Q: Do you believe in a higher power? (Love, God, Universe, Grace, Spirit, whatever.) Why? Why not?
A: Yes I believe in a higher power and I believe that higher power is inside us all. That is if we truly listen, if we are truly still, we are in tune with it, with that higher knowing and it guides us in all we do.
Q: Why must you make films? (I mean, let's be honest, only a crazy person would choose to do it)
A: Since I was a little girl, the place I felt the most alive, the most covered in goosebumps repeatedly was inside a theater. It’s my life mission to affect people the way I was, the way I still am every time the popcorn sits on my lap as the lights fade. For me, that is church.
Q: If you were at a dinner party and had to pick one of these topics for the group to discuss (sex, politics, money, religion, death, food, reincarnation) -- what would it be and why?
A: It would depend on the group. If it were a group of female filmmakers, I would choose sex, because I love hearing about the passion of passionate women. If it were a group of male republicans, then I would likely choose politics or money, to attempt to understand different points of view.
Q: Make up a question for me to ask the next director I photograph. You can ask ANYTHING — just please be respectful.
A: If you could have made one movie that you loved as a child, what would it be and why?
Q: What’s your favorite movie (i.e. one you’ve watched more than once) and like to go back to — and why?
A: My favorite movie is a tie between ET and The Breakfast Club. These are the two movies that first turned me on and changed my life and made me know instantly what I wanted to also do. I still feel those same butterflies in my belly now as I felt when I was 12.
Q: The last time you had deja vu? What does deja vu mean to you?
A: I just had the most insanely powerful deja vu but now I can’t remember what it was, which is so funny because it actually stopped me in my tracks. To me it means the moment is one that your soul has known before or has been searching for on its journey. It’s an important life altering moment in some shape or form.
Q: When was the last time you laughed? What caused it? When was the last time you cried? Why?
A: I both laugh and cry on almost a daily basis. Life is hard and beautiful and I’m grateful for both.
Q: Lastly, tell the people about your next project and where they can see your work. Thank you!
A: I’m the President of Air Bud Entertainment where we focus on the creation and distribution of entertainment for kids and families and where I co-created the 'Air Buddies' franchise for Disney which I also wrote and produced. I'm currently fulfilling a six-picture deal with Netflix and am releasing the second of these all-new family movies later this month and have just wrapped production on the third which will release this summer.
To date, the focus of my career has been the creation of high-quality imaginative content for children and I am writing my directorial debut in that same genre which I hope to shoot in 2017. I believe children should be served with content that acknowledges their creativity and helps nurture that. They are our most imaginative audience and serving them is a great privilege and honor.
Last year, I also completed my first street art project 'Hearts Heal' and am currently working on the next one, 'The Street Texter.' Most of the eighteen features I have written and produced are available on Netflix, my street mural is on West Adams in Los Angeles and currently my short 'The Wind Fishermen' can be seen on Vimeo. A full list of my credits and sneak peaks of all this work will be up soon at annamcroberts.com.