Autumn McAlpin is an extremely talented writer, producer, and now director who just recently finished up work on her directorial debut Miss Arizona, a female empowerment film focusing on the story of a young lady who befriends a group of women at a shelter and spend a fun night out together in L.A, where they discover their true needs through each other and their friendship. McAlpin spoke with mxdwn Movies exclusively about her experience and influences in making the movie.

The film will be running the festival circuit within the next couple of months, beginning with the Bentonville Film Festival on May 2nd. McAlpin created and completed the entire film in the span of about 18 months, an impressive feat considering the amount of time most films take to produce. The film is based on the experiences that McAlpin had volunteering at the shelter and with various other women’s rights activist events, including the Women’s March. A big driving force for her while creating the film was the song “Quiet” by MILCK, which acted as the anthem of for the Women’s March.

One of her main goals for the film is to bring awareness to the people who are suffering from a variety of difficulties, whether it be abuse, divorce, bankruptcy, or any other hard times that can fall upon people. “I want to give a voice for those who feel like they can not talk or speak up,” McAlpin stated.

Talking about her role in encouraging women empowerment through film, she stated that she felt like she was “joining a group of pioneers” who had already been working to push forward the strength of women. Women have always been a big part of filmmaking, but they are just recently receiving the recognition that they deserve from the industry that always hid them away.

McAlpin already has a few new projects lined up for the future, including a novel and another film that will begin production sometime next year. If you want to learn more about the film, check out the website at www.missarizonamovie.com. You can also catch Miss Arizona at one of its stops on the festival circuit or you can check out McAlpin’s previous work Waffle Street (which she wrote and produced) on Netflix.