about the uncanny experience of visiting paradise and simultaneously experiencing a kind of hell. To do this dichotomy justice, I had to write a script that felt like the experience itself; It had to be unpredictable and all too real. It had to be so funny it was sad.

We shot the Greek portion of the film in 16 days with a largely native Greek crew. We were always short on time and resources but never on talent and good humor. We forged lifelong friendships, not only with our principle crew, but with so many of the people we met along the way who extended themselves out of sheer love of cinema. It is for them as well as you that we are intent on finishing this film and getting it out there as soon as we can. Our experience in Greece was dear to all of us, and I think it shows in our finished film.

We have plans to complete the original score and color correction this year, and we've applied to many grants that we stand a great chance for – but we wouldn’t get that funding until 2018, which means we would have missed our top choice festival entries this year – which means we’d be keeping this film to ourselves until 2019. And that just won’t do. Completing our sound mix now means we can apply this summer.

I have always been drawn to stories about average people, the less than privileged. I find them few and far between, and I suspect it is because these people are less likely to be able to make films. In writing this script with a micro-budget in mind, I’m hoping to add to that lack of diversity. I’m proud of my team and what we were able to accomplish. Nia on Vacation is a film featuring a female antihero, made by female underdogs, that defies the expectations set for female protagonists. With Nia On Vacation the aim was to go beyond “niche issues” and express a more universal – albeit unconscious - experience. I want to finish this film this year so that I can make more films like it. I think we need them.