Well, if you’ve seen the poster for How to Hack Birth Control, then you’d know there’s a woman wearing a chastity belt. You may not know that I actually was the one wearing the chastity belt! It was quite the experience working with the costume designer and crew to figure out how to work with putting this belt on, but ended up being one of those set experiences you’ll never forget. Oh, and the pandemic, of course.

My favorite moment was probably working with my love- interest in the pilot, Garrison Oliver Gross, during the scene in the film when I find out he’s been trying to get me pregnant (spoiler!). Sassy Mohen, the writer and director, created such a comfortable environment on set and made it so easy to play around. Another moment that was really fun was the final group dance scene at the end where Garrison actually falls from the sky, the VFX in the film are incredible!

I suppose to go with the flow, the pandemic required us to be a lot more careful on set about our interactions with others, and there was also a lot of improv that Sassy allowed us to do while on set. I think it’s important when working with such a big cast like on How to Hack to keep an open mind on what’s asked of you and allow the spontaneity of the project and how the character is feeling in the moment to speak for itself.

I hope they feel empowered to make decisions for themselves when it comes to their bodies. With the current political climate we’re in, it’s more important than ever for women to have bodily autonomy. How to Hack Birth Control provides you with so many resources that I didn’t even know existed, and therefore I hope other women learn from the film about the resources available to them when it comes to making decisions that will impact them for life.

So incredible! Bentonville is such an amazing festival, and it was so inspiring to be around so many talented filmmakers and watch so many interesting films. They really work to develop such a diverse roster of films that showcases work from marginalized communities, and it was amazing to be part of it.

I’m excited that my documentary about human trafficking, taking place in the Philadelphia area (where I’m from), The Black Hole,  produced by myself and Kirstin Pfeiffer, will be making the festival rounds this fall. I’m also delighted to share that I  will be heading to Columbia University in the fall to pursue my MFA in Creative Producing for film. I hope to learn more about telling stories that elevate marginalized communities and work to have a societal impact both on and off screen!

I’ve studied in 6 different countries and lived in Sweden with my mom when I was 6 months old!

I’ve been loving all of the limited series like Maid, Women of the Movement, and Inventing Anna!

You can learn more about what I’m up to at laurenelizabethharris.com and listen to me weekly on my podcast that focuses on millennial dating among diverse communities, called Damsels in the DMs! Thank you so much for having me!