Gillian Robespierre

Gillian Robespierre was an American film director whose debut feature "Obvious Child" (2014) brought her critical attention through various film festival appearances and good word of mouth. At the point at which it was released, her only notable past success was her earlier short version of the same movie, "Obvious Child" (2009), although Robespierre had directed on average two short films a year using money raised herself since leaving film school. Born in New York City and educated through the city's School of Visual Arts' Film and Video Program, Robespierre was already working on the first version of "Obvious Child" when she saw New York-based comedian and actress Jenny Slate onstage at a local comedy club and decided to cast her in the film's lead role. Also the lead in the feature remake, Slate played a twenty-something stand-up comedian who becomes pregnant and decides to have an abortion. Despite the controversial subject matter, the film was a sweet-natured romantic comedy in the tradition of some of Robespierre's favorite filmmakers, such as Nora Ephron, Woody Allen, and James L. Brooks.