From KCRW in Santa Monica, this is The Treatment.

I'm Elvis Mitchell. It's the treatment, which you can also hear at KCRW.com.

My guest, writer-director Hilary Brower, made quite a sensation with her second film, Stephanie Daly,

which won the Waldo's Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance. Her first film is also an interesting science fiction kind of film,

called Sticky Fingers of Time. Hilary, thanks so much for being here.

Thank you. I've got to ask you, because it's a really kind of amazing and tricky story to

explain what Stephanie Daly is about. Stephanie Daly is the story of two troubled pregnancies, one,

a 16-year-old girl who has been accused of concealing her pregnancy and killing her baby,

and we're seeing her story in flashback.

And the other woman is a forensic psychologist played by Tilda Swinton, who is talking to the girl and dealing with some stuff going on in her own life that sort of mirrors what Stephanie's going through.

And I guess it's mirroring some stuff for you, too, as you were pregnant as you were making

the film, right?

Well, I mean, happily, happily, no.

I wrote the film before I got pregnant.

Got pregnant with twins.

I had the twins.

And then miraculously, the production came together.

Now, the film is really about fear.

And when I say happily, it doesn't mirror my experience. I think I got a lot of my anxieties out of the way writing the film. And my own pregnancy, yes, it had its moments. but it was a pretty easy ride.

I do feel there's some connection between the twins and the movie, but actually a very positive one.

You know, the movie's dark at time, but it's actually, you know, it's about getting ready to have kids and getting through the shadow stuff.

It's weird because it strikes me as being in emotional terms.

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