Recombined

Regina Ainsworth is a DGA Director, filmmaker, artist, and activist, dedicated to telling stories that inspire positive social change.

Regina started in theatre as an actor, dancer, and writer earning her B.A. in Theatre Arts from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and continued her education with a two-year immersive conservatory program, the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts. She spent a year observing West End productions in London, and upon returning stateside she began directing for the stage. After becoming fluent in theatre direction, she dove into creating in the digital world. With an eye toward directing episodic television, she landed a job at Warner Bros. Television in the Labor Relations department and began to rise through the ranks.

During her tenure she worked with over 120 productions, including Arrow, The Leftovers, Blindspot, Pretty Little Liars, and Westworld. It was after auditing the Television Director’s Workshop (a program she helped launch) that she transitioned into content creating and directing full time. Under her company’s banner, Regina has made two independent spec pilots The Project and Law & Order: The Musical, a dramatic short Better Together, a supernatural horror short Perchance to Dream (which landed her a pitch at Fox 21 Studio), and TV / Streaming Series proof of concept Recombined (based on the YA Sci-Fi novels the Tankborn Trilogy). As a writer-director, she has workshopped DREAMERs a Latina lead TV Show through Evette Vargas and the Writers Room 50/50, along with Tankborn, currently being taken to market. Recombined is the short proof of concept for the Tankborn pilot and series. Tankborn’s pilot (which she co-wrote with Karen Sandler) was recently awarded Second Rounder in the Austin Film Festival, a Semifinalist in Filmatic’s TV Pilot Awards, and a Quarterfinalist in ScreenCraft Sci Fi Fantasy, Genre Screenplay, Scriptapalooza Television Writing, and Emerging Screenwriting Festivals.

Since joining the Directors Guild of America, Regina was selected out of over 100 established directors to participate in the career workshop for the Director’s Development Initiative, the DGA’s answer to a fellowship / craft training program. In 2016 Ainsworth was appointed to coordinate both the DGA’s Women’s Steering Committee Proposal’s Subcommittee, and the Latino Committee’s Events Subcommittee. In July 2017, Regina was elected to Co-Chair the Latino Committee (one of a handful of Latinas to ever have the honor in their 30 year history) and she was re-elected to serve her second term in June 2019. That same month she was elected to be a Director member delegate, representing the entire membership body, for the Biennial DGA National Convention. Most recently, her strong leadership skills and past studio experience enabled her to guide her fellow Co-Chairs in a Summit that reshaped Inclusion at the DGA.

Ainsworth is also a proud member of the Alliance of Women Directors, the Chicana Directors Initiative, NALIP, Women in Film, Women in Media, and Women of Color Unite. She regularly volunteers, mentors, and appears on panels, and has been a judge for the Hollyshorts Film Festival, the DGA Student Film Awards, and was just invited to judge the NAACP Awards. She’s co-hosted the first ever WGA-DGA LatinX Mixer and is very active in her community.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Regina co-founded los directores, a Guild-level collective of LatinX directors and director’s team members who are dedicated to making the invisible visible, via equitable employment. She is committed to gender parity and helping people of color find their paths and elevate their craft.

Regina is THRILLED that Recombined premiered at the Oscar Qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival, in the Best of VFX Category, to have WON best Short in North America for Sci-Fi or Fantasy through the Alternative Film Festival and is just getting started with Recombined’s and ultimately Tankborn’s journey.