I was raised in a Baltimore suburb wild with unkempt hedges, disheveled lawns and porches, yards full of car parts and swimming pools, and a church or a bar on every corner. This neighborhood, located just inside the city line, is the inspiration for much of my work and sets the scene for many of my films. Hamilton, my first feature, was an effort to capture this place on film and examine detail, gesture, time, and movement, while avoiding narrative conventions that exaggerate conflict and restrict story to plot. Hamilton was cast with non-actors, shot and printed on color 16mm with a lush, ambient sound design and relatively little dialogue. Its logic derives from a desire to capture reality without damaging its delicate fabric. I’m inspired by films that maintain an ascetic style of storytelling, yet succeed with vigor and precision at painting rich portraits of human beings in their time, films like Robert Bresson’s "Le diable, problement" and "au hasard, Balthazar", Ken Loach’s "Kes", Pedro Costa’s "Ossos", and Claire Denis’ recent L’Intrus.