Amanda Milius was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of director/screenwriter John Milius (Apocalypse Now, Jeremiah Johnson, Dirty Harry, Big Wednesday) and actress Celia Kaye. She was exposed to a lot of B-films, Westerns, classics and art films both from her parents and from her first job working at a local arthouse video store in Los Angeles. She is forging a style influenced by these films but with her own take on themes of morality, honor, revenge and nature. Amanda spent most of her twenties in New York, where she attended the New School University with a focus on philosophy and film. During this time Amanda worked as a fashion photographer and in her off-time wrote a string of short films focusing on the counter culture of the 1960s and 70s, and its effect on current society. After returning to Los Angeles, Amanda attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts MFA program in film and television production. During her time at USC, Amanda’s films focused on the psychology of four unique female lead characters in harsh environments and situations: (Duel, Silver Beach, Disconnect, and Maneater). She recently completed her final project for USC, her MFA Thesis film, The Lotus Gun, in 2015, which has been accepted at several international film festivals and was recently named as a Cine Golden Eagle Award 2015 Finalist.