THIRTEEN marks the directorial and screenwriting debut of Catherine Hardwicke, a prolific production designer and architect.

She conceived the film\'s bold, visual style as a way of matching the intensity of a young girl\'s journey, pulling from her experience of working with such critically acclaimed directors as Cameron Crowe, David O. Russell, Costa Gavras and Richard Linklater

The native of the South Texas border town McAllen studied art in Mexico and received a degree in architecture from the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating, she designed and constructed a 20-acre passive solar townhouse complex. She then enrolled in UCLA\'s Film School, taking graduate courses, where she completed her first animated/live action short. It won her a Nissan Focus Award and toured in the Landmark "Best of UCLA" program. She has directed several short films and designed the production of more than 20 feature films.

Her production design credits include: THREE KINGS, VANILLA SKY, TOMBSTONE, Costa Gavras