'Donnie Darko' with 'Braid' Director Mitzi Peirone

Mitzi Peirone was born and raised in Turin, Italy. After high school Peirone left Italy to study theater in New York City at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She ended up writing and directing a short film called “Chaosmos,” and directing another short called “Versperlings” while she geared up for a feature. The screenplay for Braid rapidly became her main focus, and in 2016 Peirone partnered up with entrepreneur Joseph Lubin to create a new business model to finance her film, which became the first one ever to be fully financed through a cryptocurrency equity crowdsale. The sale raised 1.7 million dollars in two weeks. The film premiered at Tribeca in 2018 and won Best Picture at the Lausanne Underground Film Festival. Braid, which tells the story of two women who decide to rob their wealthy psychotic friend - but must participate in the friend’s perverse game of make believe, received worldwide distribution via Blue Fox Entertainment. Mitzi then signed with ICM, and her next directorial effort is a sci-fi thriller set in a tech-apocalypse, starring Bella Thorne.

The movie Mitzi chose to discuss this week is a real mind bender - 2001's cult classic, Donnie Darko. Part of the reason that Mitzi loves this film is that, much like her own movie Braid, it can be hard to tell what is real and what is imagined. She discusses her unusual fundraising technique for the movie which involved a cryptocurrency equity crowdsale. Mitzi also emphasizes the need for filmmakers not to concern themselves with whether the audience will completely understand their vision. Plus, she talks at length about her belief that there is no difference between reality and dreams - a conversation that makes April's brain explode.

You can see Braid streaming now.

And if you haven't seen Donnie Darko yet, go watch it!

With April Wolfe and Mitzi Peirone.

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Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.