Coppola made her directorial feature film debut with '' Palo Alto '' , an adaption of James Franco 's short story collection of the same name . The film premiered in the Orizzonti section of the 70th Venice International Film Festival , as well as the 38th Toronto International Film Festival and the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado . After befriending James Franco , Coppola was asked to adapt and direct his collection of short stories '' Palo Alto '' . She said she agreed to do the project because of how well she connected with the source material . When working on the film , she drew inspiration from films such as '' American Graffiti '' , '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High '' , '' The Outsiders '' , and '' The Virgin Suicides '' . Coppola collaborated with her teenage cast to write the script and make it as authentic as possible . Many parallels have been drawn between Coppola 's debut and Sofia Coppola 's '' The Virgin Suicides '' , in terms of the style and genre
38th Toronto International Film Festival
2013 Toronto International Film Festival
Gia Coppola