Natalija Vekic

Natalija Vekic is a screenwriter and director. She was invited to participate in the Film Independent Screenwriting Lab, selected as an honoree in the WGAW Feature Access Diversity Project, and was a top ten finalist in the Page International Screenwriting Awards. Natalija is a graduate of the UCLA MFA screenwriting program. She received a "Special Project Grant" from the Princess Grace Foundation to direct the narrative short JANE. The film stars Mishel Prada (Vida/ Riverdale) and is based on Natalija's pilot about a real group of women who ran an underground abortion service in the era before Roe v. Wade.

Bosnian and Serbian, Natalija immigrated to Chicago when she was a pint-sized six-year-old. Not being able to speak English taught her to be a keen observer and sparked her love of storytelling. Dreaming up stories was a way to regain her voice and make sense of her new home. Her experience as an immigrant growing up with a single mom profoundly influences the stories she tells. Natalija writes and directs suspenseful dramas from the perspective of immigrants, outsiders, and women who boldly shape history, but are often forgotten. Family turmoil, forgiveness, and how the past creeps into the present are at the heart of her scripts. She loves to tackle complex and gritty women characters.