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Miranda July
Performance artist-turned-feature director Miranda July delved into different means of artistic expression with little regard to whether or not her endeavors would make money. Though best known for breaking into the mainstream with her first feature, "Me and You and Everyone We Know" (2005), a refreshing indie hit straight out of Sundance, July spent most of her life developing her art in other mediums, including short stories, live performance and short poetic sound recordings. Even after the fame and recognition she received from her debut film, July was content with returning to the world of multimedia stage performances and writing short stories for literary magazines.