Ares, Isabella

Isabella Ares is a writer and director from Atlanta who applied to film school without telling her immigrant parents. Raised by a Brazilian mother and a Syrian-Lebanese father in the Deep South, her multicultural background informs her filmmaking. 

Isabella’s work is characterized by the use of exaggerated, surrealist elements that serve as a metaphor to the inherent comedy and irony in cultural expectations, gender roles, and other “taboo” issues. A keen storyteller and observer, she strikes the delicate balance between social commentary and absurdist humor. Isabella and Gabby’s feature of “Holy Smokes” was a second-round Finalist in the Sundance Feature Development Track (2023) and a Big Break Contest Quarter Finalist (2021). Isabella is a graduate of USC School of Cinematic Arts.