#1: Can you describe your movie and why somebody should see it in less than 140 characters?

Margaret invites her husband's colleague to dinner... however what appears to be a normal dinner party is anything but!

#2: What do you want the Borrego Springs Film Festival audience to know about your film that isn’t obvious from its title?

The two actresses in the film also starred in the original play production of "The Dinner Guest." I so loved their performances on stage, I wanted to bring them on board for the film adaptation!

#3: What is your movie making background? Tell us about yourself.

My background is mostly in theater where I have been a playwright for years. But in 2013, a director of some of my short plays wanted to move into film and asked me to adapt one of my plays. The resulting short film, "Match Made" which I co-produced with director Maggie Grant, and which starred Emmy-winner Barbara Bain, went on to be accepted into prestigious festivals like Palm Springs Shortfest and the Newport Beach Film Festival, as well as the Sedona Film Festival where it won the Audience Award. Well... I was hooked! I wrote two more adaptations, directed by theater and film director, Deborah LaVine, which also went to a number of festivals. At that point, I decided to venture into both writing and directing and did so on three more films, of which "The Dinner Guest" is one. All told I have been an official selection at close to 60 festivals, and have won two Audience and four Jury awards. (I am very grateful that one of those awards was from Borrego Springs, 2021: Best Short Film for "Entwined.")

#4: What was the biggest lesson learned in getting your film made?

The importance of having a quality crew and post production team.

#5: What does the future hold for your film and you?

I will be continuing to attend festivals in 2022 with this film and my other recent short films. But I have also been working on new long works—both full length plays and feature length screenplays—and hope to develop those.