Filmmaker Claire Ayoub

Host Traven Rice spoke with writer-director Claire Ayoub for this episode of The Lo-Down Culture Cast. Claire's first feature film, Empire Waiste, is out now. The boundary-pushing film tells the story of Lenore Miller (Mia Kaplan) an overweight, insecure teen whose talent for fashion is discovered by her confident, plus-sized classmate Kayla (Jemima Yevu), forcing her into the spotlight—and into the path of both bullies and new friends.  Claire shares the story of her brave journey to get the film made and how it stemmed from her own childhood fears and challenges. Claire is a writer, director, and performer on a mission to create entertaining, educational, and empowering stories through her production company Try Anyway Productions. Claire launched her career in the New York City comedy scene as a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater where she wrote, directed, and performed both sketch comedy and storytelling shows. The EMPIRE WAIST script was named the #1 Comedy on The Black List and selected for both the Black List Feature Lab and Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship at Sundance. The film has since won Best Empowerment Film and Best Social Impact Film at Sedona International Film Festival, Wavemaker Award: Best Future Wave Feature, and Best Feature at the Coney Island Film Festival. Claire is also the creator of The Gyno Kid, an award-winning solo comedy show about growing up as the child of small-town gynecologists that encourages audiences to laugh and learn about their bodies.