Lou Schad

 

The way Lou Schad tells tales has changed with different moments of her life. But at heart, no matter the format, Lou is always a storyteller.

She’s designed costumes, created a clothing line, curated vintage, made visual art, and she’s currently producing her own films. Needless to say, Lou is a woman of many talents. With film, she’s learned to approach stories from different angles - dressing the characters was one way she built narrative worlds, and now as a screenwriter and director, she’s in charge of the whole universe. Her experiences in fashion - from her own line, Avant Saint, to her vintage curation - help her keep her films cohesive but not too uniform. Last year, Lou directed her first narrative short film, We Say Thank You. Her husband, a cinematographer who she often collaborates with, was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, and the film depicts the isolation they and so many others felt because of the pandemic. The film was selected for numerous festivals and won three awards, and Lou is now in pre-production for her first feature film.

AND THE AWARD GOES TO: Lou’s stories, any format.

NAME: Lou Schad

CITY: Los Angeles, CA

WHAT DREW YOU TO FILM? At an early age, I recognized filmmaking as a way to play dress-up and make-believe for a career. Once I graduated from art school, I was drawn to its collaborative structure and its ability to deliver a message in a truly imaginative way. I started working in costumes and loved dissecting characters and building their world with the details of their wardrobe. When I started directing and producing my own work, I got to build the whole world. It's an incredibly imaginative craft and I am truly in love with it.

HOW DOES YOUR BACKGROUND IN FASHION INSPIRE YOU? When I design clothing, I start with construction which is essentially combining the organic body with the creativity and art of perfecting. Each stitch in its place, each curve of the pattern to drape the figure, it's perfect measure combined with fluidity. A beautiful design comes together when those dichotomies are in harmony. Bringing that rigor into the ever expansive world of filmmaking gives me an eye for detail and style but also a willingness to shift and be nimble which is the key to collaboration.

More directly, with my background in costume and fashion styling, I often build wardrobe mood boards for my characters and sort of place them in the room and see what they will do after that. I will always have a passion for those details. A character begins their mission by putting on their shoes. Whether they match their socks, double knot their laces, or or have frayed hems on their jeans are all unique to that person and help build their world. It's the macro and micro world that tells a story.

BEST BREAKFAST YOU'VE EVER HAD? My husband and I got married in Joshua Tree at an amazing Adobe Villa that we rented for a long weekend. We decided to get married on a Friday so we could relax and spend time with our friends and family the next day. We hosted a brunch with an epic Bloody Mary bar. We all enjoyed breakfast and hung out poolside the rest of the day. It was such a fabulous celebration with the people we love, the best first day being married ever. I don't think I could top that one although a good LA breakfast taco can come pretty close!

 
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