By Lauren Anders Brown
NYWIFT member and director Lauren Anders Brown met composer Daisy Coole at a networking event for Women in Film & TV UK, our sister chapter across the pond. They soon began collaborating on Six Year Old Fears, a short documentary from the perspective of a six year old Syrian Refugee as she becomes an older sister.
Director of #6YearOldFears Lauren Anders Brown (left) with composer Daisy Coole (right) meeting at WFTV Networking Event
Here is an excerpt of an interview with Coole that Brown published on LinkedIn:
Lauren Anders Brown: Can you recall the one of the first times you heard a melody and you knew you were meant to be a musician?
Daisy Coole: When I was ten, a classmate played Misty on the saxophone in a school assembly. I had played the flute for three years by then but suddenly knew the saxophone was my instrument. My parents bought me a cheap alto saxophone and I taught myself enough notes to be able to play Misty. I must have driven my family insane playing the original Erroll Garner recording over and over.
LAB: How often are you asked to do unpaid work (whether it be a full project pro-bono or client revisions that are forcibly unpaid)? How does it make you and your [business] partner feel and how does it affect your work?
DC: Far too often. Filmmakers seem to forget to raise money for post-production. Of course we have invested in projects that we feel are important or where there has been an ‘in-kind’ agreement with the director or producer. It’s not an ego thing, it’s being practical: if you want someone to be on call and invest huge amounts of time in your project, you have to pay them, otherwise how do you expect them to prioritize you over paid work? Fast, good and free do not operate in the same universe.
Read the full conversation on LinkedIn.
Lauren Anders Brown is an award winning documentary filmmaker who focuses on global health, women’s empowerment and humanitarian issues. You can follow her on twitter & Instagram @LABCollaborate and view more of her work on www.collaborateideasimages.com.
nywift
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Nadia Voukitchevitch
Welcome to NYWIFT, Nadia Voukitchevitch! Nadia is an award-winning filmmaker with over two decades of experience across film, television, and branded content. She is the founder Nadia Films, a creative content production company and boutique agency that produces globally focused, multicultural, and multilingual work across media. Through Nadia Films and its newly launched division, The Creative Collective, Nadia brings together collaborative teams of creators to craft meaningful, commercially viable work rooted in powerful storytelling. Her projects often intersect with social impact, advocacy, and cultural history, reflecting a deep commitment to human rights, women’s voices, and education-driven narratives. In our interview, she reflects on her filmmaking journey, the responsibility of telling stories rooted in lived experience, and the projects she’s most excited to bring to life next.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Erin Kelly
Welcome to NYWIFT, Erin Kelly! Erin is an entertainment insurance professional with a background in film and television production. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Film Production, she began her career working on documentary and television projects, including the feature documentary Knuckleball and CBS’s Entertainment Tonight. In 2016, Erin transitioned into entertainment insurance and now serves as Underwriting Manager for the Film/TV/DICE segment of the Entertainment Department at Intact Insurance Group. Based in New York City, Erin remains deeply connected to the industry as a self-described “film school kid” at heart and an avid moviegoer. In our interview, she shares insights on her journey from production to entertainment insurance, the risks facing today’s productions, and the lessons she’s learned along the way.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Sun Roller
Welcome to NYWIFT, Sun Roller! Sun Roller is a Chickasaw creative and producer raised in Oklahoma and based in New York City. With a career spanning production design, art direction, project management, and large-scale leadership, Sun Roller brings a deeply intentional, intuitive approach to every project she touches—grounded in spirituality, connection to nature, and collaboration. Sun Roller has worked across film and television on projects including Reservation Dogs, I Saw the TV Glow, Poker Face and The Lowdown. In recent years, she has expanded her work into producing, with a focus on Indigenous-led stories and community-centered narratives. When she’s not on set or behind a computer, Sun Roller can often be found outdoors soaking up the Sun and enjoying time in nature with her elder pup, Wrigley, and her partner, Annie H. In our interview, Sun Roller reflects on her path into film and television, building a career across male-dominated industries, and the stories she’s most excited to bring to the screen next.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Yossera Bouchtia
Welcome to NYWIFT, Yossera Bouchtia! Yossera Bouchtia is an award-winning filmmaker and educator whose work explores memory, experimental storytelling, and the experience of the sublime. Her films span genres including magical realism, neorealism, biopics, drama, and experimental films. Drawing on her Moroccan-American upbringing, her storytelling bridges East and West, amplifying unheard voices and shedding light on unseen truths. Bouchtia approaches storytelling as a practice of being – an invitation into consciousness, attention, witnessing, and deeper presence. She holds an M.F.A. in Film Directing from Columbia University and she is currently Associate Professor and Program Director of Cinema at VCU School of the Arts.
READ MORE
