Ellen is an award-winning writer for TV, film, theater and podcasts. Her special sauce, “traumadies,” is a mix of Catskills schtick blended with a feminist edge, featuring strong female protagonists who dig their own graves, but rebel as they climb their way out. Raised on Long Island, Ellen’s Sicilian mom converted for her Jewish dad, but would sneak ham sandwiches in the garage, so it’s no wonder Ellen loves storytelling and food. She was a private chef in NYC for Oscar-winning writer Horton Foote, while running her theater, SOLO ARTS GROUP, where she gave the original Upright Citizens Brigade (Amy Poehler, Matt Walsh, Matt Besser & Ian Roberts) their first home. Ellen moved to LA after the success of her 2, one-woman shows, ZEL REBELS! (Public Fringe) and JUMPING OFF THE FRIDGE (HBO Workspace). She was a staffed on the sitcom, MALCOLM & EDDIE (Sony) and her play GLORY PIE received rave reviews from Variety. Other professional credits: BROWN & FRIENDS (Netflix), BONNIE SCREWS UP (podcast), SIZZLER (Next Stage Press) THE STORY OF DAVID (Braid Theater, LA.) Ellen has launched a new podcast, FILTHY MILFS (out on Spotify this summer), is developing the indie feature script for SAVERIO, and actively looking for investors.
Please List the Title of Your Film at BIFF 2025
SAVERIO
What was your first experience with film and how did it influence your first project?
My dad took a ton of home movies of our family and friends, and I could watch them over and over. Even though these were people I knew intimately, they all seemed like strangers because with each viewing, I would catch little gestures and behaviors that I missed in real life. These home movies shaped the way I understood film from an early age, which is to say, I gravitated toward “slice of life” pictures, and that’s exactly what I set out to do with my debut short, SAVERIO.
Who is (are) your favorite filmmakers?
Eva Victor, Jane Campion, Martin Scorcese, Joel Cohen
What are you working on that no one knows about?
I have new short which I want to shoot in the next year, chronicling the last week I spent with my dying mother. Yup, it’s a comedy, albeit a heartbreaking one, and I plan to have a wonderful, well-known actress to star in it, though I can’t say who yet. I’ve not told many people, not even that famous actress – haha! But I know her well and am writing her a part that will be impossible to turn down. And like SAVERIO, it can serve as a proof of concept for the feature, and like SAVERIO, it addresses the challenges around aging in our society.
Who would play you in a movie? What’s your go to movie snack? What’s the film title that best describes your life?
People tell me that I look like Sandra Bullock so I guess I would pick Sandy, (that’s what I’d call her if she played me). Popcorn and Swedish Fish are my favorite snacks at the movies – in that order – first the salty then the sweet. It’s tough to find a title that best describes my life – maybe ROCKY, because of my perseverance in this unpredictable industry. Or, perhaps more accurately, the 2024 Academy Award winning foreign film, I’M STILL HERE.
