Director / Writer Dana Ziyasheva Talks About 'Defenders of Life'
Director Dana Ziyasheva made her directorial debut, 'Defenders of Life' which focuses on the Ngäbe community, and the hardships Ngäbe girls faced in Costa Rica.

In No Spank, a remote Greek island that doubles as a starched and highly regimented girls’ school serves as the setting of Jordan Strafer’s mordant and ribald coming-of-age story, in which the artist’s trademark mise-en-scène, flair for period minutiae, and tensely taciturn performances evoke the grim frustrations, petty rebellions, and light body horror of adolescence.
Director Dana Ziyasheva made her directorial debut, 'Defenders of Life' which focuses on the Ngäbe community, and the hardships Ngäbe girls faced in Costa Rica.
Based on a true story, this sports movie is centered around a college football player.
Although Christmas is a time of year for love and cheer for all, holiday cinema has not always represented diverse communities. Being a holiday with Christian origins, much of its media consists of straight white families or straight white romances. Luckily, modern years have been bringing with them plenty of POC and LGBTQ+ representation that the holidays so desperately need.
On top of the phenomenal acting, and great dialogue between the two characters, the cinematography was ravishing! The sound was outstanding! The production design was simple, yet intrinsic. The minimalistic approach in the Malibu beach house represented how little they really have going on in their relationship. The storyline may have been much simpler than "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf," but all the more insightful, and much more animalistic at its core.
"Well, the film industry is completely sexist and completely class-biased." A closer look at Lynne Ramsay's impressive body of work.
A deer caught in the headlights is the perfect metaphor for Animals.