Today we’d like to introduce you to Iris Davis-Quick.
Hi Iris, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m influenced by the independent films of the late 90s and early 2000s. As a born and raised Austintine, I spent my weekends at the Dobie Mall theater on UT Campus watching whatever obscure film was showing at the time. These films hit my heart in ways mainstream movies weren’t and I saw myself in a lot of the characters up on the screen.
I found my way into filmmaking first as a child actor and then working crew on Robert Rodriguez and Richard Linklater sets and other network television shows in town. My time on set taught me valuable lessons and skills that I still implore today on my own productions and have greatly impacted the films I make.
After taking some time to raise my kids, I refocused in 2019 as a writer and independent filmmaker here in Austin telling grounded stories exploring the dark corners of familial relationships. In 2023, fellow filmmaker Alex Chew and I formed Sequence 8, a genre-agnostic production company focusing on strong female leads, misfits, and antiheroes.
My screenwriting projects have been shortlisted for the Nicholl Fellowship, Screencraft Film Fund, and Sundance Screenwriters Lab and produced work has screened at Waco Independent Film Festival, Dallas International Film Festival, Sidewalk Film Festival among others.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth is not how I would characterize my journey. While attending film school was always something I wanted to do, I did not have that opportunity, instead deciding to go into the workforce. I got married and had children young and started a career in a completely different industry. But my desire to be a screenwriter and filmmaker was always there, so I taught myself to screen write by reading scripts, books and Googling. From there it really was a waiting game until my kids were a bit older and at a place where I felt I could take time away from them to really dig into filmmaking (as we know this medium requires a lot of time and resources).
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Like many filmmakers and artists I also have a separate career. I’ve been a Director of Marketing for a design-build firm for the last 15 years. It’s a niche market with a lot of opportunities for story telling. What I love about my job is that it combines story with high-level design and architecture and hand-crafted homes. I work for a business that was started by my grandfather in 1957 that is now run by my parents. Being in a family business has it’s own challenges, but overall I’m extremely proud of the work we do daily. I thoroughly enjoy my job and am lucky that I get to use my skills as a screenwriter and filmmaker daily.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
One of my favorite childhood memories is swinging on a large tire swing with my two close cousins singing Paul McCartney’s Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey. We’d get on the swing and slowly spin as we sung the first part of Uncle Albert. And then…whoosh! We’d really get the tire swing going as the song picks up, spinning faster and faster, holding onto the ropes and leaning back watching my world go past in a blur.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sequence8films.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eyeriseye
- Other: https://www.irisdavisfilmatx.com/
