“It's risky to show poor Americans. People see it as a downer. But I really wanted to make a tightly wound piece of storytelling that also happened to explode the myth of American affluence.”

American filmmaker

Debra Granik is an American filmmaker best known for writing and directing films about lives on the margins. She is associated with Down to the Bone, Winter's Bone, and Leave No Trace, and her work has brought her wider attention over time. Down to the Bone, released in 2004, starred Vera Farmiga. Winter's Bone, released in 2010, featured Jennifer Lawrence in her breakout role, and Granik was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Leave No Trace, released in 2018, is based on Peter Rock's book My Abandonment.