Get to Know Gretl
These are days of radical reinvention…and I’m no stranger to that.
With MFAs in Acting, Poetry, and Nonfiction, plus successful stints as an On- and Off-Broadway Actress, a Brand Content Producer, and Creative Director, plus a top-selling Business Development Executive, my eclectic background provides a strong foundation for a career steeped in transmedia storytelling — from creating short- and long-form narratives across multiple genres and platforms to tech-forward immersive experiences for the world’s biggest brands.
As a Creator/Writer, Director and Filmmaker, I’m committed to telling diverse, cinematic stories that entertain and catalyze transformation in individual lives and shared cultures.
My first film, HAPPY HOUR — narrated by Julianne Moore — screened as an official selection at 18 festivals, winning awards and garnering praise from Oscar-winning Writer/Director Robert Benton: “Happy Hour is a lush, elegiac film about an extremely difficult subject and Ms. Claggett handles it masterfully.”
My second film/proof-of-concept TV pilot, STORMCHASER, is a female-forward, nuanced satire that allegorizes this era in “Merica”: Global Warming, Disaster Capitalism, Bullying, #MeToo, Morality, a Shrinking Middle Class and Country Divided. STORMCHASER was selected to screen at roughly 65 festivals worldwide — winning AMC Network’s Inaugural “Best Female Creator” Award at Stareable Fest 2020, “Best Writer and Director” Awards at the 2021 New York Women in Film & Television Festival, and “Outstanding Writing” at the 2021 Catalyst Content Festival (ITVFest). Other awards include multiple wins for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Film, Best Pilot, Best Cinematography, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Original Score/Soundtrack, and Best VFX.
I cut and restructured the story to make a shorter, 15-minute film, FLIP THE SWITCH, which was selected as a finalist in the international 2020 Stage 32 Short Film Program Contest, and also screened at multiple festivals around the world, winning awards.
Another passion of mine is pioneering the use of innovative technologies to shape inspiring brand stories — from writing and directing Sony’s first 4K 360° cinematic music video to creative directing high-profile events, such as Entertainment Weekly’s inaugural festival, PopFest, in Downtown LA, and IBM’s Partner World in Las Vegas and San Francisco. I’ve written, directed, and produced live performance/multimedia and video/livestream projects for diverse brands such as Canon, McDonald’s, Merck, Pfizer, SHRM, and SC Johnson, to name a few.
One of my specialties is merging live performance with state-of-the-art multimedia. “Cognitive in Motion,” IBM Amplify’s opening experience — which I conceptualized, wrote, directed, and produced, incorporating ‘pop & lock’ dancers, Notch (real-time generated art), and IBM cognitive data visualizations — won two top Telly Awards.
In 2020-2021, I directed 3 episodes of an indie short-form comedic series, CHRONICLES OF A BLEEP YEAR OLD, and produced BOY, ALONE IN WOODS, a horror short/proof-of-concept for a feature I’m co-developing. Currently, I’m attached to direct my first feature film, BEYOND THE RUSH, and am writing a memoir manuscript, plus Film/TV projects, including a ‘90s nostalgic black comedy and a female-forward, metaphysical thriller. Check out narrative projects in development at Culture Catalyst.