I’m an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker. I’ve also published several short stories under the pen names “Kady Winter” and “Kady Ambrose.” Plus I’m a produced playwright. I use whatever medium works best for the story I want to tell. My film credits are on IMDb and a fuller picture of my produced/published/performed work is on My Work page.
I’m also a founding partner of Appleseed Entertainment, an independent film production company. We specialize in long-form documentaries and narrative short films. A French speaker and Francophile, I divide my time between my long-time home in Los Angeles and my sometimes home in Paris.
Writing Background
I began my screenwriting education at AFI and UCLA, where I got a fabulous grounding in the basics. This background led to my first job in the entertainment industry as a freelance reader writing script coverage for NBC, CAA and Stan Rogow Productions on the Paramount Pictures lot. Stan Rogow’s company then hired me as their Director of Development. From there, I was recruited as Producer/Director Peter Werner‘s Director of Development.
I got an agent with my first script, a tween comedy set in a mall. Soon after my Nicholl Fellowship top-ten finalist script was made into the feature film Cupid’s Prey. Many screenplays, produced films, stage plays, short stories, novel manuscripts and writing assignments followed.
My writer’s journey has led me to classes with or study of the techniques promoted by many of the best known storytelling gurus in the business: Robert McKee, Linda Seger, John Truby, Lisa Cron, Blake Snyder, Debra Dixon and most recently, Corey Mandell. My perspective on story and writing draws on treasures from them all.
Move into Writing Services & Teaching
As I gained skills, my own writing grew stronger. This led to more assignments and more of my scripts and plays getting produced. Over time, fellow writers asked me to critique or edit their drafts. They claimed I provided valuable guidance. Some of them even started hiring me to help them realize their visions for their screenplays, stage plays and works of fiction.
The resulting collaborations have been a joy. Helping other creatives craft the story “they had been trying to tell” is incredibly satisfying. So now I’ve started offering my services to an even wider circle of working and aspiring writers and directors. Then I was approached about teaching, and am now an instructor of writing and story development classes in the Digital Cinema program at FIDM and at UCLA Extension.