‘She’s My Inspiration’: OKC Award-Winning Filmmaker Inspired by Sister

Little did Devin Montgomery know that a decision about what class to take at UCO would change his life forever.

"It was either between theatre or badminton, and I didn't want to play badminton for a whole semester," Devin said.

Good choice. Devin has since made a living as an actor with more than a dozen credits to his name.

He had just hired a Los Angeles agent in early 2020, and then...

"Everything just kind of hit pause."

Fast forward a few months and Devin decided rather than waiting for the movies to come back, he'd make one himself for the first time. And he didn't have to look far for his inspiration.

Devin has a little sister named Daniella.

"She's my everything, she's my inspiration," Devin said. "She has special needs, Down Syndrome, so just growing up seeing everything that she's had to go through, just my inspiration in life."

Along with a friend, Devin directed, wrote, edited, and starred in the horror short "A Monster Within," a movie set in a fictional world of a monster outbreak, with a very real-life motivation. Daniella plays Devin's sister in the film.

"The idea kind of sparked, if something came up, how far would I go to protect my sister?" Devin said.

Devin shot 90% of the movie at his house and it has already won multiple Best Horror short awards at film festivals and is in the running at others across the country.

While the trophies are nice, Daniella hopes her performance inspires others like her to dream big.

"To encourage them and help them out," she said.

You can learn more about Devin, Daniella and the movie by checking out Devin's website and Instagram.