Destry Allyn Spielberg Opens Up About Her ‘Confusing and Weird’ Journey to Directing (Exclusive)

Destry Allyn Spielberg initially wanted to carve a life out for herself as an equestrian until a serious back injury changed everything.

Destry, 28, is the youngest child of legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw‘s blended family. She makes her feature directorial debut with the new movie Please Don’t Feed the Children, a thriller that stars Michelle Dockery, Zoe Colleti and Giancarlo Esposito among an ensemble cast.

“Transitioning from a life that I had as an equestrian, having an injury, having to essentially stop [and] not having a path or an idea of what you wanna do next was really hard and confusing and weird,” Destry tells PEOPLE in a recent interview about the movie. Following her departure from competitive horse riding, the burgeoning filmmaker began studying acting and found roles in movies like 2019’s Mass Hysteria and 2021’s Licorice Pizza. Auditioning for parts among scores of other aspiring actors in Hollywood “definitely humbled me,” she says.

Everything began to click for Destry when she and a friend decided to write a short film “with the purpose of putting both ourselves in it, so that we could have the reel that we needed.” In need of a director, Destry decided to step behind the camera herself.

“I was like, ‘I’ve never done this before.’ But once we got it all set up and we finally started shooting, it was a spiritual experience because I had stepped on set and it was like all these instincts just clicked,” she says. “I can’t even explain it. It was like a dream. I immediately felt so passionate about this role as a director and just had all these instincts that I, that were flowing out of me and all these ideas.” 

Destry released her debut short film Rosie in 2019 and followed it up with another short, Let Me Go the Right Way, in 2022. In Please Don’t Feed the Children, Destry’s camera follows a group of teenagers on the run in a dystopian United States ravaged by disease. After being taken in by a seemingly kind woman (Dockery), things take a turn when she holds them hostage.

“Making any indie film is a miracle,” Destry, who shot the movie with her cast and crew in just 18 days, tells PEOPLE. “One of the biggest things I learned on this one is to have a lot of patience and that nothing is going to happen when it’s said to happen.”

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“Now that I’ve had that experience, I’m able to feel more comfortable sitting and waiting a little bit and being patient with the process,” she adds. “I’m so beyond grateful. I think really everything happens for a reason. I’m really proud of this movie and I’m really proud of everyone who put the hard work into it.”

With one feature film under her belt and another titled Four Assassins (And a Funeral) in development, Destry has a promising future as a director in her own right. She recently had a full circle moment when she returned to competitive equestrianism for the first time in eight years back in February. “I’ll forever be on a horse,” she tells PEOPLE.

Please Don’t Feed the Children begins streaming on Tubi June 27.