Quinn Shephard wrote, directed, produced, edited and starred in “Blame,” which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival April 22, at only 20 years old. What’s more, she wrote the first draft of the film when she was only 15 years old. Despite Shephard’s youth, she successfully created a compelling and interesting film that defies numerous stereotypes. “Blame” is set in a high school in Shephard’s New Jersey hometown and follows students as they work on a production of “The Crucible” with their charming teacher Jeremy (Chris Messina). Shephard co-wrote the screenplay with her mother.

The film begins like a classic high school movie where several young girls are at odds with each other, but it quickly diverges from this age-old trope. Shephard told WSN about her experience creating the feature at such a young age.

Washington Square News: You made your directorial debut at 20 [years old], and now two years later, it’s premiering at Tribeca. What motivated you to make this film so early on in your career?

Quinn Shephard: It was really important to me to make this film before I was too far away to remember what it was like to be in high school. People say to me you know so much more now, but that’s why I wanted to make it earlier. That’s why it would’ve been harder. There is a naivety in the film because I was more naive and I think there’s a lot of tender moments that wouldn’t have been there if I had made it now.

WSN: During the Q&A after the film’s premiere, you stated how you wrote the first draft of the script in high school when you played Abigail Williams in “The Crucible.” How did the story come out of that experience?

QS: For me, I really love doing parallels to classic literature in my work, and I really thought it could be a very interesting story to take a play that is not from a youthful perspective and to take Abigail [Williams]’s story and totally reinterpret it from a perspective that is empathetic to her. Both main characters — Abigail and Melissa — are based on Abigail Williams. I think I really latched onto Abigail when I was so young and found her to be an incredible character and such a complex villain.

WSN: When you were writing it did you always want to play Abigail?

QS: Yeah, I actually was joking before that I made myself audition for Abigail and then I thought I would for Melissa too as like a joke, and it was a disaster. Even though Melissa is my favorite character I never wanted to play her. I also knew I always wanted to play Abigail because she was so personal to me. I have a lot in common with Abby and who she is in the film represents who I was in high school. I was maybe a little bit less crazy, but I think I also was very methodical and latched onto characters as a means of getting through the day in high school.

WSN: I really loved, after the premiere, how you explained the cliches of the film. I completely thought that when I was watching it and thought it perfectly described the twists of the film.

QS: I really just wanted to make something that felt really familiar and then constantly push it out of its comfort zone. I am really fascinated by cliches and film tropes, and I love to poke fun at them. I read countless scripts that are full of the same young female characters. There’s such a trend of these characters being flattened into stereotypes and I really wanted to subvert the cliches as much as possible as it went on.

WSN: I’m curious — how many drafts did it take until you got to the final script?

QS: [laughs] Too many.

WSN: I’m assuming a lot must’ve changed as you got older.

QS: Oh yeah, I went back as a joke with Nadia who plays Melissa to read the original script and we both were like this is nothing like the movie [laughs]. I just kept writing new scripts with the same characters and it wasn’t until the ending was the same [that] I was able to really finish it. It was like an epiphany as I was writing. I was talking with my mom and we just had a revelation with the ending that really brought it towards what it is now.

WSN: Not only did you direct and star in the film, you edited and produced it as well. What was that experience like and did you have a favorite job out of all of them?

QS: The editing was my favorite part honestly. Because for starters there was no time pressure — I was in post for two years. I spent a lot of time building the arcs of each character and capturing the unique tone of the film that goes back and forth between unabashed melodrama and cutting to mundane high school. I was always looking for those cuts from drama to comedy as a means of sort of letting the audience breathe in between. I think people laughing at those moments made the film very accessible.

WSN: Are there any particular filmmakers or people that inspired you?

QS: Yeah certain films and filmmakers. I really love Andrea Arnold and Park Chan-Wook. Also “Donnie Darko,” “American Beauty” and “Girlhood” and films in that vein as well as the cinematography of “Spring Breakers” and “Stoker.” It’s really the subtle magical realism in these films. It’s so incredible when you’re able to reflect people’s emotions through stylized sequences.

WSN: So right now do you have any projects in the works? Are you anxious to get started on something else or will you take a break?

QS: [laughs] I definitely need a moment. I do have some projects. I just finished a script to a miniseries and I have few features in the works. It takes so much out of you, doing a film and bringing it through festivals. It’s so great to see so many people responding to the film, but I need a moment to process everything and let go of this film so I can commit to another project.

WSN: Do you have any tips or suggestions for aspiring filmmakers?

QS: Jane Rosenthal, the head of Tribeca, had said the other day “don’t make what they want you to make, but make what you believe in.” I feel like that’s always been my motto. I think it’s so important for us to not filter down our vision for studios.

WSN: The indie industry is definitely a place you want to stay in?

QS: Yes, but also I think we don’t know what’s happening in film and TV right now. “Moonlight” won best picture [and] we are seeing these amazing limited series on Netflix and Amazon that are giving creative reins to the show runners. I think this is the new era of filmmaking where indie is the moneymaker. Indie is what’s selling — indie meaning the director’s vision and not a bunch of suits having a vision. My hope would be to make a film that is commercially appealing, but doesn’t compromise the vision.

Email Sophie Bennett at [email protected].