Anna Maria Hozian was one of twelve women chosen for the inaugural year of the New York Women in Film and Television’s The Writers Lab funded by Meryl Streep. In addition to winning or placing in some of the most prestigious screenwriting awards (The Black List Lab, the Nicholl, the Page, Austin Film Festival, Samuel Goldwyn Awards), Anna continues to develop projects with independent producers and small production companies including her most recent adaptation of the novel, The Kindness of Strangers, for Wry Mash Media. Her web series, Other People’s Children, has traveled the world in festivals and can currently be found on SEEKA TV and BoredTeachers.com. She recently finished writing a television pilot entitled, The Ward, and is attached to direct the feature film, The Inevitable Recovery of W.B. Yeats.
Director Statement
Films emerge from a compilation of emotionally-driven moments. For me, “The Pool” is a result of a skewed conversation between my mother and a well-meaning teacher, a three-decades later altercation on a school bus, and a poor choice of my own as a mom.
Many of my stories have females at their centers and are often about two communities that do not see eye-to-eye. Sometimes, these communities find ways to bridge their differences; sometimes there are tragedies in the midst of the films, leaving the characters disconnected; others, have new unexpected pathways emerge, creating a new community altogether. I believe we as human beings must find our ways to connect with one another in order to survive, and my stories like “The Pool” are about this survival.
Additionally, the parent-child relationship drives much of my work, as I believe this fundamental relationship is often the most complicated in our lives – both for the child as well as the parent. These relationships are visceral, filled with conflict, forgiveness, resentment, pain and love – nothing better from which to derive stories.
My hopes with “The Pool” are twofold. First, that an audience will walk away knowing that simply wishing for something will not make it materialize, no matter how much we try to force it — and if our wish does materialize, it may not look the way we had hoped. However, it can still be glorious, and possibly even better than we had originally envisioned, if we stay open to it. And, secondly, to form real connections, we must be honestly and authentically who we are. This is the only way to find the people who truly fit into our lives.
FEEDBACK Female Film Festival 