Ok AO. Only some of my faves. Not a list. Just people with feature work who’ve influenced or inspired me. https://twitter.com/iamaostrander/status/1325834483292020736

@meeraonthewall is a force. She has a unique ability to balance multiple personal storylines. She’s sensitive in scene work and vicious with set pieces. FARAH GOES BANG was a joyride. A decorated director across formats. Intelligence and taste beam from her craft.

Let’s go @terriesamundra all day. Edgiest concepts. Amazing short films. Relentless pursuit of authentic gritty tone. KAALHI KHUHI is on Netflix now!

Always always @Phangvantageous. The atmosphere she conjured in her first feature ADVANTAGEOUS was sublime in mood and feel. A robot story with an emotionally devastating touch. Killing it in TV.

Keep your eyes on the great @AngelaBDirector. Amazing technically precise TV director. Excels at giving characters “business.” Don’t sleep on her creation GET YOUR BOOTY TO THE POLL!

My homegirl hermana nambar ek @SmritiMundhra makes valuable work. Exceptionally organized thinker with a sense of purpose in her art. Her films hit and change you.

I gained much pleasure from @oliviawilde’s BOOKSMART. A true slapper. She gives no fucks and takes all the risks a true auteur takes. Love her irreverence and dirty party energy.

A must is @JulieDash. I watched DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST in high school and it’s been on ever since. Pure artwork. Seminal. Game changer. Celestial. A cinematic dream.

I think the world of @Heidi_Saman’s patient, uncanny, slow burning style in NAMOUR. Twisting and curling, she put a specific lens on an imploding brown man that screwed with my head.

Thread must include the massive cinematic contribution of Chloé Zhao. Dream work and a dream career is the result. Relentless pursuit of authentic feeling. Clear headed. Great subject picker. Gorgeous landscapes. The most rigorous art.

Our @thumbelulu is everyone’s darling. Heart-driven, visionary. Anyone who tells a story about their Nai Nai with @awkwafina is already the champ. Cant wait to see what else she makes!

Director @MsLynnChen is a force on the rise. She can step in front of or behind the lens because she’s over talented. I WILL MAKE YOU MINE is the best of the SV series and she’s just getting started.

Eyes always on the work of @CherienDabis. Amreeka was smart and funny plus it introduced us to the luminous creature that is #Aliashawat. Directs gourmet TV and features. My film school classmate!

Maya Deren will always be my spiritual North Star. MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON changed my life and AT LAND is a mission statement. Love her work for life.

LOVE AND BASKETBALL is my jam. @GPBmadeit is my true mother. Mostly a thank you for making something that really connected with me when I was growing up.

Let’s go director Dee Rees. PARIAH was a needed story with a quiet intelligence, sensitivity and a visceral style. It was a major moment last decade that signaled the arrival of a filmmaker and a new indie movement.

Impossible not to love @thatalicewu. Her first film SAVING FACE gave us the gifts that are @MsLynnChen + @michellekrusiec. THE HALF OF IT is one of Netflix’ best features to date. Witty voice. Hilarious. Never wastes our time. I watch her films and just want to hang out with her.

My fav rising doc maker @lizbklo. Her observational short docs were exceptionally considered and demonstrate uncommon skill. I am counting the days til I can watch her latest feature STRAY about street dogs.

Speaking of docs there’s the great #Kimitakasue with WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME and 95 AND 6 TO GO. Miraculous moments with highly considered themes. I love that her films are always an investigation of both her external and internal world.

The work of @TinaMabry is already legendary and she’s just getting started (at the same time.) MISSISSIPPI DAMNED is a vibrant and devastating portrait starring @TessaThompson_x. Heart-facing and real, Tina’s TV credits are impressive including great eps of Grand Army.

Shout out director @sujataday for being a G and getting DEFINITION PLEASE done. I read the script but have yet to see her first film that just won the grand jury prize @CAAM! I know it slaps tho. Suj is going to keep making.

We all saw the @producerkarin produced CIRCUMSTANCE by director Maryam Keshavarz flip the game. We got artwork + Nikhol Booshri and Sarah Kazemi. Scored by the great @GinggerShankar. Maryam was going for the heart kill.

Kelly Reichardt is genius. OLDJOY is pure filmmaker inspiration. Her methodology produces an amazing subliminal tone. I aspire to her level of cinematic freedom.

She’s always in the right place. @NishaGanatra’s work is boundary breaking, pushing the collective conversation forward. Our community’s champ, her Futurestates film BEHOLDER basically predicted the world we’re in today. Now it’s time for Ladies Car Productions.

I was dripping with jealousy when I saw Lena Dunham’s TINY FURNITURE. Can’t deny it. It’s a Slapper.

A doc making veteran @shalinikantayya asks questions that are ahead of her time. Excited to see CODED BIAS knowing the quality of thought behind her subjects and themes.

One of this country’s top doc makers @anothergracelee inspires me to no end. Watched em all from the GL PROJECT to GRACE LEE BOGGS. Fearless maker. Trying to be like her mostly.

I filmmaker @NadineTruong. I CAN I WILL I DID was a moving portrait of healing and cross-cultural understanding. She is true one.

#TheFortyYearOldVersion is graceful and intelligent. #RadhaBlank did Woody Allen better than Woody Allen. She’s a complex, layered maker with more jewels to give us.

I got to see @irampbilal’s short Dho Dala a few years ago and it’s a complete vibe that I want to mainline. Her latest @sxsw feature I’LL MEET YOU THERE features very sweet performances.

Never ever ever sleep on the great @SoyoungSays. ALL her films are dimes and TREELESS MOUNTAIN might be a perfect movie.

Deeply admire @kalifilms work and ethos. Entertaining with activist roots. NINA’S HEAVENLY DELIGHTS was a breakthrough plus she gave us the beautiful ALICE WALKER doc. Her work in TV is emerging and growing fast.

Nahnatchka Khan showed her full game on ALWAYS BE MY MAYBE. She nailed the Bay Area of it all. Precision timing, moves the story forward. No unneeded moments. Always nails her jokes.

Claire Denis did 35 SHOTS OF RUM. She did that. Master of quiet. The movie is made of velvet. Cinema needs more Claires but only one exists.

Award winner @leilasparty is a truth teller and has a deep catalogue. LIKE COTTON TWINES glows. Inspired by her worldview and tenacity.

Matí Diop did the stunning ATLANTICS. The sensory seeking approach blew me away. Elevated naturalism. There’s a deceptive ease in her work.

@MiraPagliNair @ava Agnes Varda, @IamDeepaMehta @IssaRae @reedmorano are beyond my twitter words. I don’t know how you’ve done it.