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.

An exploration of East Timor through the symbolism of the rooster, questioning traditions, confronting ethics and human needs. From rituals to economics and gender, it reveals the complexities of a post-conflict society in one of the youngest countries.
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.
'Playing with Fire' was clearly a film made for a kid or tween-ish audience. Keeping that in mind, I thought 'Playing with Fire' was alright, though it did portray some harmful stereotypes.
Despite everything it was capable of, all of these poor choices strung together amount to nothing more than a counter-productive film.
Even without the messaging, Mercy does not hold up as a movie. It's sloppily done and the mystery doesn’t tie together at the end.
The second film takes us on Peter's journey to be understood.
"65" (2023) is the latest Dino flick to try and answer "what else can we do with dinosaurs?"