Winkler grew up in
Kilauea,
Kaua’i. She holds a BA from
Mount Holyoke College and an MFA in screenwriting, directing and production, from
EICAR in Paris. Her narrative screenplay,
Bell, was awarded the 2016 Sundance Sloan Commissioning grant, participated in the 2017
Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab as part of the Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and the 2017 SFFILM Cinema Filmmaker Fellowship. In 2018, Winkler wrote, co-directed and produced the feature documentary,
United Skates, Executive Produced by
John Legend. It features
Salt-N-Pepa,
Coolio and
Naughty By Nature. The film screened at over 140 film festivals, including its premiere at the
Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award and was acquired by
HBO. In 2020 the film was nominated for an Emmy Award under the category Outstanding Arts and Culture, and took home 14 Audience Choice Awards including,
Chicago International Film Festival,
New Orleans Film Festival and
Vancouver International Film Festival.{{Cite web|url=http://www.offbeat.com/news/new-orleans-film-festival-winners/|title=Winners Of The 29th Annual New Orleans Film Festival Announced ==Filmography==