Like many of Hollywood’s best directors, Banali began her career in front of the camera, appearing in over 50 film and television roles over two decades earning her chops on both ultra low budget movies and blockbusters. One of her first acting roles was as a mermaid in Steven Spielberg’s “Hook”. She had the great fortune of being on film sets and learning the craft of filmmaking from legendary producers and directors. Her first feature as director was the film “QUIET RIOT: Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back” a rock documentary on the 80's metal band Quiet Riot. An early pioneer of crowdfunding, she raised the seed money on Kickstarter in the summer of 2010, long before crowdfunding was a common funding strategy. The film was in competition at the 2014 Newport Beach Film Festival and won the Festival Honors Award for “Best Music Film.” It was quickly acquired by the Showtime Network for a two year license and premiered there on Jan 29th 2015. It had a theatrical release, as well as iTunes, Amazon Instant video, and DVD worldwide. She has also produced and directed content for buyers such as, Crackle, The Humane Society of The United States, and Frontiers Music. Currently she is developing new projects and is available as a director for hire.