Shana Feste (born August 28, 1975) is an American film director and
screenwriter. She has directed and written The Greatest, Country
Strong, and Endless Love, and also has writing credits for You're Not
You.Feste was born and raised in Palos Verdes, California. She has a
sister. Feste attended UCLA. When her parents divorced, she spent
summers at her father's in Texas. She earned a master's degree in
Creative Writing and Screenwriting at the University of Texas at
Austin and then studied Producing at the American Film Institute, from
where she graduated in 2003. She worked as a nanny, waited tables and
tutored to pay for her tuition. Following her graduation, she worked
as an assistant at the Creative Artists Agency. She is married to
producer Brian Kavanaugh-Jones.Feste's directorial debut was The
Greatest, which was screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival in the
US dramatic competition section. The film is based on Feste's father
who lost a son before she was born. It starred Pierce Brosnan and
Susan Sarandon as parents dealing with the death of their son. The
Greatest earned a Humanitas Prize nomination. In 2009, she wrote the
script for music drama Country Strong, which she directed and was
released in 2011. It was produced by Tobey Maguire, whom Feste came to
know while she was a nanny, caring for his daughter. The film focused
on recovering alcoholic country singer Kellie Canter played by Gwyneth
Paltrow. The song "Coming Home" was nominated for an Academy Award for
Best Original Song, but lost to Randy Newman's "We Belong Together"
from Toy Story 3.Also in 2009, Feste was hired to write a screenplay
based on the novel You're Not You by Michelle Wildgen. Filming took
place in December 2012. The film was set for release in 2013.
screenwriter. She has directed and written The Greatest, Country
Strong, and Endless Love, and also has writing credits for You're Not
You.Feste was born and raised in Palos Verdes, California. She has a
sister. Feste attended UCLA. When her parents divorced, she spent
summers at her father's in Texas. She earned a master's degree in
Creative Writing and Screenwriting at the University of Texas at
Austin and then studied Producing at the American Film Institute, from
where she graduated in 2003. She worked as a nanny, waited tables and
tutored to pay for her tuition. Following her graduation, she worked
as an assistant at the Creative Artists Agency. She is married to
producer Brian Kavanaugh-Jones.Feste's directorial debut was The
Greatest, which was screened at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival in the
US dramatic competition section. The film is based on Feste's father
who lost a son before she was born. It starred Pierce Brosnan and
Susan Sarandon as parents dealing with the death of their son. The
Greatest earned a Humanitas Prize nomination. In 2009, she wrote the
script for music drama Country Strong, which she directed and was
released in 2011. It was produced by Tobey Maguire, whom Feste came to
know while she was a nanny, caring for his daughter. The film focused
on recovering alcoholic country singer Kellie Canter played by Gwyneth
Paltrow. The song "Coming Home" was nominated for an Academy Award for
Best Original Song, but lost to Randy Newman's "We Belong Together"
from Toy Story 3.Also in 2009, Feste was hired to write a screenplay
based on the novel You're Not You by Michelle Wildgen. Filming took
place in December 2012. The film was set for release in 2013.
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