I directed my first narrative short.
It’s called “Three Arugula Salads”.
I wrote a bleak, comedic script about what it feels like to be a woman working within corporate culture.
Ironically, making my film about feeling isolated, betrayed, and out-of-place has been the most accepted and supported that I have ever felt.
I wrote the script in October 2024, a few months after completing the Austin Film Society Creative Careers Continuing Education program, where I learned a bunch of technical things about directing. I shared it with an AFS peer, a producer named Henry Kellison, during a monthly writing group session that he organizes. He instantly asked if we could start production (one of the most validating email I have ever, ever received), knowing that I was looking to direct it as soon as possible.
We started pre-production in earnest in January 2025, which included launching a Kickstarter campaign, assembling our crew, and building out our cast. We shot over three days in late March 2025. From there, we attacked post-production in phases and finished the film with help of various specialists and TBD Post Production as of June 2026. Now, we are submitting the film to various film festivals and planning a private screening at AFS Cinema for cast, crew, donors, and friends on July 28, 2026.
The amount of fun, stress, and creative fulfillment that I experienced making “Three Arugula Salads” will never be overstated.
As we prepare for our 2026/2027 festival circuit and private screening, the movie won’t be made publicly available for online streaming. But if you’d like to see the private link, please reach out to me at lauramesserjackson@gmail.com and I will share it with you.
