For Richards, the climb from student shorts to increasingly ambitious features has been built on persistence as much as talent. If a “no” today doesn’t mean a “no” tomorrow, Scissor Mouth may prove to be her biggest “yes” yet.
For filmmaker Deborah Richards, every project is a step toward something bigger. Originally from England and now based in Las Vegas, the four-time Southwest Production Emmy winner has built her career through shorts, commercial work, branded campaigns, and independent features, steadily pushing the scale and ambition of her work along the way.
Her 2022 feature debut, Move Me No Mountain, was followed by Shaken & Stirred: The Story of Flair Bartending, a documentary that brought Richards back to a world she knew firsthand as a former competitive flair bartender. The film chronicles the spectacular rise, decline, and social media-fueled resurgence of flair bartending while exploring the dedication and showmanship behind the craft. In January 2026, it was named Best Sports Documentary at Film Threat’s Award This!
Now Richards is preparing for another leap forward with Scissor Mouth, a gothic horror fairy tale set in 1980s rural Texas. With Johnny Pemberton and Tara Reid attached and a screenplay that placed second in the horror category at the 2025 Slamdance Screenplay Competition, the project represents Richards’ most ambitious production yet.
INFLUX Magazine spoke with Richards about Shaken & Stirred, breaking through the gatekeeping of independent filmmaking, the challenges that come with bigger productions, and why hearing “no” today doesn’t necessarily mean “no” tomorrow.
INFLUX: How did you first become involved with Shaken & Stirred: The Story of Flair Bartending?
I wrote and directed Shaken & Stirred: The Story of Flair Bartending, the first feature length documentary on the underground world of competitive flair bartending. As a former flair bartender, I returned to the world of competitive flair to showcase its rise, fall, and rebirth under social media, and to also show how women bartenders navigate this male-dominated world. Shaken & Stirred debuted on Apple TV in 2026 and was named Best Sports Documentary at Film Threat’s Award This! in January 2026.
I am in development on her third feature, Scissor Mouth, a gothic horror fairy tale set in 1980s rural Texas that explores beauty, identity, and revenge through a blood-soaked lens. The Scissor Mouth screenplay took second place in the horror category at the 2025 Slamdance Screenplay Competition and was an ISA staff pick for January 2026. With key production heads and stars Johnny Pemberton (Fallout, Superstore) and Tara Reid (American Pie, The Big Lebowski) attached, production is planned for New Mexico to capitalize on the state’s 30% film production tax incentive. I am currently storyboarding the project.
INFLUX: What was was the biggest challenge making Shaken & Stirred?
The biggest challenge was trying to compact 30 years of flair history into a cohesive narrative while showcasing the best of what the flair world has to offer.
INFLUX: What are your hopes/expectations/goals for your current project?
Shaken & Stirred: The Story of Flair Bartending is my first documentary. I want to showcase the hard work and history that goes behind bartenders’ skills and their service towards their guests and their craft. When I was competing in flair, I was there when flair was the center of bartending during the 1990s and 2000’s, with competitions offering six figure prize money and performed in front of crowds of thousands. I was also there for the subsequent fallout and decline. This doc is a tribute to the bartenders who flair and hopefully an inspiration to new bartenders to perfect their skills in showmanship and service, especially as flair makes a comeback due to its rise in social media.
INFLUX: How did it feel with this year’s win for 2026 Best Sports Documentary from Film Threat Award This?
This kind of validation goes beyond anything I could have ever imagine. To know that our film resonates with audiences as a fun, education, and exciting experience means the world to me.
INFLUX: What have been your greatest challenges as an indie filmmaker?
There is a lot of gatekeeping in filmmaking and getting a foot in the door to make movies at a significant scale is an uphill climb, especially as an outsider in the industry. Moving from no-budget student films to micro-budget features, to low budget multi-million dollar films takes a lot of work and perseverance, plus a lot of setbacks and accepting constant “no’s” and non-returned messages.
Our next feature, Scissor Mouth, brings a new set of challenges. Such challenges include dealing with ‘stars’, financing and the cast and crew relationships that larger scale production entails.
INFLUX: What’s been the most significant accomplishment in your career so far?
Being able to make films as a career, both my own and working on other filmmakers’ and commercial clients’ projects. With two features done and prepping for a third feature, larger in scale and budget, the journey has been a blessing.
INFLUX: Tell us about some of your past projects and where we can watch them if they’re available?
You can watch my previous shorts and movie trailers for the first two features, on our 1905 Films YouTube channel.
Our 1905 Film’s first feature, Move Me No Mountain, is a narrative drama about guilt and redemption, and being female and homeless in Las Vegas. You can watch Move Me No Mountain on Amazon, Tubi, and YouTube Movies & TV.
INFLUX: What goals to you have for yourself moving forward?
I would love to continue making bigger and better films with each project. I am especially excited about my third feature, Scissor Mouth, including a theatrical run!
INFLUX: What advice would you give to your younger self just starting out?
Do the work, don’t sweat the why, and a ‘no’ today doesn’t mean a ‘no’ tomorrow.
Read the INFLUX review of Shaken & Stirred: The Story of Flair Bartending!
Learn more about Richards at:
htpps://www.instagram.com/debbiinpink
https://www.debbiinpink.com
https://www.1905films.com
Featured photo by Cookie Dough Barcode
