Meet Ilana Turner

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ilana Turner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ilana, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I haven’t overcome imposter syndrome! But I take great comfort in the fact that I’m not alone in looking over my shoulder waiting for someone to yell, “A ha! ” I love to collaborate with other people who say the quiet part out loud — like worrying they’re impostors. LACKTATE is a short film I wrote to voice some of my other deepest anxieties:

When a woman goes back to the office after the birth of her first child, her only companions are an AI assistant and her breast pump — which does way more than suck milk as it voices her darkest thoughts & feelings of being altogether lacking.

And I really hope the film connects with audience members who likely have their own ominous inner monologues. Thankfully, the film’s director, Francesca Ling, was interested in translating all of that to the screen, which she did beautifully in LACKTATE.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I’ve been writing plays and screenplays for about ten years now. The world premiere of my first play, O Réjane, was thankfully critically well received, award-winning— and led to my first screenwriting gig. I first worked with LACKTATE producer Adam Scott Epstein on that project, which turned out to be a pivotal moment. Adam and I liked working together so much that we teamed up as writing/producing partners, and now have several features and a series in development.

Between the two of us, Adam and I usually have something like ten projects at various stages, which is necessary given the constantly shifting demands of the entertainment business. But I also think it’s incredibly helpful process-wise. If I get stuck on one thing, I pivot to another and get to keep working and keep creating while my back-burner brain sorts out the thing I’m stuck on.

I love the process of figuring out which medium — theater, TV, film — best serves which story. My plays, which I write solo, tend to lean into my love of heightened realism whereas Adam and I write more commercial projects together. There’s room for all of it!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I think being relentless, resilient, and willing to listen are key. Entertainment is an insane business and you have to be relentless to get your work out there. But you also have to be strategic and hopefully graceful about outreach. You’re always dealing with human beings, no matter their job title. It’s also important to remember you’re a human being when you hear ‘no’ a lot. No is a fine answer — it’s clear — but it isn’t always easy to hear.

Which brings me to listening. I always learn something when I hear where others are coming from. That doesn’t mean I take every piece of advice or agree with everything someone says – but insight is almost always valuable!

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

Execs and producers can love material, and champion projects, and it is still incredibly hard to get them greenlit. So with LACKTATE, we took matters into our own hands and made a short. I’ve produced on stage, too, out of necessity, and every time it’s empowering.

I got into this business to make stuff and to tell stories. And that can be done anytime, anywhere — it’s only a question of scale.

LACKTATE world premiered at the L.A. Shorts International Film Festival, Regal Cinema at LA Live, on Friday, July 26th.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ilanaturner.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itoverdrive/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilanaturner/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/lacktatefilm/

Image Credits

Behind the scenes shots with director Francesca Ling, Alex Correa and Sergio Gonzalez by Rachel Baer
Film still of Rochelle Aytes in LACKTATE
LACKTATE Poster by Logan Bradley
LA Shorts International Opening Night with producer Adam Scott Epstein