A day with Christiana Thanos
producer and director of The Lucky Girls

There is no typical day for me, except perhaps for Saturdays. These are for catching up on life and Lucky Girls–a sixteen-minute documentary about a Greek Orthodox orphanage in Kolkata, India. I had been a volunteer there since 2004 and the experience changed my life in so many ways–including the changes brought to my life by this film.
Monday to Friday, the regular workweek, I balance work related to the film with my job as Assistant Director of Development at the USC School of Social Work. But the commute there and back, my lunch hour, and evenings are occupied by Lucky Girls–answering emails, giving interviews, replying to screening requests, and, of course, outreach work to support the orphanage. But I’m happy to bask in Lucky Girls and its appeal.
 Saturdays are special. I start the day by letting myself sleep in. I’m a firm believer in getting the sleep your body needs. As I wake up, I try to gauge the weather outside at the same time I turn to reach for my smartphone. I always check first for emails from Vimeo telling me how many views Lucky Girls had the previous day. After that, I get out bed, pull open the curtains in my Los Feliz 1920s-style studio to let in the light. I put on my running gear, grab my cell phone, switch it to Pandora’s M.I.A. station, and go for a run around the  neighborhood. While I am running, I always try to figure out how to make each day seem like Saturday, and before I figure out the answer, I decide to treat myself to a berry, banana and almond butter smoothie at the Nature Mart–or I make one myself at home.
Once back at my apartment, I stretch, clean my apartment, do the dishes and tidy up from any clutter left from the week. I then  toast some Trader Joe’s blueberry waffles and treat myself to my once-a-week coffee, TJ’s Breakfast Blend with soy creamer, sit by my sunny window that overlooks nothing but an alley and begin working.
I send out all donation thank you emails, update our blog, and try to tweet if anything interesting comes up. I am constantly on g-chat with Kiki Amanatidis, the Grand President of the Maids of Athena, or emailing back and forth with our PR expert, Pamela Spyrs at InSpyrs PR about new developments. I then go through old emails from the previous week and provide volunteers information for scheduling screenings, answer questions people may have about the orphanage, conduct interviews, and seek out opportunities and partnerships with businesses, churches, universities, and individuals. I go through my turquoise Moleskine  notebook for notes I’ve jotted down throughout the week like where I may have met someone who I’d like to engage with and sort through new ideas about fundraisers. At the same time, I am constantly burning copies of Lucky Girls, and designing more promotional materials.
By the time I’m finished, it’s evening. Again Saturdays are special because in the evenings I either catch up with friends or, most likely, drive home to visit my family–that is, my sisters, their husbands, my nieces and nephews, and my father. At home, we eat because what else do big fat Greek families do together? I laugh over fights in the kitchen about what types of greens to use in spanakopitta, the temperature to cook something, or the proper knife to cut with. Each person in my family is a better cook than the other. At the end of the night, I turn my computer back on and finish up any remaining work or meet some friends out.