Rebecca Stern is a director, writer, and producer. She started out in documentary filmmaking as the production coordinator of the Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning documentary “Cartel Land.” She produced the upcoming PBS “Independent Lens” documentary “Tre Maison Dasan,” and co-produced “Netizens,” which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. “Well Groomed” is her directorial debut.

“Well Groomed” will premiere at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival on March 10.

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

RS: “Well Groomed” is a romp through the unexpectedly colorful world of competitive creative dog grooming. It is also an escape from the everyday into the passions of a niche community of women spending quality time with their technicolor poodles.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

RS: The first thing that drew me in was the images of the dogs – the sensational colors and designs were something I had never seen before. And that’s a hard thing to achieve when people, myself included, are constantly inundated with images! Then, when I got to know Adriane, Angela, Cat, and Nicole, their earnest search for creative outlets and deep bonds with their animals got me further into their stories and making “Well Groomed.”

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

RS: I would like audiences to watch “Well Groomed” and experience the excitement of exploring a creative world far removed from one they might have seen in the past, and also to leave with an understanding and appreciation of the women who are masters at their specific craft.

I wanted to communicate how much the women love both art and their dogs, and I wanted to leave audiences thinking about their own passions and what makes them happy during the day-to-day when they leave the theater.

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

RS: The biggest challenge in making the movie was the — unexpected for me — controversy around creative dog grooming. It’s been fascinating because about 50 percent of the people who see pictures of creative dogs are in awe and laugh, and the other 50 percent are also in awe but say “poor dog!” The women were understandably frustrated by the negative reactions, and the people asking about safety or embarrassment for the dogs were often commenting only online and therefore hard or impossible to reach.

I knew I wanted to cover this controversy in the film in a way that took the concerns and the women’s answers seriously but also stayed true to my goal of making a movie that would let people relax and smile and be along for the ride with the women as they groom. In the end, we used archival materials to show the opposition because the comments so often existed externally to the women’s communities. Then we went back to hear the women’s responses directly from them as the film is so embedded within their lives.

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

RS: “Well Groomed” was funded in large part through a very deep relationship with Matthew C. Mills and Chris Vivion at Spacestation. Through this co-production, we were able to access gear throughout production and edit the film with editor Katharina Stroh for close to seven months.

Without this partnership, “Well Groomed” would have been a very different film, and Spacestation was a joy to work with! We also had other generous people that provided funding, but I can say funding was always a challenge, and we were scrambling to finance the film throughout all stages.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

RS: It was never my goal to be a filmmaker – the plan was always to go to a good school, read a lot, spend some time in an office, and then go to law school, after which I assume I would have worked myself up the ranks and then bought some very nice pantsuits – which I still intend to get.

But instead I landed in New York City and connected with Matt Heineman about six months before he started filming his documentary “Cartel Land.” That experience taught me about verite filmmaking and about moving fast, and I got addicted to the documentary form and to the pace of the work.

I started watching more films and noticing the documentaries that transported me into other worlds. Now, I always look for moments where real life starts to become fantasy and back again – the camera captures those points so well.

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

RS: This is a tough one! Some of the best advice I ever received is also the advice I ignored for far too long, which was that to work in documentary film, or to make art in general, you need to know where your next five meals are coming from. More directly put, it’s impossible to fully focus on making the best thing you can if finances are blocking your basic needs.

It was a tough thing to hear as a documentarian, because money is always extremely tight, and I’m eager to put every dollar on screen, but it’s turned out to be true constantly. I could have never pursued making “Well Groomed” if I wasn’t also working full time on other projects or with very understanding companies who allowed the time spent in the editing room and out in the field.

Advice that I haven’t seen to be true has been around focusing on only one aspect of filmmaking in your career. When I moved to a marketing firm, I was terrified I’d never be able to go back to production, and then when I went towards independent production I was very concerned I’d never be able to work in advertising. But I’ve been able to jump around even in the few years since moving to New York, and think it’s made the way I think about what I create all that much stronger.

Asking questions or seeking experience in all things associated with making a movie has allowed for at least a basic understanding of the crafts people bring to the job, and therefore provides for the best use of those skills in our collaborations.

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

RS: The biggest advice I would have for other female directors is to find creative collaborators and crew you feel respect you intrinsically and will push you forward through their support, questions, advice, and thoughts. Film shoots and edits move too fast, and having a team who you trust to take your ideas and build on them is invaluable.

One of the aspects I’ve found most satisfying about working on “Well Groomed” has been finding collaborators who were always open to a new idea and enjoyed discussing possible solutions at every turn. As women, finding this network to support the work means so much more, as there are many folks more accustomed to sidestepping or ignoring our thoughts, passions, and opinions – and no one has time for that. Building and appreciating a supportive network makes the job just so much easier and more enjoyable.

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

RS: It would have to be “Lady Bird!” As a Sacramento native, I couldn’t believe how perfectly Greta Gerwig captured my childhood experience of growing up generally, and also in a place I knew so intimately.

Also, I love movies with some quirk that still capture character struggles in a deep and true way, and I think she hit the perfect balance. Greta, if you’re reading this and ever want to get a meal at Tower Cafe, I’m there in a heartbeat!

W&H: It’s been a little over a year since the reckoning in Hollywood and the global film industry began. What differences have you noticed since the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements launched?

RS: The biggest change I’ve noticed in my work is that #MeToo and sexual harassment is now an acceptable topic of conversation to bring to the table in any meeting or while out on a shoot. Having conversations and taking action to change something are separate things, but at least the conversation is the first step to doing something right.

I’m hopeful for what the next few years and a new generation of filmmakers will bring to the industry.