Westerly native Vanessa Parise's latest directorial effort, "Perfect High," premieres at 8 p.m. June 27 on Lifetime. Bella Thorne stars in the TV film as a high school competitive dancer who has to take prescription painkillers after an injury —  and then slides into heroin addiction.

Parise earned a Leo Award nomination for best director of a TV movie for "#PopFan," which debuted last year on Lifetime. "#PopFan" starred Chelsea Kane as a pop star dealing with an obsessed fan. (The Leo Awards are for the British Columbia film and television industry.)

For her next project, Parise will direct "The Unauthorized Beverly Hills 90210 Story."

Parise's first major project was 2002's "Kiss the Bride," which starred Alyssa Milano and was partly filmed in Westerly.

Her other work has included writing, directing and acting in the 2008 feature "Jack and Jill vs. The World" starring Taryn Manning, who now plays Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett in "Orange Is the New Black."

Parise was valedictorian of the Westerly High School class of 1988 and graduated from Harvard with a degree in biology before deciding to pursue her career in acting, writing and directing.