Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Iris Dukatt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Iris, thanks for joining us today. can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a Writer / Director / Producer / Actor in both Film and Theatre. I knew I was meant to direct from a young age. I pursued a BFA in Theater with a concentration in Directing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Directing theater taught me how to challenge form, craft performances in collaboration with actors, and be conscious of the relationship between story and the audience. Post undergrad, I worked on numerous film sets in various positions. Budgets on these projects ranged from smaller, independent films to large-scale network productions. My first TV production position was as an EP/talent assistant on HBO’s limited series White House Plumbers. I see that experience as a professional filmmaking boot camp and credit it with propelling my growth as a creator. After Plumbers wrapped, I began assisting Director Jenn Shaw. Under Jenn, I supported the directorial processes on documentary, commercial, and narrative projects. Most notably, Jenn promoted me to Associate Producer on her short film GAPS, executive produced by Queen Latifah and Tribeca Studios. Very cool to see GAPS air on BET and premiere at Tribeca. This year I juggle my assistant work with championing my own creative projects. I’ve been deep in fundraising and pre-production for my narrative short film Long Pork: In a Post-Roe America where theocracy reigns, a renowned butcher meets the political predator responsible for the killing of her daughter and exacts bloody revenge, setting the stage for a revolution. As well as developing a new play MYTHICC with the playwright Ming Peiffer about adapting ancient myths in the age of the internet to open up archetypes on femme existence rooted in our oldest stories.

I remain eager to champion stories led by queer characters in their fullest expansion and conflict. Pulling on my theatrical training to question form and content for every story, I delight in “queering” story structure. I envision performance as a vehicle for subversion of gender expectations and hetero-patriarchy binaries. I lead with kindness, authenticity, and emotional intuition. In my artistic practice, I steep in tarot and transcendental meditation, looking to my subconscious to craft my stories. Just as the Greeks used drama to communicate society’s values and warnings, I believe our modern-day day oracle is science fiction and horror. These genres enlighten audiences to the terror of our current reality —I fixate on upending hetero-patriarchy. Inspired by the works of Octavia Butler, Margaret Atwood, Jordan Peele, and George Orwell, I seek to explore the myths of dystopia to magnify flaws within harmful societal norms. What does it look like when Queer Characters win in their battles for survival and at what cost? I aim to inspire hope from a blasted space.

I plan to make a body of work centering femme villains. I write about femmes who are pigs: greedy, lustful, rageful, flawed, robustly human, and exist outside the expectations of cis white male-dominated Hollywood. As I develop these stories, I realize they are often stories for survivors of patriarchal violence and exploitation. They offer a framework for revenge: a challenging of oppressive societal power structures and a gritty vision of hope in a world that feels stuck in a cycle of death. My protagonists often find themselves in environments of brutality and must develop the brute within themselves to survive — no easy challenge when femmes are conditioned to submit and shy away from the darkness. I hope to unearth the brutal side to femininity enshrined across cultures since ancient times. I pull on collective myth to shape my vision of the future, one in which queerness is key to unlocking survival.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

When choosing where to spend my time and energy as a busy creative freelancer, I’ve been given the advice: if the job can offer 2 of these 3 categories, you should take it. The categories are: creative fulfillment, money, and/or networking. In practice and in my early career, I’ve been offered a lot of jobs that give money and networking. After awhile taking these gigs I started to feel empty. Likely because I wasn’t nurturing my own creative voice and got very good at supporting the vision of others. As an early career director I feel as if I must beg people to take me seriously. Annoyed with seeking validation from others – I started to realize in the beginning of this long journey of creativity – it’s on me to bring about meaningful creative opportunities – by centering my voice for my own creative fulfillment. Don’t get me wrong – it’s terrifying. I often work on projects unsure of how I’m going to fund them but because I put the momentum forth – the team and budget assembles. In the vein of the daily affirmation “Leap and the net will appear.” there’s always the threshold to cross of speaking the piece into existence. Through trial, error, and persistence, collaborators come through the woodwork. Now I’m hoping to be the person offering jobs where folks can check all three categories off – I like sets that are friendly, efficient, and good team players working towards a meaningful story, as well as, I have to pay people. I cannot in good conscience after busting ass on film sets for years, ask someone to come work for free. The labor and days are long and sometimes grueling, no matter how creatively exciting the project may be. As I often find myself spending more time fundraising than in action in the creative work – I remind myself that budgets give meaning to a project.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Pay them! It sounds so simple, but often artists are told since we love our work we should be open/willing to forego payment. Do I say that to the dentist who is passionate about dental health? No – I view their passion as an additional reason why they provide good service and care and fork over my hard earned cash to keep my mouth in healthy shape. Art adds value to all of our lives and in turn we should be willing to pay artists for their labor. If there’s a podcaster or writer or filmmaker or anyone who’s work you engage with frequently – shoot them a venmo! Order their work from their own site and not Amazon. Make sure your dollars transfer directly to them when you consume. Societally, this looks like more arts funding and grant opportunities in the US. The NEA has been gutted over the past few decades and the U.S. has made it clear they’re cutting back on spending to invest in American culture. I would love to see less money going to the police and more to artists.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

This sounds so simple but creative community. I think when folks are starting their journey there’s a lot of urgency to break into rooms of high calibur artistry. The onus is to network vertically – gain access to individuals and gatekeepers to open the doors for yourself, reach higher than where you are to achieve your goals. However, there are often folks of your age surrounding you that will grow and age into those roles of points of access. I think of this as horizontal networking, they’re your greatest resource to making your work happen. Every creative job I’ve ever gotten is from someone in my circle recommending or referring my name forward. Every. Single. Job. As time passes, I’m amazed to see classmates book big roles on Netflix shows, getting staffed in writer’s room, producing network films, incorporating production companies, so on and so forth. Invest in your relationships. Very few mediums if any are solo ventures and building your collaborative network will strengthen your work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.irisdirects.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fuck.iris.dukatts.art/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iris-dukatt-b49672100/

Image Credits
Headshot – Sara Laufer Cinematographer photo stills credit to Elizabeth Vrkljan and Molly Scotti