The Bite Magazine - Autmn/Winter 2020 - Issue 28

bitedirectorsspotlight drying flowers for special occasions.” She pointed out that the film expresses something that might be miss- ing. “For me, I would love this to be a reality, where men and women show kindness and love each on the level that is exceptional.” Helen is the fourth generation of her family to live and work in Hollywood. Her grandfather was a movie the- atre owner in Los Angeles, and her grandmother was an actress at Pasadena playhouse. The filmmaker said her parents were a big inspiration as well. They sup- ported her interests and allowed her to develop a love for poetry, art and an obsession with travel. She said the bond she has with her mum is inseparable. Since her mum is also an executive producer on The Gesture and The Word, it has brought an extra layer in their mother-daughter relationship. Her dad passed away when she was 25 years old. He was a military navy diplomat, whom she loved deep- ly but was mostly on duty. For the first three years of her life, she only knew him from photographs. “So I didn’t get a chance to spend much time with my fa- ther, but the man I knew him to be was a very excep- tional human being,” the director acknowledged. One of the biggest blessings that Helen got from her dad was helping the young director to nurture writing ability and encouraging her to focus on her strengths. “It wasn’t about don’t fail, but do your very best,” she shared. For this reason, Helen developed an attitude of, “If you’re going to go out there, do your best.” One of her ambitions is to create a feature-length movie about her dad as she found his life story fasci- nating. In 1944, he was forced to leave Latvia because Stalin blacklisted her grandad for execution. They had to go through Berlin while it was being bombed. Eventually, they came to the United States of America, where her dad later joined the military and returned to the Soviet Union, and then illegally found his fam- ily in Latvia. He not only survived the Berlin, Soviet invasion, the German occupation of Latvia, but also the war in Vietnam and Iraq. In later years, he taught PhD and Master classes in strategy policy, wargaming and other aspects of that nature at the War College in Newport, Rhode Island. “His strength of character was and still is very admira- ble, and one day if I can do that as a movie, I would be very proud. Spielberg has Schindler’s List , and I want this to be my epic,” said the director. When dealing with negativity from other people, Helen says, “It’s not about me, it’s about them. Unless I’ve hit them in their face I haven’t done anything,” she said, laughing. “This world is not kind. This world can be very difficult.”