Debra Granik explores the bond between father and daughter in the timely drama 'Leave No Trace'

At a moment when many are struggling to sift through their own feelings of empathy and upset, filmmaker Debra Granik knows what to prioritize.

While acknowledging she has been pleased and surprised by the responses her new film "Leave No Trace" has generated since its Sundance Film Festival premiere this year, Granik hastens to add, "this is in the midst of course of my heart hurting most days ... because of what we're going through as a country.

"I always have to include that, because, simultaneous to my personal feelings of feeling active and alive with my work, I feel very upset as an American," Granik said. "It's funny, your happiness is contingent on a bigger