Karen Skloss is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has been shown on HBO, at the MoMA, in wide theatrical release, and in film festivals internationally. She is also the drummer for the band Moving Panoramas. Her feature documentary film, “Sunshine,” premiered at SXSW and aired on the national television program “Independent Lens.” “The Honor Farm” is her first narrative feature as a director.

“The Honor Farm” will premiere at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival on March 11.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

KS: Sometimes, especially when you’re a teenager, life can dish up a night or an experience that changes the way you look at the world and yourself. “The Honor Farm” is an allegorical ride about a girl figuring out that life’s rulebook is a bit more complex than she thought.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

KS: I’m attracted to stories about transition and I was interested in exploring the idea of sex as a rite of passage in a girl’s passage to womanhood. Prom night as an American cultural rite seemed like a good starting place for these themes, but I also wanted to go deeper. So, ultimately the movie treads into the surreal space of the psyche so that our heroine can explore her identity within that realm.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

KS: A lot of the movie is told in dream logic and a central theme of the film is that reality is intangible and fleeting. Like a drug trip, the movie itself is mind-bending and sometimes even halting.

I’d love for people to feel a bit like they’ve stepped off of a fun carnival ride that makes them wonder what they should try and conquer next for themselves.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

KS: We shot in the rainiest summer on record in Texas and much of the film takes place at night and outdoors. It was an endurance test of the highest order for our incredible, saintly cast and crew.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

KS: The film began with seed money from grants and this initial footage actually made it into the final film. Then through a combination of private investment, crowdsourcing, and painful personal financing, we managed to cross the finish line.

Incredible dedication from our producing team long after the money ran out as well as donated crew and gear for pickups from our co-producers, Arts + Labor, were the final saving grace.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at SXSW?

KS: We’ve been hard at work trying to realize this film for five years, so to launch the film at a major festival was the dream and goal. This was not an easy film to make, and it’s my first narrative feature, so to finally be at this point is absolutely thrilling.

I feel like I’m getting my PhD in the school of life right now.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

KS: I managed to corner Richard Linklater — who is one of many kind Godfathers in our local scene — for a bit of advice just before I started shooting and he said two things that really stuck with me during production. I paraphrase, but he basically said that if your intuition says no, just don’t do it. Don’t let people talk you into things.

He also told me that if you want everyone to like you, you’re in the wrong business. That definitely helped me keep my head on straight in the face of our 26th, 27th, and 28th days of straight night shoots when we were already over schedule due to the rain. It’s funny he said that too because I hear he’s much loved on set.

As to the worst advice, I’m sure I’ve had plenty but I think I’ve dismissed most of it from memory. Maybe it would be the notion that rushing through a scene in order to stay on schedule is the only option. I think if you can be inventive, there’s a way to still get the quality in less set ups or by losing other scenes you don’t really need to shoot because they’ll end up on the editing floor anyway. No matter what, you just can’t move on until you have the performance. You have to get the performance.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

KS: I think I’m at my best when I forget I’m a female director. If I’d known the stats when I first set out to be a filmmaker, I really don’t know how that would have changed my approach, but I don’t think it would have been for the better.

It’s great to crew up with women too, but in my case I sought to wrangle the most talented people I could who find were enthusiastic about the project and ready for the challenge. Go with people you can trust.

That said, I think it’s great to flip the numbers as much as you can when it’s your show. We need to pull each other up and support each other — community over competition, because making movies is hard enough on its own.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

KS: If I have to choose only one, I’ll go with “Sweetie,” Jane Campion’s debut feature. It’s such a strange and visually dynamic film. It’s so fearless and free-spirited with a confidence and mastery that make it inconceivable to me that it was her first feature. What a wild talent. So humbling.

W&H: There have been significant conversations over the last couple of years about increasing the amount of opportunities for women directors yet the numbers have not increased. Are you optimistic about the possibilities for change? Share any thoughts you might have on this topic.

KS: We’re living in dark times overall, and I think that female representation in the film industry is just a reflection of larger, lingering social problems.

I do believe that the system itself is actually crumbling and that ultimately this will create new opportunities that we cannot conceive of right now. At present, we can create our own opportunities while also taking advantage of affirmative action within the system and pulling each other up.

Ultimately, missing voices and talent are not good for society, so it’s just going to be a matter of time before the system corrects itself. The more we foster community and work together to pull each other into opportunity, the sooner we can start to realize new horizons both in our professional fields and in the upside down that is now called America.