The Top 100+ Women Directors
In case you're a fan of film analysis, you might enjoy my dissection of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, which you can find here: eyescream237.wordpress.com
As for how this list works, first off, it's a living list. Names are bound to shift and slide as I catch up with a master's masterpieces.
The films I've seen are listed first, and in descending order of recommendation. I decided to list everything I've seen, since women have herstorically had less opportunity for directorial vastness (and I didn't want to make it worse by being choosey), so, in some cases, it can be a pretty steep drop off from first title to second. Most of the top 50 are fairly consistent, though. The other tragedy this highlights is how hard it is to accidentally watch more than one film from a woman director's perspective - even for a driven moviegoer like myself, of my almost 6000 titles-worth of viewing, I've got less than 200 women with at least one film I'd give a perfect score to. And to be fair, I included some names at the bottom who only have a 4/5 from me, but who I see potential in for a masterpiece.
I did decide this time around (this is an update of a deleted list) to leave out directors where I've only seen their TV works, since I don't think the format allows for the same singularity of vision as film. But if I could throw one back in, it would be Beth McCarthy-Miller, who helmed what I consider the golden age of Saturday Night Live, as well as a sizeable chunk of one of the greatest series of all time, 30 Rock. Michelle MacLaren's work on Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and The X-Files would make her a close second.
And in case you're like me, and you're on a quest to see as many female-helmed films as possible, what follows here is my current list of directors I haven't made time for yet. Feel free to suggest any I've overlooked (with a title of note, if you don't mind), and I'll add them. Thanks.
Also, you'll notice I included titles on the list I'm hoping to see later: just so you know, these are mostly titles I've had recommended from various sources.
Marilyn Agrelo, Desiree Akhavan, Lexi Alexander, Debbie Allen, Haifaa Al-Mansour, Sini Anderson, Gillian Armstrong, Dorothy Arzner, Amma Asante, Jamie Babbit, Gabrielle Baur, Maria Luisa Bemberg, Houda Benyamina, Anna Boden, Patricia Cardosa, Niki Caro, Joyce Chopra, Shirley Clarke, Isabel Coixet, Martha Coolidge, Eleanor Coppola, Gia Coppola, Julie Davis, Donna Deitch, Julie Delpy, Katherine Dieckmann, Germaine Dulac, Marguerite Duras, Ildikó Enyedi, Deniz Gamze Erguven, Pelin Esmer, Shana Feste, Hannah Fidell, Anne Fontaine, Maya Forbes, Sarah Gavron, Eléa Gobbeé-Mévellec, Randa Haines, Tanya Hamilton, Sanaa Hamri, Marion Hänsel, Mia Hansen-Love, Leslye Headland, Sian Heder, Shirin Heshat, Joanna Hogg, Sophie Hyde, Dianne Jackson, Agnès Jaoui, Angelina Jolie, Miranda July, Chiemi Karasawa, Beeban Kidron, Clare Kilner, So Yong Kim, Lisa Krueger, Diane Kurys, Melanie Laurant, Julia Leigh, Claudia Llosa, Phyllida Lloyd, Ye Lou, Hettie Macdonald, Maïwenn, Samira Makhmalbaf, Tonie Marshall, Deepa Mehta, Meera Menon, Nancy Meyers, Crystal Moselle, Jocelyn Moorhouse, Kira Muratova, Anna Muylaert, Léa Mysius, Nina Paley, Stacie Passon, Marie Perennou, Adina Pintilie, Dawn Porter, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Leni Riefenstahl, Patricia Riggen, Gillian Robespierre, Alice Rohrwacher, Patricia Rozema, Leontine Sagan, Angela Schanelec, Susan Seidelman, Cate Shortland, Carla Simón, Jill Sprecher, Lynne Stopkewich, Barbra Streisand, Mami Sunada, Sophia Takal, Moufida Tlatli, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Margarethe von Trotta, Lina Wertmüller, Alice Winocour
As for how this list works, first off, it's a living list. Names are bound to shift and slide as I catch up with a master's masterpieces.
The films I've seen are listed first, and in descending order of recommendation. I decided to list everything I've seen, since women have herstorically had less opportunity for directorial vastness (and I didn't want to make it worse by being choosey), so, in some cases, it can be a pretty steep drop off from first title to second. Most of the top 50 are fairly consistent, though. The other tragedy this highlights is how hard it is to accidentally watch more than one film from a woman director's perspective - even for a driven moviegoer like myself, of my almost 6000 titles-worth of viewing, I've got less than 200 women with at least one film I'd give a perfect score to. And to be fair, I included some names at the bottom who only have a 4/5 from me, but who I see potential in for a masterpiece.
I did decide this time around (this is an update of a deleted list) to leave out directors where I've only seen their TV works, since I don't think the format allows for the same singularity of vision as film. But if I could throw one back in, it would be Beth McCarthy-Miller, who helmed what I consider the golden age of Saturday Night Live, as well as a sizeable chunk of one of the greatest series of all time, 30 Rock. Michelle MacLaren's work on Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and The X-Files would make her a close second.
And in case you're like me, and you're on a quest to see as many female-helmed films as possible, what follows here is my current list of directors I haven't made time for yet. Feel free to suggest any I've overlooked (with a title of note, if you don't mind), and I'll add them. Thanks.
Also, you'll notice I included titles on the list I'm hoping to see later: just so you know, these are mostly titles I've had recommended from various sources.
Marilyn Agrelo, Desiree Akhavan, Lexi Alexander, Debbie Allen, Haifaa Al-Mansour, Sini Anderson, Gillian Armstrong, Dorothy Arzner, Amma Asante, Jamie Babbit, Gabrielle Baur, Maria Luisa Bemberg, Houda Benyamina, Anna Boden, Patricia Cardosa, Niki Caro, Joyce Chopra, Shirley Clarke, Isabel Coixet, Martha Coolidge, Eleanor Coppola, Gia Coppola, Julie Davis, Donna Deitch, Julie Delpy, Katherine Dieckmann, Germaine Dulac, Marguerite Duras, Ildikó Enyedi, Deniz Gamze Erguven, Pelin Esmer, Shana Feste, Hannah Fidell, Anne Fontaine, Maya Forbes, Sarah Gavron, Eléa Gobbeé-Mévellec, Randa Haines, Tanya Hamilton, Sanaa Hamri, Marion Hänsel, Mia Hansen-Love, Leslye Headland, Sian Heder, Shirin Heshat, Joanna Hogg, Sophie Hyde, Dianne Jackson, Agnès Jaoui, Angelina Jolie, Miranda July, Chiemi Karasawa, Beeban Kidron, Clare Kilner, So Yong Kim, Lisa Krueger, Diane Kurys, Melanie Laurant, Julia Leigh, Claudia Llosa, Phyllida Lloyd, Ye Lou, Hettie Macdonald, Maïwenn, Samira Makhmalbaf, Tonie Marshall, Deepa Mehta, Meera Menon, Nancy Meyers, Crystal Moselle, Jocelyn Moorhouse, Kira Muratova, Anna Muylaert, Léa Mysius, Nina Paley, Stacie Passon, Marie Perennou, Adina Pintilie, Dawn Porter, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Leni Riefenstahl, Patricia Riggen, Gillian Robespierre, Alice Rohrwacher, Patricia Rozema, Leontine Sagan, Angela Schanelec, Susan Seidelman, Cate Shortland, Carla Simón, Jill Sprecher, Lynne Stopkewich, Barbra Streisand, Mami Sunada, Sophia Takal, Moufida Tlatli, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Margarethe von Trotta, Lina Wertmüller, Alice Winocour
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Lauren Greenfield was born on 28 June 1966 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She is a director and producer, known for The Queen of Versailles (2012), The Kingmaker (2019) and Thin (2006).The Queen of Versailles, The Kingmaker, Generation Wealth
To see: Thin- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Lynne Ramsay was born on 5 December 1969 in Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK. She is a director and writer, known for You Were Never Really Here (2017), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and Ratcatcher (1999). She was previously married to Rory Stewart Kinnear.You Were Never Really Here, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Morvern Callar, Ratcatcher, Small Deaths, Swimmer, Gasman
To see: Brigitte- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Lana Wachowski and her sister Lilly Wachowski, also known as the Wachowskis, are the duo behind such ground-breaking movies as The Matrix (1999) and Cloud Atlas (2012). Born to mother Lynne, a nurse, and father Ron, a businessman of Polish descent, Wachowski grew up in Chicago and formed a tight creative relationship with her sister Lilly. After the siblings dropped out of college, they started a construction business and wrote screenplays. Their 1995 script, Assassins (1995), was made into a movie, leading to a Warner Bros contract. After that time, the Wachowskis devoted themselves to their movie careers. In 2012, during interviews for Cloud Atlas and in her acceptance speech for the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award, Lana spoke about her experience of being a transgender woman, sacrificing her much cherished anonymity out of a sense of responsibility. Lana is known to be extremely well-read, loves comic books and exploring ideas of imaginary worlds, and was inspired by Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) in creating Cloud Atlas.(w/ Lilly)
The Matrix, Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions, Bound, Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Rising, Speed Racer – As Producer: V for Vendetta
To see: Sense 8- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter. She gained recognition for her role in writing and directing several independent films, including I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), American Psycho (2000), and The Notorious Bettie Page (2005). She co-wrote American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page with Guinevere Turner. Although Harron has denied this title, she has been thought to be feminist filmmaker due to her film on lesbian feminist Valerie Solanas, in I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), and a queer story-line within her teenage Gothic horror, The Moth Diaries (2011).American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol, The Moth Diaries - TV: Oz (1), Six Feet Under (1), Big Love (1)
To see: The Notorious Bettie Page- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris have built an impressive body of work by perpetually seeking innovative projects in a variety of mediums.
After introducing bands such as REM and The Red Hot Chili Peppers on their ground breaking MTV show The Cutting Edge, Jonathan and Valerie continued to work in music television directing music videos and documentaries for bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction, Macy Gray, Janet Jackson, Oasis, Weezer, and The Ramones. Their music productions have earned them two Grammy Awards, nine MTV Music Video Awards, and a Billboard Music "Director of the Year" Award.
In 1998, Jonathan and Valerie co-founded Bob Industries, one of the country's leading commercial production companies. Directing commercials for VW, Sony Playstation, Gap, Target, Ikea, Apple, ESPN amongst others, Dayton and Faris continue to push the medium into new vistas. In 2002, Creativity Magazine labeled them as one of their top ten best commercial directors.
Aside from their work in music videos and commercials, Jonathan and Valerie have done extensive work in television and film, including directing episodes of "Mr. Show with Bob and David" for HBO and producing two feature films, "The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years" for New Line Cinema, and "Gift" for Warner Bros. Music.Little Miss Sunshine, Ruby Sparks – Various Music Videos)
To see: Battle of the Sexes- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
A director, producer, writer, marketer and film distributor, Ava DuVernay made her feature film debut with the documentary This is the Life (2008), a history on hip hop movement that flourished in Los Angeles in the 1990's. This was followed by series of television music documentaries which included My Mic Sounds Nice (2010) which aired on BET.
DuVernay's first narrative feature film, I Will Follow (2010), secured her the African-American Film Critics Association award for best screenplay. Her follow-up, Middle of Nowhere (2012) won the Best Director Prize at the 2012 Sundance film festival, making her the first African-American woman to receive the award.13th, Selma, I Will Follow
To see: A Wrinkle in Time, Middle of Nowhere, When They See Us, DMZ, The New Gods- Director
- Actress
- Producer
Two time Emmy-nominated actress and director Lynn Shelton fell ill and was taken to a Los Angeles, California hospital. During her medical examination it was found that she had been suffering, without diagnosis or any apparent symptoms, from acute myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood. She died just a few days later on May 16, 2020 at age 54.Your Sister’s Sister, Humpday - TV: The Mindy Project (2), Mad Men (1)
To see: Laggies, Touchy Feely- Producer
- Director
- Sound Department
Barbara Kopple was born on 30 July 1946 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a producer and director, known for Harlan County U.S.A. (1976), American Dream (1990) and Shut Up & Sing (2006).Harlan County USA, Shut Up and Sing, Havoc - TV: Oz (1)
To see: American Dream, Miss Sharon Jones!, Desert One- Director
- Actress
- Writer
Sofia Coppola was born on May 14, 1971 in New York City, New York, USA as Sofia Carmina Coppola. She is a director, known for Somewhere (2010), Lost in Translation (2003), and Marie Antoinette (2006). She has been married to Thomas Mars since August 27, 2011. They have two daughters, Romy and Cosima. She was previously married to Spike Jonze.Lost in Translation, The Virgin Suicides, The Bling Ring, Somewhere, The Beguiled, Marie Antoinette
To see: On the Rocks- Director
- Actress
- Writer
Marjane Satrapi was born on 22 November 1969 in Rasht, Iran. She is a director and actress, known for Persepolis (2007), The Voices (2014) and Chicken with Plums (2011). She is married to Mattias Ripa. She was previously married to Reza.Persepolis, Chicken with Plums
To see: The Voices, Radioactive- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Jane Campion was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and now lives in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Having graduated with a BA in Anthropology from Victoria University of Wellington in 1975, and a BA, with a painting major, at Sydney College of the Arts in 1979, she began filmmaking in the early 1980s, attending the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS). Her first short film, Peel (1982) won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986. Her other short films include A Girl's Own Story (1984), Passionless Moments (1983), After Hours (1985) and the tele-feature 2 Friends (1986), all of which won Australian and international awards. She co-wrote and directed her first feature film, Sweetie (1989), which won the Georges Sadoul prize in 1989 for Best Foreign Film, as well as the LA Film Critics' New Generation Award in 1990, the American Independant Spirit Award for Best Foreign Feature, and the Australian Critics' Award for Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress. She followed this with An Angel at My Table (1990), a dramatization based on the autobiographies of Janet Frame which won some seven prizes, including the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1990. It was also awarded prizes at the Toronto and Berlin Film Festivals, again winning the American Independent Spirit Award, and was voted the most popular film at the 1990 Sydney Film Festival. The Piano (1993) won the Palme D'Or at Cannes, making her the first woman ever to win the prestigious award. She also captured an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 1993 Oscars, while also being nominated for Best Director.The Piano, Holy Smoke, Sweetie, Bright Star - TV: Top of the Lake (7)
To see: In the Cut, The Portrait of a Lady, An Angel at My Table- Actress
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Sarah Polley is an actress and director renowned in her native Canada for her political activism. Blessed with an extremely expressive face that enables directors to minimize dialog due to her uncanny ability to suggest a character's thoughts, Polley has become a favorite of critics for her sensitive portraits of wounded and conflicted young women in independent films.
She was born into a show business family: her stepfather, Michael Polley, appeared with her in the movie The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) and on the television series Avonlea (1990); and her mother, Diane Polley, was an actress and casting director. It was her mother's connections that launched Sarah, at her own insistence, on an acting career at the age of four, following in the footsteps of her older half-brother Mark Polley. A second half-brother, John Buchan, is a casting director and producer.
Her career as a child actress shifted into high gear when she was cast as the Cockney waif Jody Turner in Lantern Hill (1989), for which she won a Gemini Award, the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy, in 1992. Produced by Kevin Sullivan, the film was based on the book by Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables (1985). When Sullivan created a television series based on Montgomery's work, he cast Polley in the lead role of Sara Stanley in Avonlea (1990). The series propelled Polley into the first rank of Canadian TV stars and made her independently wealthy by the age of fourteen.
Her personal life was deeply affected by the death of her mother Diane from cancer shortly after her 11th birthday, a development that ironically paralleled the fictional life of her character Sara. Highly intelligent and politically progressive at a young age, Polley eventually rebelled against what she felt was the Americanization of the series after it was picked up by the Disney Channel for distribution in the US, eventually dropping out of the show. Though she does not blame her parents, she remains publicly disenchanted over the loss of her childhood and, in October 2003, said she is working on a script about a twelve-year-old girl on a TV show.
Polley, who picked up a second Gemini Award for her performance in the TV series Straight Up (1996), subsequently quit acting and high school to turn her attention to politics, positioning herself on the extreme left of Canada's left-of-center New Democratic Party. The publicity ensuing from her losing some teeth after being slugged by an Ontario policeman during a protest against the Conservative provincial government, plus the stinging cynicism from some other activists unimpressed by her celebrity, led her to lower her political profile temporarily and return to acting in Atom Egoyan's film The Sweet Hereafter (1997). It was her appearance as Nicole, the teenage girl injured in a school bus accident who serves as the conscience of the small town rent by the tragedy, that first brought her to the attention of critics in the US. In Canada, the role was heralded by critics as her successful breakthrough to adult roles. It was her second film with Egoyan, who wrote the part with her in mind when he adapted the novel by Russell Banks, who, ironically, is American. Predictions of an Academy Award nomination and future stardom were part of the critical consensus, and she received her first Best Actress Genie nomination from Canada's Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and the Best Supporting Actress award from the Boston Society of Film Critics. It was the buzz created at the Sundance Festival, where her starring role in the film Guinevere (1999) was showcased, when the entertainment media crowned her the it-girl of 1999.
Intensely private and extremely ambivalent about the personal cost of celebrity and the Hollywood ethos Fame is the Name of the Game, Polley could be seen as rebelling against the expectations of mainstream cinema when she embarked on a career path that took her out of the spotlight thrown by the harsh lights of the Hollywood hype/publicity machine after shooting the film Go (1999). She dropped out of Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000), the US$60 million mega-hyped vehicle that was supposed to make her a mainstream star in the US, choosing to return to Canada to make the CDN$1.5 million The Law of Enclosures (2000) for Genie Award-winner John Greyson, a director she admires greatly. The film grossed poorly in Canada and was not released in the US, but it did garner Polley her second Genie nomination for Best Actress. While her replacement in Almost Famous (2000) went on to win an Oscar nomination and a career above the title in glossy Hollywood films, she took a wide variety of parts, large and small, in independent films, including significant roles in the ensemble pieces The Claim (2000) and The Weight of Water (2000); bit parts in eXistenZ (1999) and Love Come Down (2000); and the lead in No Such Thing (2001). Her choice of projects showed her to be a questing spirit more focused on learning the art of her craft than on stardom.
She has said that her choice of film roles, eschewing mainstream Hollywood movies for chancier, non-commercial independent fare, was the result of an ethical decision on her part to make films with social importance. A less-observant viewer might think that the rebel Polley played in her political life that had previously manifested itself in her profession was now driving her to the verge of career suicide in terms of popularity, marketability, and choice of future roles. However, that interpretation does not recognize the extraordinary talent that will always keep her in demand by directors, if not casting agents, with an eye on the opening weekend box office. One must understand Polley's career progression in light of her attendance at the Canadian Film Centre's directors program and her production of short films, including Don't Think Twice (1999) and the highly praised I Shout Love (2001). Polley is a cinema artist. This woman wants to make, and will make films. Thus, we can understand her career choices as a desire to work with and understand the technique of some of the best directors in film, including David Cronenberg, Michael Winterbottom, and Hal Hartley.
Polley is as renowned for her intelligence as for her remarkable talent. The problem of the intelligent person in the acting field is that the actor, as artist, in not ultimately in control of their medium, and it is artistic control that is the hallmark of the great artist. The controlling intelligence on a movie set is the director, and her attendance at the Canadian Film Centre has given her a new perspective on acting. The actor, she says, should not try to give a complete performance for the camera (that is, control the representation on film) but must remember that the function of the actor is to give the director as much coverage as possible as a film, as well as a performance, is made in the editing room. According to Polley, this realization, that the film actor exists to serve the director, has given her new enthusiasm for acting. Thus, her career, and her career choices, can be seen as a quest for knowledge about the art of cinema, a journey whose fruition we will see in her future feature work as both actor and director.Stories We Tell, Away From Her, Take This Waltz- Producer
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
The Act of Killing
To see: The Globalization Tapes, Shooting Ourselves- Animation Department
- Writer
- Art Department
Brenda Chapman is an American animator, animation film director and writer from Beason, Illinois. She directed the Pixar film Brave and the DreamWorks Animation film The Prince of Egypt. She wrote the storylines of The Lion King and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She is married to Kevin Lima, fellow animation director. She did the singing voice of Miriam during the River Lullaby reprise of The Prince of Egypt.Brave, The Prince of Egypt – As Writer: Fantasia 2000, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame – As Artist: Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Chicken Run, The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, The Road to El Dorado
To see: Come Away- Writer
- Director
- Actress
Directors born in Zambia and willing to bear witness on this country are something of a rarity. This is nonetheless the case of Rungano Nyoni, a young woman whose native town is Lusaka although she did not stay there long. She was indeed still a little girl when she emigrated to Great Britain with her parents. It is in Wales that Rongano actually grew up and from Birmingham University that she graduated... only to study drama at the London University of Arts. But an actress she was not destined to be (she played in only three films), as she proved thereafter. More interested in directing and writing (doesn't Rungano mean 'story-telling'), she turned to film making from 2009 on. The five shorts that bear her signature were selected in many festivals throughout the world and were multi-awarded. Two of them were filmed in her native Zambia, which is also the setting of her excellent first feature "I Am Not a Witch" (2017), where she narrates, in a half-quizzical half-poetic tone, the misadventures of a nine-year girl arbitrarily accused of being a witch. An internationally acclaimed work that reveals Nyoni's talent to a wide audience while at the same time bringing little known Zambia to the fore.I Am Not A Witch- Actress
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Greta Gerwig is an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and director. She has collaborated with Noah Baumbach on several films, including Greenberg (2010), Frances Ha (2012), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination, and Mistress America (2015). Gerwig made her solo directorial debut with the critically acclaimed comedy-drama film Lady Bird (2017), which she also wrote, and has also had starring roles in the films Damsels in Distress (2011), Jackie (2016), and 20th Century Women (2016).
Greta Celeste Gerwig was born in Sacramento, California, to Christine Gerwig (née Sauer), a nurse, and Gordon Gerwig, a financial consultant and computer programmer. She has German, Irish, and English ancestry. Gerwig was raised as a Unitarian Universalist, but also attended an all-girls Catholic school. She has described herself as "an intense child". With an early interest in dance, she intended to get a degree in musical theatre in New York. She graduated from Barnard College in NY, where she studied English and philosophy, instead. Originally intending to become a playwright, after meeting young film director Joe Swanberg, she became the star of a series of intellectual low budget movies made by first-time filmmakers, a trend dubbed "mumblecore".
Gerwig was cast in a minor role in Swanberg's LOL (2006) in 2006, while still studying at Barnard. She then appeared in many of Swanberg's films, and personally co-directed, co-wrote and co-produced one entitled Nights and Weekends (2008). She has worked with good quality directors such as Ti West (The House of the Devil (2009)), Whit Stillman (Damsels in Distress (2011)), or Woody Allen (To Rome with Love (2012)) but success and (international) recognition did not come until Frances Ha (2012), directed by Noah Baumbach, a film she also co-wrote. Both tall and immature, awkward and graceful, blundering and candid, annoying and engaging, Greta has won all hearts in the title role of Frances Ha(liday).
In 2017, she wrote and directed the highly acclaimed, semi-autobiographical teen movie Lady Bird (2017), set in 2002-2003, and starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, and Timothée Chalamet.
In 2011, Gerwig received an award for Acting from the Athena Film Festival for her artistry as one of Hollywood's definitive screen actresses of her generation.Lady Bird, Little Women – As Writer: Frances Ha- Director
- Producer
- Editor
Sophie Fiennes was born on 12 February 1967 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, UK. She is a director and producer, known for Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami (2017), Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow (2010) and The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (2012).The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema, The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology
To see: Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow- Producer
- Director
- Cinematographer
Laura Poitras was born on 2 February 1964 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She is a producer and director, known for Citizenfour (2014), The Oath (2010) and My Country, My Country (2006).Citizenfour, The Oath
To see: Risk, My Country, My Country- Director
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Spheeris is often referred to as a 'rock 'n roll anthropologist'.
In 1974 she formed the first Los Angeles music video production company, ROCK 'N REEL. She concluded her music video work with the Grammy-nominated, "Bohemian Rhapsody" video for "Wayne's World". Spheeris' feature film debut was the 1979 documentary on the Los Angeles punk scene, "The Decline of Western Civilization" which was received with stunning and unanimous critical praise. In 1983 she wrote and directed "Suburbia", produced by Roger Corman. It is a disturbing and prophetic story of rebellious, homeless kids squatting in abandoned houses, trying to make new families, and protecting one another. "Suburbia" won first place at the Chicago Film Festival. Almost 25 years later her documentary, "The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III" would eerily mirror the events she scripted in "Suburbia". In the mid-80s she directed "The Boys Next Door", starring Charlie Sheen and Maxwell Caulfield, then "Dudes" starring John Cryer, Flea, and Daniel Roebuck. Both films have attained cult classic status. "The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years" was released in 1988, again to spectacular critical acclaim. Commentaries from Ozzy Osbourne, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Alice Cooper, Lemmy of Motorhead, Poison, etc. make it one of the most memorable pieces of rock film history.
In 1992, Spheeris directed her seventh feature, and first studio film, "Wayne's World" at Paramount Pictures. Subsequently she directed and produced "The Beverly Hillbillies" (Fox), wrote and directed "The Little Rascals" (Universal), then directed "Black Sheep" (Paramount), etc. In 1999, Spheeris documented The Ozzfest, America's most successful summer concert tour, and the reunion performances of the original Black Sabbath. Both as director and one of the cinematographers, Spheeris achieved a remarkable and historic film which offers the audience a unique view of life on the road: "We Sold Our Souls For Rock 'N Roll".
(2016) She is currently touring with her Producer/daughter Anna Fox, screening "The Decline" trilogy in support of the Shout Factory DVD release.Wayne’s World, The Little Rascals, The Beverly Hillbillies, Black Sheep
To see: The Decline of Western Civilization- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Marielle Heller is a writer, director and actor. She was selected as a 2012 Sundance Screenwriting Fellow and 2012 Sundance Directing Fellow, and was honored with the Lynn Auerbach Screenwriting Fellowship, and The Maryland Film Festival Fellowship. Her writing credits include pilots for ABC and 20th Century Fox, and multiple screenplays and theatrical plays. She has performed at theaters all over the world, from New York to the West End.Diary of a Teenage Girl
To see: Can You Ever Forgive Me?, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood- Producer
- Director
- Cinematographer
Emma Cooper is known for The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes (2022), No Greater Law (2018) and America's Most Hated Family in Crisis (2011).America’s Most Hated Family in Crisis, Miami Mega Jail, Under the Knife, A Place for Paedophiles, Law and Disorder in Philadelpia – As Producer: Extreme Love – Dementia, America’s Most Dangerous Pets, The City Addicted to Crystal Meth, Louis Theroux’s African Hunting Holiday, The Most Hated Family in America, The Weird World of Louis Theroux
To see: The Last Days of Legal Highs- Writer
- Director
- Actress
Céline Sciamma was born on 12 November 1978 in Pontoise, Val-d'Oise, France. She is a writer and director, known for Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), Petite Maman (2021) and Tomboy (2011).Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Tomboy
To see: Water Lilies, Girlhood- Director
- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
Tamara Kotevska was born on 9 August 1993 in Prilep, Macedonia. She is a director and writer, known for Honeyland (2019), Games (2014) and The Walk (2023).Honeyland- Director
- Producer
- Actress
Accomplished Film Director/Writer/Producer Mira Nair was born in India and educated at Delhi University and at Harvard. She began her film career as an actor and then turned to directing award-winning documentaries, including So Far From India and India Cabaret. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1988; it won the Camera D'Or (for best first feature) and the Prix du Publique (for most popular entry) at the Cannes Film Festival and 25 other international awards. Her next film, Mississippi Masala, an interracial love story set in the American South and Uganda, starring Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury, won three awards at the Venice Film Festival including Best Screenplay and The Audience Choice Award. Subsequent films include The Perez Family (with Marisa Tomei, Anjelica Huston, Alfred Molina and Chazz Palminteri), about an exiled Cuban family in Miami; and the sensuous Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, which she directed and co-wrote. Nair directed My Own Country based on Dr. Abraham Verghese's best-selling memoir about a young immigrant doctor dealing with the AIDS epidemic. Made in 1998, My Own Country starred Naveen Andrews, Glenne Headly, Marisa Tomei, Swoosie Kurtz, and Hal Holbrook, and was awarded the NAACP award for best fiction feature. Nair returned to the documentary form in August 1999 with The Laughing Club of India, which was awarded The Special Jury Prize in the Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels 2000. In the summer of 2000, Nair shot Monsoon Wedding in 30 days, a story of a Punjabi wedding starring Naseeruddin Shah and an ensemble of Indian actors. Winner of the Golden Lion at the 2001 Venice Film Festival, Monsoon Wedding also won a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and opened worldwide to tremendous critical and commercial acclaim. Nair's next feature was an HBO original film, Hysterical Blindness. Set in working class New Jersey in 1987, the film stars Uma Thurman, Juliette Lewis, Gena Rowlands. Thurman and Lewis play single women looking for love in all the wrong places, while Rowlands, who plays Thurman's mother, adds to her daughter's hysteria when she finds Mr. Right in Ben Gazarra. The film received great critical acclaim and the highest ratings for HBO, garnering an audience of 15 million, a Golden Globe for Uma Thurman, and 3 Emmy Awards. Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Nair joined a group of 11 renowned filmmakers, each commissioned to direct a film that was 11 minutes, 9 seconds and one frame long. Nair's film is a retelling of real events in the life of the Hamdani family in Queens, whose eldest son was missing after September 11, and was then accused by the media of being a terrorist. 11.09.01 is the true story of a mother's search for her son who did not return home on that fateful day. In May 2003, Nair helmed the Focus Features production of the Thackeray classic, Vanity Fair, a provocative period tale set in post-colonial England, in which Reese Witherspoon plays the lead, Becky Sharp. The film is scheduled to release in Fall 2004. Nair's upcoming projects include Tony Kushner's Homebody/Kabul for HBO, and Hari Kunzru's The Impressionist, and there are also plans to take Monsoon Wedding to Broadway. Mirabai Films is establishing an annual filmmaker's laboratory, Maisha, which will be dedicated to the support of visionary screenwriters and directors in East Africa and India. The first lab, which is only for screenwriters, will be launched in August 2005 in Kampala, Uganda.Hysterical Blindness, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, September 11
To see: Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake, Salaam Bombay, Queen of Katwe- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Chloé Zhao or Zhao Ting (born March 31, 1982) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, and producer. Her debut feature film, Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015), premiered at Sundance Film Festival. Her second feature film, The Rider (2017), was critically acclaimed and received several accolades including nominations for Independent Spirit Award for Best Film and Best Director.
Zhao was born and raised in Beijing, China, to father and stepmother, Chinese actress Song DanDan. Growing up, she was very rebellious, and drawn to influences from Western pop culture. She attended a boarding school in London before moving to Los Angeles to finish high school. Zhao studied at Mount Holyoke College earning a bachelor's degree in political science. She worked odd jobs as a party promoter, in real estate, and bartending before studying film production at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
In 2010, Zhao's short film Daughters premiered at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and won Best Student Live Action Short at the 2010 Palm Springs International ShortFest and Special Jury Prize at the 2010 Cinequest Film Festival.
In 2015, Zhao directed her first feature film, Songs My Brothers Taught Me. Filmed on location at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the film depicts the relationship between a Lakota Sioux brother and his younger sister. The film premiered as part of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance Film Festival. It later played at Cannes Film Festival as part of the Director's Fortnight selection. The film was nominated for Best First Feature at the 31st Independent Spirit Awards.
In 2017, she directed The Rider, a contemporary western drama which follows a young cowboy's journey to discover himself after a near-fatal accident ends his professional riding career. Similar to her first feature, Zhao utilised a cast of non-actors who lived on the ranch where the film was shot. Zhao's impetus for making the film came when Brady Jandreau - a cowboy whom she met and befriended on the reservation where she shot her first film - suffered a severe head injury when he was thrown off his horse during a rodeo competition. Jandreau later starred in the film playing a fictionalised version of himself as Brady Blackburn. The film premiered at Cannes Film Festival as part of the Directors' Fortnight selection and won the Art Cinema Award. The film earned her nominations for Best Feature and Best Director at the 33rd Independent Spirit Awards. At the same ceremony, Zhao became the inaugural winner of the Bonnie Award, named after Bonnie Tiburzi, which recognizes a mid-career female director. The film was released on April 13, 2018 by Sony Pictures Classics and was critically acclaimed.
In April 2018, it was announced that Amazon Studios greenlit Zhao's upcoming untitled Bass Reeves biopic, a historical Western about the first black U.S. Deputy Marshal. Zhao is set to direct the film and write the screenplay. In September 2018, Marvel Studios hired her to direct a film based on the Eternals.The Rider
To see: Songs My Brother Taught Me, Nomadland, The Eternals- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Amy Heckerling studied Film and TV at New York University and got a Masters Degree in Film from The American Film Institute. Despite this education she couldn't get a break in Hollywood. However, in 1982, she made Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), and people started to take notice. In 1985, while Amy was pregnant, she got the idea for Look Who's Talking (1989). In 1994, Amy wrote Clueless (1995). Amy is a liberal and also an environmentalist and helps environmental charities whenever she can.Clueless, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, National Lampoon’s European Vacation, Look Who’s Talking, Look Who’s Walking Too, Johnny Dangerously - TV: The Office (1) – As Writer/Producer: A Night at the Roxbury- Director
- Writer
- Actress
Tamara Jenkins was born on 2 May 1962 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a director and writer, known for The Savages (2007), Private Life (2018) and Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). She has been married to Jim Taylor since 2002. They have one child.The Savages, Slums of Beverly Hills – As Writer: Juliet, Naked – As Producer: 3 Backyards
To see: Private Lives- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Nicole Holofcener was born on 22 March 1960 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Enough Said (2013), Friends with Money (2006) and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018). She was previously married to Benjamin Allanoff.Enough Said - TV: Six Feet Under (2)
To see: The Land of Steady Habits, Friends with Money, Please Give, Lovely and Amazing- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Barbara Doran is known for Keeping Up with Cathy Jones (2006), The Invisible Machine (2004) and The Passionate Eye (2005).The Man Who Studies Murder
To see: The Invisible Machine- Director
- Producer
- Actress
A very talented painter, Kathryn spent two years at the San Francisco Art Institute. At 20, she won a scholarship to the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program. She was given a studio in a former Offtrack Betting building, literally in an old bank vault, where she made art and waited to be critiqued by people like Richard Serra, Robert Rauschenberg and Susan Sontag. Later she earned a scholarship to study film at Columbia University School of Arts, graduating in 1979. She was also a member of the British avant garde cultural group, Art and Language. Kathryn is the only child of the manager of a paint factory and a librarian.Point Break, Detroit, Near Dark, The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty, Blue Steel, K-19: The Widowmaker
To see: Strange Days, The Weight of Water- Animation Department
- Director
- Writer
Tatia Rosenthal was born on 4 April 1971 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Tatia is a director and writer, known for $9.99 (2008), A Buck's Worth (2005) and Product Placement.$9.99, Crazy Glue, A Buck’s Worth
To see: The Opportunity- Director
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Julie Taymor is an Academy Award-nominated director, known for such films as Frida (2002) and Across the Universe (2007).
She was born on December 15, 1952, in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Her father, Melvin Lester Taymor, was a gynecologist. Her mother, Elizabeth Bernstein, was a teacher of political science. Young Taymor was fond of international folklore and mythology, and also developed a passion for theatre. She spent her formative years living in several countries. As a teenager, during the 1960s, she lived in Sri Lanka and India with the Experiment in International Living program, then studied acting in Paris, at the mime school of Jacques Lecoq. From 1969 to 1974, she studied theatre and mythology at Oberlin College, graduating in 1974 with a degree in folklore and mythology.
During the 1970s, Taymor lived in Japan, studying the art of puppetry and Japanese theatre. Then, she spent five years in Indonesia, working as director of international theatre with Asian, European, and American actors. Back in the USA, she worked on and off Broadway. There, she achieved her first success with staging a fairy tale, "The King Stag", and then toured 66 cities across the world, including Los Angeles, Venice, Tokyo, and Moscow.
In the 1990s, Taymor directed several classic operas. Her 1992 production of Igor Stravinsky's "Oedipus Rex" in Japan earned the Emmy Award. Then, she directed the 1993 production of "The Magic Flute" by 'Wolfgang Mozart', in Florence, with conductor Zubin Mehta, and the acclaimed 1994 production of "Salome" in St. Petersburg, Russia, with conductor Valery Gergiev.
In New York, she continued a stellar theatrical career, directing such productions as William Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus" and "Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass" at the Lincoln Center. In 1997, Taymor directed a massive Walt Disney Company's production of "The Lion King" on Broadway, for which she also co-designed over a 100 costumes and masks of animals, and earned two Tony Awards.
Her film, Frida (2002), received six Oscar nominations, and two Oscars, for make-up and for the music score by Elliot Goldenthal. Taymor continued her success with the 2004 production of "The Magic Flute" at the Metropolitan Opera (which is now in repertoires at the Met), and the 2006 staging of "Grendel" at the Los Angeles Opera and, later, at the Linolcn Center Festival. Taymor's experience with cross-genre and cross-cultural productions came to culmination in her latest film, Across the Universe (2007). It is a musical set in the 1960s England, Vietnam, and America, where a love story and social protest are intertwined with over thirty songs by The Beatles.
Outside of her directing profession, Taymor amassed puppets, masks and folk art from around the world. As an artist, she has been involved in making puppets, masks, costumes and stage sets. Since 1980, Julie Taymor has been a long-time collaborator with the Oscar-winning composer, Elliot Goldenthal, and the couple lives in Manhattan.Frida, Titus, The Tempest, Across the Universe
To see: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Glorias- Producer
- Director
Linda Goldstein Knowlton is known for We Are the Radical Monarchs (2019), Somewhere Between (2011) and Whale Rider (2002).The World According to Sesame Street (with Linda Hawkins) – As Producer: Mumford, The Shipping News
To see: As Producer: Whale Rider- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Lisa Cholodenko earned an MFA at Columbia University Film School where she made an award-winning short film Dinner Party (1997) Her feature High Art (1998) won the National Society of Film Critics award for Ally Sheedy's performance and The Waldo Salt Screenwriting award at Sundance. Both "High Art" and Laurel Canyon (2002) premiered at Cannes Director's Fortnight.The Kids Are All Right - TV: Six Feet Under
To see: High Art, Laurel Canyon, Rita, Toni Erdmann, Olive Kitteridge- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Heather Donahue was born on 22 December 1974 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for The Blair Witch Project (1999), Taken (2002) and Seven and a Match (2001).The Blair Witch Project
I like to think of Donahue as the honourary, in-film director, for reasons I hope are obvious. If I thought she was the capital D Director, she'd be in the top ten.- Director
- Editor
- Cinematographer
Sink or Swim, Scar Tissue
To see: Hide and Seek, Gut Renovation, I Cannot Tell You How I Feel- Director
- Producer
Antonia Bird was born on 27 May 1951 in London, England, UK. She was a director and producer, known for Priest (1994), Face (1997) and Ravenous (1999). She was married to Ian Ilett. She died on 24 October 2013 in London, England, UK.Ravenous
To see: Priest, Care, Face- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Born into a family of doctors and educated in China at the Shanghai Film Academy and the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Languages, Joan Chen was discovered by veteran Chinese director Jin Xie while observing a filming with a school group. Her performance in Xiao hua (1979) (A.K.A. "The Little Flower") won China's Best Actress award, and resulted in the Chinese press dubbing her "The Elizabeth Taylor of China" for having achieved top stardom while still in her teen years. She came to the U.S. to attend college in 1981, first at the State University of New York at New Paltz, later at California State University at Northridge. She a succession of small parts in movies and T.V., with her first break coming in 1986 when, in true Hollywood legend, producer Dino De Laurentiis noticed her in the parking lot of Lorimar Studios and cast her in Tai-Pan (1986). The film bombed, but it led to her being cast as the ill-fated Empress in Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (1987), which won critical acclaim. This, and her role as enigmatic mill owner Josie Packard in the cult TV series Twin Peaks (1990), are her best-known roles in Europe and North America. However, Hollywood's practice of type-casting East Asians has led to a dearth of major roles for Chen since then, and in recent roles, she has often been cast as a villainess.
After taking a few years off to start a family, Joan returned to the screen in important supporting roles playing women in early middle age, such as the mother of a principle adult character. As a result, her career is flourishing again on both sides of the Pacific. Her two directing efforts were well-received critically, and in a 2008 interview she revealed she planned to direct again but was putting that off until her daughters were grown, since directing took her away from them too much, whereas acting could be done on a part-time basis.Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl
To see: The iron Hammer- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Annabel Park is known for 9500 Liberty (2009), Story of America - Journey Into the Divide and Story of America.9500 Liberty
To see: Story of America- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Ida was born in London to a show business family. In 1932, her mother took Ida with her to an audition and Ida got the part her mother wanted. The picture was Her First Affaire (1932). Ida, a bleached blonde, went to Hollywood in 1934 playing small, insignificant parts. Peter Ibbetson (1935) was one of her few noteworthy movies and it was not until The Light That Failed (1939) that she got a chance to get better parts. In most of her movies, she was cast as the hard, but sympathetic woman from the wrong side of the tracks. In The Sea Wolf (1941) and High Sierra (1940), she played the part magnificently. It has been said that no one could do hard-luck dames the way Lupino could do them. She played tough, knowing characters who held their own against some of the biggest leading men of the day - Humphrey Bogart, Ronald Colman, John Garfield and Edward G. Robinson. She made a handful of films during the forties playing different characters ranging from Pillow to Post (1945), where she played a traveling saleswoman to the tough nightclub singer in The Man I Love (1946). But good roles for women were hard to get and there were many young actresses and established stars competing for those roles. She left Warner Brothers in 1947 and became a freelance actress. When better roles did not materialize, Ida stepped behind the camera as a director, writer and producer. Her first directing job came when director Elmer Clifton fell ill on a script that she co-wrote Not Wanted (1949). Ida had joked that as an actress, she was the poor man's Bette Davis. Now, she said that as a director, she became the poor man's Don Siegel. The films that she wrote, or directed, or appeared in during the fifties were mostly inexpensive melodramas. She later turned to television where she directed episodes in shows such as The Untouchables (1959) and The Fugitive (1963). In the seventies, she made guest appearances on various television show and appeared in small parts in a few movies.Outrage, The Trouble with Angels- Casting Director
- Director
Loveleen Tandan is an India based filmmaker and Casting Director. Her career highlights include her work as Co-Director (India) of multi award winning Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and Casting Director of award winning features like Monsoon Wedding (2001), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Brick Lane (2007) and Vanity Fair (2004). Other credits include The Namesake (2005), The New World (2006) and Earth (1998). Currently, she is writing a screenplay which she will direct next. It is set in Delhi, India.Slumdog Millionaire- Director
- Producer
- Executive
Tanya Wexler was born on August 6, 1970 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is an award-winning film and TV director, known for her feature films Hysteria (2011), Ball in the House (2001) and Finding North (1998). At current, Wexler lives in New York City with her four children and their dog, Snoopy.Hysteria
To see: Jolt, Buffaloed- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Andrea Arnold was born on 5 April 1961 in Dartford, Kent, England, UK. She is an actress and director, known for American Honey (2016), Fish Tank (2009) and Red Road (2006).American Honey, Red Road, Fish Tank, Wasp
To see: Transparent, Wuthering Heights, Big Little Lies- Director
- Actress
- Cinematographer
Claudia Weill was born on 20 December 1946 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a director and actress, known for Girlfriends (1978), ABC Afterschool Specials (1972) and Girls (2012). She has been married to Walter Simon Teller since 14 July 1985. They have two children.Girlfriends – TV: Caroline in the City (1)- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Kimberly Peirce was born on 8 September 1967 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a director and producer, known for Boys Don't Cry (1999), Stop-Loss (2008) and Carrie (2013).Boys Don’t Cry, Carrie
To see: Stop-Loss, This Is Jane- Editor
- Editorial Department
- Additional Crew
Ágnes Hranitzky was born on 4 July 1945 in Derecske, Hungary. She is an editor, known for The Turin Horse (2011), Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) and The Man from London (2007). She is married to Béla Tarr.Werckmeister Harmonies, The Turin Horse
To see: The Man From London- Director
- Writer
Courtney Hunt was born in 1964 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Frozen River (2008), The Whole Truth (2016) and Utopia (2020).Frozen River - TV: In Treatment (3)- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kátia Lund was born in 1966 in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. She is a director and writer, known for City of God (2002), News from a Personal War (1999) and Anaconda (1997).City of God - As Assistant Director: Anaconda
To see: News from a Personal War, Women of Earth- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Heidi Ewing is a director and producer known for Jesus Camp (2006), The Boys of Baraka (2005), Detropia (2012) ,12th &Delaware (2010), Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You (2016), One of Us (2017) and Freakonomics (2010). She is currently completing her (currently untitled) first narrative feature which was filmed in Mexico in the fall of 2018.(w/ Rachel Grady)
Jesus Camp, Freakonomics, Boys of Baraka
To see: Detropia, One of Us, I Carry You With Me- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Maryam Keshavarz was born in 1975 in New York City, New York, USA. Maryam is a producer and director, known for The Persian Version (2023) and Circumstance (2011).Circumstance
To see: Rangeh eshgh- Director
- Editor
- Writer
Jennifer Abbott is known for The Magnitude of All Things (2020), The Corporation (2003) and The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel (2020).The Corporation
To see: The New Corporation, Us & Them, The Magnitude of All Things, A Cow At My Table- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Laura Nix is a director, writer, and producer working in non-fiction and fiction. She is known for her films Inventing Tomorrow (2018 Sundance Premiere), The Yes Men Are Revolting (2014), The Light In Her Eyes (2011), Whether You Like It Or Not: The Story of Hedwig (2003), and The Politics Of Fur (2002).The Yes Men Are Revolting – As Producer: The Yes Men Fix the World- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Though Academy Award®, Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award winning writer and director Susanne Bier's work often plays out against a wide-reaching global backdrop, its focus is intimate, carefully exploring the explosive emotions and complexities of familial bonds. This unique combination is part of the formula that has made her Denmark's leading female filmmaker and a powerhouse worldwide.
Bier's 2010 film In a Better World won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011, as well as an Italian Golden Globe Award® for Best European Film and Best Director at the European Film Awards. She previously helmed the multi-award-winning After the Wedding (2006), which was also an Academy Award® nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, and was remade as an English-language film in 2019 starring Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, and Billy Crudup.
Bier won an Emmy Award in 2016 for directing the six-part AMC mini-series The Night Manager, based on the 1993 novel of the same name by John le Carré, with stars Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, and Olivia Colman all winning Golden Globes for their work.
Bier followed this with the 2018 Netflix film Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock, which went on to become the most-watched film in Netflix history. In 2020, she directed the six-part HBO series The Undoing, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant, the network's first original series to grow its audience each week.
Prior to this, Bier co-wrote and directed the romantic comedy The One and Only (1999), which won Best Film at the Danish Robert Awards and was the most watched domestic film in Denmark in 20 years, with one-fifth of the country's population having seen it at the cinema.
In 2002, she directed Open Hearts, shot in accordance with the Dogme '95 filmmaking aesthetic. The film won numerous awards, including the Audience Award at the Robert Festival (Danish Academy Award) and the International Film Critics' Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Bier followed this with Brothers (2004), which won, among others, the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
In 2007, Bier directed the award-winning Things We Lost in the Fire, starring Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro, her first English-language film.
In 2012, Bier made her triumphant return to the genre with the 2013 winner of the European Film Award for Best Comedy, Love Is All You Need, starring Pierce Brosnan and Trine Dyrholm. In 2014, Bier directed A Second Chance, starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Most recently, Susanne Bier directed the Showtime limited series The First Lady, starring Viola Davis, Michelle Pfieffer, and Gillian Anderson.Brodre, Bird Box
To see: After the Wedding, The Night Manager, In a Better World, Things We Lost in the Fire- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Benevolent, sweet-faced, actress and comedienne Julia (Anne) Sweeney, who was born on October 10, 1959 in Spokane, Washington, is normally identified with one single, highly unappetizing androgynous character. This sniveling, chunky-framed, springy-haired, plaid shirt-wearing, grotesque-looking character named Pat was the basis of many hilarious sketches that toyed with revealing his/her true gender.
Julia, the oldest of five children born to an Irish-Catholic federal prosecutor, demonstrated an early talent for mimicry but downplayed any interest in performing for serious college studies. With a prep school education, she first came into contact with the show business arena following graduation. Behind the scenes she worked for five years as an accountant for Columbia Studios in Los Angeles.
Finally developing the courage to realize her dream, she started taking classes on a whim at the famed Groundlings Theater. After fine-tuning her skills in improv, character development and sketch-writing, Julia was escalated to the big time appearing on such TV shows as "Brothers," "Hard Time on Planet Earth" and "Not Necessarily the News, she hit an early peak when she was selected to join Saturday Night Live (1975) in 1990 as a featured player.
Though she became a regular cast member the following season and found an instant audience rapport with her creepy Pat character, the comic gifts were vastly underused, which seemed to be the case for many of its distaff team at the time. "Pat" would outshine practically everything else she did on the show, including her timid wallflower type named "Mea Culpa," whose character became the basis of a stage show co-written by Julia and actor/writer/husband Stephen Hibbert called "Mea's Big Apology" in 1992. During her SNL stay, she managed some outside work with small roles in the comedy Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992) the SNL related feature film Coneheads (1993) and the drama Pulp Fiction (1994).
Highly discouraged, Julia parted ways with SNL in 1994 and worked up a feature film version of It's Pat: The Movie (1994) while her irons in the fire were hot. She co-wrote the script with Hibbert and co-starred with David Foley who played Pat's equally androgynous partner "Chris." The feature film did not generate great buzz, however, as it was basically a one-joke premise stretched to the limit.
Life turned extremely dark for Julia at this point. Divorced from Hibbert, brother Michael developed lymphoma. She and her family vainly tried to nurse him back to health. Following his death, Julia herself was forced to fight a life-threatening illness -- cervical cancer. The whole process triggered an outpouring of writing which evolved into a hit one-woman stage show entitled, "God Said, Ha!" Applauded for its candor, wit and humorous handling of such painful subjects, the monologue debuted in San Francisco in 1995, and was playing Broadway by November of the following year.
Eventually Julia contributed a few character cameos in such films as Stuart Saves His Family (1995) starring SNL alumni Al Franken; the Rodney Dangerfield slapstick vehicle Meet Wally Sparks (1997); and former SNL Chevy Chase's lampoon entry Vegas Vacation (1997). Preserving her applauded stage work on film, she wrote and directed God Said, 'Ha!' (1998), with Quentin Tarantino in the producer's chair. While embracing this second career-defining moment, Julia won an Audience Award at the New York Comedy Festival in 1998 for her efforts, and earned a Grammy nomination for the CD version.
Following work on such popular TV sitcoms as "Hope and Gloria," "3rd Rock from the Sun," "George & Leo" (recurring) and "Suddenly Susan," Julia went on to complete a trilogy of personal sojourns on stage into the millennium. "In the Family Way" (2003) recounted her experience adopting a daughter as a single parent, and "Letting Go of God" (2004) traced her religious roots from devout Catholic to atheist.
Other comedy film roles have included her Mom role as Beth Newton in Beethoven's 3rd (2000) and Beethoven's 4th (2001), Clockstoppers (2002) and a voice in the animated feature Monsters University (2013). On TV, she had another Mom role in the TV high school comedy series Maybe It's Me (2001) and appeared in guest parts in "According to Jim," "Frasier" and "Sex and the City," plus recurring roles on Shrill (2019) and Work in Progress (2019).Letting Go of God
To see: God Said, “Ha!”- Director
- Actress
- Producer
Shira Piven was the child of theatre people and established herself as an actress and then stage director in Chicago and later in New York, where she was the founder and artistic director of Water Theatre Company between 1999 and 2003. Their hit show Pilgrims was and adapted and directed by Ms. Piven, produced by Mike Nichols and based on 3 short stories from the collection Pilgrims in collaboration with the author Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat Pray Love.)
Her first feature film Fully Loaded recently won the audience Favorite Feature award at Palm Beach International Film Festival as well as best Feature at both The River's Edge International and Carmel Art and Film Festivals. It also was featured at the Boston, San Luis Obispo, Talking Pictures and Newport Beach film festivals. It was released by Starz. She recently directed a short documentary on the life of guitar legend Wayne Kramer produced by the award winning filmmaker/producers Gita Pullapilly and Aron Gaudet soon to air on PBS.
Shira has directed over 20 stage productions, many of them original adaptations, in New York, Chicago, LA, and directed three critically acclaimed productions (by Odets, Mamet. And Arthur Miller) for Washington D.C.'s Theatre J. She was also director and a founding member of burn Manhattan spontaneous theatre, a groundbreaking group performing entirely improvised physical theatre throughout New York City. In Los Angeles Shira developed and directed the plays Little and All Cake No File at the Actors Gang Theatre and Fully Loaded at UCB Theatre. She directed Ed Asner in the new play Number of People at the Pasadena Playhouse, and at Hartford Stage. She was invited by Nora Ephron to workshop and develop the book Love, Loss, and What I Wore for the stage, which later went on to its current Off- Broadway run. She wrote and directed several programs of original short plays at the Ontological-Hysteric theatre in New York and also in LA, and directed writer/performer Cindy Caponera in Ms. Caponera's A Debutante's Ball, both in New York at LaMama and in Chicago at Victory Gardens Theatre.
Film and digital credits include Fully Loaded, which she directed and co-wrote. Wrote and directed the short That's Not Racist. Developed and directed the following shorts through improvisation: The Dog Park, Self Help Group and the short trilogy I Human. She also directed and was a contributing writer for 12 episodes of the political web series Tastes Like Home. Other film work includes sequences for the stage productions Death of a Judge and The Shoemakers, sequences for Tastes Like Home, and preliminary filming on an original feature length film/ documentary The Perfect Conversation, in collaboration with Jeremy Piven and Tarvis Watson.
Ms. Piven has also taught acting for stage and film, from coaching the sons in Talladega Nights to her current work with the Actors Gang prison project, teaching commedia dell'Arte to inmates at the CRC prison, and at Homeboys industries to former LA Gang members.Welcome To Me
To see: Transparent (1)- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Lizzie Borden was born on 3 February 1958 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Working Girls (1986), Born in Flames (1983) and To Die Quietly (1997).Born in Flames
To see: Working Girls- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Freida Lee Mock is known for Return with Honor (1998), Anita: Speaking Truth to Power (2013) and Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994). She is married to Terry Sanders.Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision
To see: Bird by Bird with Annie, Anita- Editor
- Director
- Actress
Farugh Farrokhzad was primarily a poet. Indeed, she is regarded as one of the most important poets of the twentieth century in Iran, which has a millennium of poetic tradition behind it. Although she only made one film, the 22 minute so-called documentary "The House is Black", this work is generally seen as the crucial precursor of the Iranian New Wave.This House Is Black- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Nora Ephron was educated at Wellesley College, Massachusetts. She was an acclaimed essayist (Crazy Salad 1975), novelist (Heartburn 1983), and had written screenplays for several popular films, all featuring strong female characters, such as anti-nuclear activist Karen Silkwood (Silkwood (1983), co-written with Alice Arlen) and a mobster's feisty independent daughter Cookie Voltecki (Cookie (1989), also co-written with Arlen). Ephron's hard-headed sensibilities helped make Rob Reiner's When Harry Met Sally... (1989) a clear-eyed view of modern romance, and she earned an Oscar nomination for her original screenplay.
Ephron made her directorial debut with the comedy This Is My Life (1992), co-scripted by her sister Delia Ephron, which starred Julie Kavner as a single mother who struggles to establish herself as a stand-up comedienne. Ephron followed up by helming and co-writing Sleepless in Seattle (1993), a romantic comedy in which lovers Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are separated for most of the film. Less about love than about love in the movies, the film drew inspiration from the beloved shipboard romance An Affair to Remember (1957), starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.
Ephron was born in New York City, the daughter of stage and screen writing team Henry Ephron and Phoebe Ephron, who used her infancy as the subject of their play "Three's a Family" and based their comedy Take Her, She's Mine (1963) on letters their daughter wrote them from college. Their screenplays include There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), Carousel (1956) and Desk Set (1957). Formerly married to novelist Dan Greenburg and investigative journalist Carl Bernstein, Ephron was wed to crime journalist and screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, at the time of her passing, who wrote such films as Goodfellas (1990). She was of Russian Jewish descent.Julie & Julia – As Writer: When Harry Met Sally, My Blue Heaven, Silkwood
To see: You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle- Director
- Producer
- Actress
Rebecca Harrell Tickell is an award winning filmmaker, author and environmental activist. Growing up in Hinesburg, Vermont. Her adopted father, a psychiatrist, and biological mother, an artist, recognized her talent at an early age. Having performed only in school plays that her mother directed, she went to NYC in hope of getting a voice-over agent. Her first audition ever was for the Christmas movie Prancer (1989). Raffaella De Laurentiis and 'John Hancock' showed up at her door in Vermont to tell her that she would be starring in the movie with Sam Elliot, Abe Vigoda, Cloris Leachman, and Michael Constantine. Her role garnered her a Young Artist Award nomination for "Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture." Prancer (1989) was a success and is regarded as a Christmas classic. Movie critic Roger Ebert highlighted Harrell's performance, saying "what really redeems the movie, taking it out of the category of kiddie picture and giving it a heart and gumption, is the performance by a young actress named Rebecca Harrell, as Jessica. She's something. She has a troublemaker's look in her eye, and a round, pixie face that's filled with mischief. And she's smart-a plucky schemer who figures out things for herself and isn't afraid to act on her convictions". She was then cast in a series on CBS called 'Room For Romance' with Dom Irrera. Her mother moved her to NYC to go to the Professional Performing Arts School where she studied music along with Alicia Keys and child celebrities.
At eighteen she starred in A Piece of Eden (2000) along with Tyne Daly and Frederic Forrest. She guest-starred in shows such as Third Watch (1999) and Dellaventura (1997) with Danny Aiello. In 2000 at age twenty, she moved from New York to Los Angeles. She worked again with director 'John Hancock' in a suspense thriller Suspended Animation (2001). Later that year she filmed a movie alongside John Ritter which was shot in one day and was completely improvised by the actors. In Saint Sinner (2002) she played a demon that sucks souls and blood of men.
In 2007 she starred in and another horror film, Sugar Creek (2007), after which quit acting to pursue her dream of environmental activism, filmmaking and movie production. She met and fell in love with director Joshua Tickell with whom she created the Sundance Award winning environmentally themed documentary Fuel (2008).
Her 2011 Official Cannes Selection documentary The Big Fix (2012) examines the BP Gulf Oil Spill and how America can get off of oil. She then directed and produced Pump (2014) and Good Fortune (2016) with her husband Josh. Together they directed and produced the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival Official Selection Kiss the Ground (2020) narrated by Woody Harrelson. Tickell resides in Ojai, California and was married to Tickell on New Years Day 2010. The Tickells were seen driving the worlds first algae gasoline powered car around Los Angeles.
She owns Big Picture Ranch with her husband Josh Tickell, and has dedicated her life to environmental activism through the medium of film.The Big Fix
To see: The Earthing Movie, Kiss the Ground, Freedom, Fuel, Pump- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Having graduated from FAMU in Prague film (1971), Agnieszka Holland returned to Poland and began her film career working with Krzysztof Zanussi as assistant director, and Andrzej Wajda as her mentor. Her first feature film was PROVINCIAL ACTORS (1978), one of the flagship pictures of the "cinema of moral disquiet" and the winner of the International Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1980. Subsequently, she made the films FEVER (1980) and THE LONELY WOMAN (1981). In 1981, just before the declaration of the state of emergency in Poland, Agnieszka Holland emigrated to France.
She directed ANGRY HARVEST (1985) which was nominated for a foreign-language Oscar. Her film EUROPA EUROPA (1990) also received a U.S. Academy Award nomination (best screenplay) and IN DARKNESS (2011) was again nominated as best foreign-language film. She also collaborated with her friend Krzysztof Kieslowski on the screenplay of his trilogy, THREE COLOURS (1993).
Holland's other films include TO KILL A PRIEST (1988), OLIVIER, OLIVIER (1992), THE SECRET GARDEN (1993), TOTAL ECLIPSE (1995), WASHINGTON SQUARE (1997), THE THIRD MIRACLE (1999), SHOT IN THE HEART (2001), JULIE WALKING HOME (2001), COPYING BEETHOVEN (2006), IN DARKNESS (2011), BURNING BUSH (2013), SPOOR (2017), MR. JONES (2019) and CHARLATAN (2020). She also directed several episodes of many notable TV series, including THE WIRE, JAG, COLD CASE, TREME (for the pilot of the latter she was nominated for an Emmy) and HOUSE OF CARDS. Agnieszka Holland has also written or co-written screenplays for films made by other directors and directed plays for Polish television. She was elected chairwoman of the Board of the European Film Academy in 2014 and was elected as its President in 2021.In Darkness, Total Eclipse, The Secret Garden - The Wire (3) – As Writer: Three Colours Trilogy
To see: Europa Europa, Mr. Jones, Charlatan- Director
- Cinematographer
She was born in France July 8, 1968. She acted in French theatre before moving to New York where she studied with Charles Laughton in the Actors Studio. She worked in production in various capacities on numerous films before writing and directing her first short, "See You on Monday", which was sponsored by LifeTime Television for the Hamptons Film Festival.
Ghost Bird: The Life and Art of Judith Deim (2000) is her first feature length film , a 54 minute documentary on the life of St. Louis born artist Judith Deim. It played in Sundance Film Fest 2001 and can now be seen on the Sundance Film Channel.
She is currently working on her next feature, "Journey" with Russell Means and Begonia Plaza.Flow: For the Love of Water
To see: Ghost Bird- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Gabriela Cowperthwaite is known for Our Friend (2019) and Blackfish (2013).Blackfish
To see: Megan Leavey- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Agnès Varda was born on 30 May 1928 in Ixelles, Belgium. She was a director and writer, known for Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962), Vagabond (1985) and Faces Places (2017). She was married to Jacques Demy. She died on 29 March 2019 in Paris, France.Black Panthers, Elsa la Rose, The Lion Vanishes- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Ann Marie Fleming is known for Window Horses (2016), Blue Skies (2002) and The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam (2003).Window Horses- Director
- Writer
- Actress
Chantal Akerman was born on 6 June 1950 in Brussels, Belgium. She was a director and writer, known for The Meetings of Anna (1978), I, You, He, She (1974) and A Couch in New York (1996). She was married to Sonia Wieder-Atherton. She died on 5 October 2015 in Paris, France.Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai de commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
To see: Je tu il elle, No Home Movie,- Director
- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
Julia Ducournau is a French film director and screenwriter. She attended film school at La Fémis in Paris, where she studied screenwriting. In 2011, her short film JUNIOR won the Petit Rail d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Her first feature, the horror movie Raw (2016), won the coveted FIPRESCI prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.Raw
To see: Titane- Director
- Writer
- Actress
Vera Chytilová was born on February 2, 1929, in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). She studied philosophy and architecture in Brno for two years, then worked as a technical draftsman, a designer, a fashion model, a photo re-toucher, then worked as a clapper girl for Barrandov Film Studios in Prague. There she continued as a writer, actress, and assistant director.
She was denied a scholarship, or even a recommendation from Barrandov, but she took the admissions tests at FAMU and was accepted. From 1957-1962 she studied film directing under Otakar Vávra, who also taught Jirí Menzel, Milos Forman, Jan Nemec, and Ivan Passer. In 1962 she graduated as director from Film Academy (FAMU) in Prague. Her graduation film 'Strop' (Ceiling 1962) and the following film 'Pytel blech' (A Bagful of Fleas 1963) were "staged" improvisations with non-actors. In 1966 Chytilova and her husband, 'Jaroslav Kucera', made a witty surrealist comedy Daisies (1966), which was immediately banned, but then was released in 1967, and won the Grand Prix at the Bergamo Film Festival. She remained in Czechoslovakia after the events of 1968, when her colleagues Milos Forman, Jan Nemec, and Ivan Passer emigrated. Her films were often "shelved" for reasons of political censorship. For six years Chytilova was banned from making films. In 1976 she wrote a letter of complaint to President Gustav Husak, describing her artistic position. After some behind-the-scenes influence by her supporters, Chytilova was allowed to make a low-budget Hra o jablko (1977), which won a Silver Hugo at Chicago Film Festival.
Chytilova belongs among the foremost directors of the 1960's Czech New Wave, which was influenced by both the French New Wave and Italian Neo-Realism. Her films were acclaimed for visual experimentation and for bold unmasking of the moral problems of contemporary society. Her art belongs to what Sergei Eisenstein described as "intellectual cinema", that embraces the mix of "avant-garde", "cinema verite", "formalism", "feminism", or "happening" and, with a good deal of humor, it spreads beyond definitions. Chytilova's films often present a multi-layered plethora of visual associations that encourages the viewer to make active interpretations. She survived through the political turbulences in Czechoslovakia and has been a highly original and uncompromising filmmaker.Daisies- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Ondi Timoner is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker who has the rare distinction of winning the U.S. Grand Jury Prize at Sundance twice: for DIG! (2004), a film about the collision of art and commerce through the love/hate relationship between the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols, and for WE LIVE IN PUBLIC, a film about a social experiment which proves the loss of intimacy and privacy with the advent of the Internet (2009). Both films were acquired by New York's MoMA for its permanent collection.
Since then, Ondi has created award-winning films and series such as JOIN US, about mind control; COOL IT about solutions to climate change; BRAND: A Second Coming, about the transformation of comedian disruptor Russell Brand; the 10-hour series JUNGLETOWN, about "the world's most sustainable modern town in remote Panama; COMING CLEAN, about solutions to the opioid crisis; and the dramatic feature MAPPLETHORPE starring Matt Smith, which she also wrote, produced, and edited.
Her most personal film, LAST FLIGHT HOME, about her father Eli Timoner's extraordinary life and intentional death, premiered at Sundance & Telluride in 2022, winning Best Documentary at Woodstock and Dallas Int'l FF, and the Critics Award at Key West FF before making the Shortlist for the 95th Academy Awards. Ondi was recently awarded the prestigious Visionary Award for Documentary Excellence at DOC NYC and the Impact Award at Hamptons DocFest.
Her newest film THE NEW AMERICANS takes audiences into the intersection of finance, media, and extremism, uncovering the connection between the January 6th Insurrection and the Gamestop Squeeze to explore the explosive ramifications of our digital future and premiered at SXSW in 2023. Ondi is an active member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Directors Guild of America, Producers Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, International Documentary Association, Film Independent, Women in Film, and Film Fatales.We Live in Public
To see: Dig!, Cool It- Producer
- Director
Susan Kaplan is known for Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family (2004), Music of the Heart (1999) and Small Wonders (1995).Three of Hearts: A Postmodern Family- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Amy Berg was born in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is known for Deliver Us from Evil (2006), West of Memphis (2012) and Janis: Little Girl Blue (2015).West of Memphis, Deliver Us from Evil
To see: An Open Secret, Prophet’s Prey- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Liz Garbus was born on 11 April 1970 in the USA. She is a producer and director, known for What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015), The Farm: Angola, USA (1998) and Becoming Cousteau (2021). She is married to Dan Cogan. They have two children.The Execution of Wanda Jean
To see: Nothing Left Unsaid, Bobby Fischer Against the World, What Happened, Miss Simone?, Lost Girls, All In: The Fight for Democracy, Who Killed Garrett Philipps?- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Laura Lau was born on 31 March 1963 in San Francisco, California, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Open Water (2003), Silent House (2011) and Grind (1997). She has been married to Chris Kentis since 1997. They have one child.Silent House – As Producer: Open Water- Editorial Department
- Director
- Writer
Christine Jeffs was born on 29 January 1963 in Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. She is a director and writer, known for Sunshine Cleaning (2008), Rain (2001) and Stroke (1993).Rain, Sylvia
To see: Sunshine Cleaning, Sugar- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Jennifer Baichwal was born in Montréal and grew up in Victoria, British Columbia. She studied philosophy and theology at McGill University, receiving an MA in 1994.
Jennifer has been directing and producing documentaries for 25 years. Among other films, installations and lens-based projects, she has made 10 feature documentaries which have played all over the world and won multiple awards nationally and internationally.
Jennifer has taught film at the undergraduate and graduate level at York University. She has given workshops and lectures at a number of institutions (UC Santa Barbara, Bowdoin College, McGill University, among others). She sits on the board of Swim Drink Fish Canada, and has been a Director of the Board of the Toronto International Film Festival since 2016.Manufactured Landscapes
To see: Watermark, Payback, Act of God, Let It Come Down, Anthropocene: The Human Epoch- Producer
- Director
- Editor
Prodigal Sons
To see: Dark Money, Transhood, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Former pop drummer and self-taught filmmaker Franny Armstrong, born 1972, has directed three feature documentaries - The Age of Stupid (2008), McLibel (2005) and Drowned Out (2003) - which have together been seen by 70 million people on TV, cinema, internet and DVD worldwide. In the early days of the internet in 1996 she founded the McSpotlight website. Through her company, Spanner Films, Franny pioneered the "crowd-funding" finance model, which allows filmmakers to raise reasonable-size budgets whilst retaining ownership of their films- Age of Stupid is the most successful known example, raising £900,000+
In March 2009, the solar-powered Age of Stupid "People's Premiere" set a new Guinness World Record by being simultaneously screened in 63 cinemas across Britain, whilst only producing 1% of the emissions of a standard premiere. It also hit No 1 at the UK Box Office, backed by zero pounds spent on advertising. Then in September 2009, a million people watched Stupid's Global Premiere event - featuring Kofi Annan, Gillian Anderson & Radiohead's Thom Yorke - in 700 cinemas in 63 countries, linked by satellite.
In September 2009 Franny founded the 10:10 climate campaign which aims to cut the UK's carbon emissions by 10% during 2010 and which has amassed huge cross-societal support including Adidas, Microsoft, Spurs FC, the Royal Mail, 75,000 people, 1,500 schools, a third of local councils, the entire UK Government and the Prime Minister. 10:10 launched internationally in March 2010 and, as of July 2010, has autonomous campaigns up and running in 41 countries, where some of the key sign-ups include the French Tennis Open, the city of Oslo and L'oreal. 10:10 estimates that organisations doing 10:10 have so far cut 500,000 tonnes of C02.
She is a Londoner born and bred.McLibel
To see: The Age of Stupid, Drowned Out- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Academy Awards® Nominee Director and Producer, she is the first Chilean women to be nominated to the Oscars. She has developed a particular style that is characterized by the intimate portrait of small worlds, her renowned label has led her to be one of the most important voices of Latin American documentary.
In 2011 she released his first feature film "The Lifeguard". Through Micromundo Producciones, her production company, she directed her second film "La Once", which has won more than 12 international awards, and was nominated for the 2016 Goya for Best Ibero-American Film. In 2016 she released the short film "I am not from here" nominated for the European Films Award and also premiered her third feature film "The Grown-Ups" that got 10 international awards. In Sundance 2020, she premiered her last film "The Mole Agent", the first Chilean documentary to be nominated to the Academy Awards®.
Maite is co-author of the book "Documentary film theories in Chile 1957-1973". She has produced the feature films: "Sexual life of plants", "Los Reyes" and "God". She works as a teacher in different universities, and teaches documentary workshops and project development in Chile and abroad. In 2013, she was selected as Global Shaper, young leaders by the World Economic Forum (WEF), and in 2018 she was invited to be a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science.I’m Not From Here
To see: The Grown-Ups, The Mole Agent, La Once- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Nina Conti was born in 1974 in London, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Her Master's Voice (2012), Sunlight and Family Tree (2013). She is married to Stan Stanley. They have two children.Her Master’s Voice
To see: Nina Conti Clowning Around, Make Me Happy- Writer
- Director
- Actress
Dörrie completed her schooling at a humanistic high school, from which she graduated in 1973 with her Abitur. In the same year he spent two years in the USA. There she studied film and acting at the Drama Department at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. This was followed by studies at the New School of Social Research in New York. She also worked in cafés and as a projectionist in the Goethe House in New York. In 1975 she returned to Germany. She then studied at the University of Television and Film in Munich. At the same time, she worked as a film critic journalist for the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Her final film is entitled "The First Waltz" and was broadcast on Bavarian television as "Max and Sandie". Doris Dörrie made various documentaries until 1982. In 1983 she made her first feature film in Munich called "Mitten ins Herz". Three years later she had a cinema hit with the title "Men". The well-known actors Uwe Ochsenknecht and Heiner Lauterbach star in the chaotic relationship comedy. The play became the most successful German film of 1986. Doris Dörrie was married to Helge Weindler from 1988 to 1996. Their daughter Carla was born in 1990.
In 1991 she had another cinema success with the title "Happy Birthday, Turk". She filmed the novel by the German writer Jakob Arjouni, a novel in the Kayankaya series. The witty film is in the tradition of classic detective films and tells the story of the search for a missing person in the Frankfurt milieu. The Turkish private detective Kayankaya, played by Hansa Czypionka, experiences police corruption. In 1994, Doris Dörrie shot the comedy film "Nobody Loves Me" with Maria Schrader. This production is about personal happiness. The work was honored with the silver film ribbon, the leading actress Maria Schrader with the gold film ribbon.
Her other film works include "No Trace of Romanticism" from 1980, "Between" from 1981, "Love in Germany" from 1989 and "Enlightenment Guaranteed" from 1999. Among all her film works The director also wrote the script herself. The films were often cast with well-known actors such as Senta Berger, Gottfried John or Uwe Ochsenknecht. She also shot the documentary entitled "What can it be?" In addition to her role behind the camera, she also performed guest roles in front of the camera. For example, she played in the film "The Leading Man" from 1977 or in "King Kong's Fist" and in "Back to Go" from 2000.
In addition to her film work, Doris Dörrie realized literary projects. This is how the short stories entitled "Love, Pain and All the Damned Stuff" and "What Do You Want from Me?" were created. She also wrote the short story "The Man of My Dreams" and the novel "What Do We Do Now?" In 1991 her collection of short stories entitled "Forever and Ever" was created. The 300-page work was well received by critics. In 2002 her film work entitled "Naked" and her novel "Happy" followed. In 2005 she staged Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Rigoletto" at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich under the musical direction of Zubin Mehta.
In the same year, 2005, she directed Giacomo Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" at the Gärtnerplatztheater. At the Salzburg Festival in 2006 she staged Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "La finta Giardiniera".Enlightenment Guaranteed
To see: Cherry Blossoms- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Gurinder Chadha was born in Kenya, and grew up in Southall, London, England. She began her career as a news reporter with BBC Radio, directed several award winning documentaries for the BBC, and began an alliance with the British Film Institute (BFI) and Channel Four. In 2001, Chadha set up her own production company: Bend It Films.Bend it Like Beckham- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Lucía Puenzo was born on 28 November 1976 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is a writer and director, known for XXY (2007), The German Doctor (2013) and The Fish Child (2009).XXY
To see: The Fish Child, The German Doctor- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Naomi Klein was born on 8 May 1970 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is a writer and producer, known for This Changes Everything (2015), The Take (2004) and The Shock Doctrine (2007). She is married to Avi Lewis.The Take, The Shock Doctrine
To see: This Changes Everything
This is another honourary entry. Klein's vision and voice infuse every element of these films, and they're officially directed by her partner, Avi Lewis, so, I don't know. Like I said. Honourary.- Actress
- Director
- Soundtrack
Christine Lahti was born April 4, 1950 in Birmingham, Michigan, to Elizabeth Margaret (Tabar), a painter and nurse, and Paul Theodore Lahti, a surgeon. She is of half Finnish and half Austro-Hungarian descent. She studied fine arts at Florida State University and received a bachelors degree in drama from the University of Michigan. In New York, Christine worked as a waitress and did commercials before she found her breakthrough role in And Justice for All (1979) with Al Pacino. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Swing Shift (1984) and won an Academy Award for Best Short Film, Live Action for Lieberman in Love (1995) in which she starred and directed. Throughout her acting career, Christine primarily focused on television, with performances in Chicago Hope (1994), and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).My First Mister- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Jennifer Kent was born on 5 March 1969 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She is an actress and director, known for The Nightingale (2018), The Babadook (2014) and Monster (2005).The Nightingale, The Babadook- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Maren Ade was born in Karlsruhe on 12 December 1976 to a couple of teachers.She studied cinema at Munich's Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film. As of 2001 she co-founded, together with Janine Jackowski, a fellow graduate from HFF, the "Komplizen" film company. It is through Komplizen that Maren would later co-produce, among others, "Arabian Nights", Miguel Gomes' masterpiece. After two shorts in 2000 and 2001 made under the auspices of her film school, she co-produced, wrote and and directed Der Wald vor lauter Bäumen (2003), her first feature. A grueling drama about the difficult beginnings of a new teacher, the movie impressed both audiences and critics. Incidentally, it is of interest to specify that its school scenes were entirely shot within the walls of the educational institution where her mother was teaching at the time. This promising effort was followed six years later by Everyone Else (2009), which although taking place in a totally different setting (the Sardinian seaside in the glory of Summer) also concerns characters unsure of themselves. A taut drama as well, it revolves around two holiday making newly married couples and describes in a Roman Polanski-like manner the wicked relationships they share. But her greatest success came in 2015 and 2016 with Toni Erdmann (2016), an offbeat comedy with a philosophical approach, which enthused the festival-goers at Cannes, allegedly making them "roar with laughter", and later making unexpected profit in art houses throughout the world. And it is true that a father playing dirty tricks on his daughter (meant to make her realize she is wasting her life) is no ordinary entertainment. As a matter of fact, after only three full-length movies to her credit, Maren Ade has become a name that counts in today's German cinema.Toni Erdmann
To see:The Forest for the Trees, Everyone Else- Director
- Editor
- Producer
Katherine E. Sender is known for Cradle (2002), Off the Straight and Narrow (1999) and The Myth of the Liberal Media (1998).Off the Straight and Narrow
To See: Further Off the Straight and Narrow- Animation Department
- Director
- Writer
Pepita Ferrari was a director and writer, known for The Unsexing of Emma Edmonds (2004), Canticum Canticorum (2006) and The Petticoat Expeditions (1997). She died on 30 December 2018 in Lac Brome, Québec, Canada.Capturing Reality- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Leanne Pooley is known for Beyond the Edge (2013), Shackleton's Captain (2012) and The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls (2009).The Topp Twins
To see: Beyond the Edge, Shackleton’s Captain, The Girl on the Bridge, We Need to Talk About AI- Director
- Actress
- Producer
Born in China in 1947, Ann Hui moved to Hong Kong when she was still in her youth. After graduating in English and Comparative Literature from Hong Kong University, she spent two years at the London Film School. Returning to Hong Kong, she worked as an assistant to director King Hu before joining TVB to direct drama series and short documentaries. In 1978, she directed three episodes for the RTHK series Si ji san ha (1972). After that, she directed her debut feature The Secret (1979).A Simple Life
To see: Our Time Will Come, Summer Snow, Ordinary Heroes- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alison Maclean was born on 31 July 1958 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She is a director and writer, known for Jesus' Son (1999), Kitchen Sink (1989) and Crush (1992).Jesus' Son
To see: Crush- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Partner & Creative Director with Cartoon Saloon. ACADEMY AWARD® & GOLDEN GLOBE Nominated Director.
Nora's passion for visual storytelling began at an early age and has led her to explore the medium of animation with her collaborators in Cartoon Saloon in Kilkenny, Ireland. From the studio's early years, directing award winning short films & commercials, she went on to co-direct Tomm Moore's ACADEMY AWARD® nominated The Secret of Kells while also guiding the development processes on a number of series including the preschool show Puffin Rock. Nora was Head of Story and Voice Director on ACADEMY AWARD® nominated Song of the Sea. She directed The Breadwinner, which was nominated for an ACADEMY AWARD® & GOLDEN GLOBE and won several international awards including the Best Indie Feature Annie and the Audience & Jury Awards at Annecy. Nora most recently directed My Father's Dragon feature film, a Netflix original animated feature, inspired by the Newbery Award winning children's book by Ruth Stiles Gannett. She continues to collaborate with her creative partners Tomm Moore and Paul Young as a Director, Producer, Editor, Writer, Production Artist, Voice Director, depending on the needs of each production.The Secret of Kells
To see: The Breadwinner – As Artist: Song of the Sea- Director
- Producer
- Actress
Awarded the Screen Leader Award for Outstanding Leadership to the Screen Industry, Nadia is one of Australia's most respected and unique filmmakers.
Known for directing Australian classic films "Malcolm" and "The Big Steal", Tass's other feature works include "Rikky and Pete", "Mr Reliable", "Amy", and "Matching Jack". Her first feature in the US was "Pure Luck" starring Danny Glover and Martin Short. She also directs films and high-end television movies in the US for Universal Studios, Disney, Warner Bros, ABC, CBS and the UK's BBC.
Her film work has garnered over 70 international awards including Best Director AFI ("Malcolm"); Best Director, Milan International Film Festival and Best Film Cannes Cinephile Prix du Jury ("Matching Jack"); Le Grande Prix due Cinecole and Les Mureaux Grand Prix (Cannes Junior) at Cannes Film Festival ("Amy").
The American Cinematheque in Los Angeles honored Ms. Tass with a Retrospective of her work in 2012, which traveled through different venues across America. She has had retrospectives of her body of work in Moscow, Cape Town & Johannesburg, Hawaii and New Delhi. In addition, Ms. Tass has sat on film festival juries for the Hawaii Film Festival, St. Tropez (as the head of the jury,) Asian Festival Of First Films, Pune International Film Festival (as the chair of the jury), and more recently served as Head of Jury for Cinefest Oz. She also serves as a juror for the International Chapter of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), and in 2021 and 2022 served as a juror for the DGA documentary award.
Tass has worked with actors of note on stage and screen including: Shailene Woodley, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Harvey Keitel, Mia Farrow, Marcia Gay Harden, Rachel Griffiths, Ben Mendelsohn, Storm Reid, Danny Glover, Martin Short, Connie Britton, Yvonne Strahovski, Damon Herriman, Brian Cox, David Strathairn, AnnaSophia Robb.
A consummate professional, Ms. Tass has given back to the industry by presenting Masterclasses around the world from New York to London to Singapore to nearby New Zealand (Auckland & Wellington) and, of course, in Australia's major film cities of Sydney and Melbourne on many occasions. She regularly lectures at the Victorian College of the Arts (Melbourne University) and Deakin University (where she is an Adjunct Professor), and has guest lectured at Beijing Normal University, Yunnan University, Wuhan, Chongqing University and Beijing Film Academy in China.
Her latest film is "Oleg" (2021), a documentary about the life of Russian film star Oleg Vidov, his pursuit of freedom, and his escape from the USSR in 1985.Pure Luck- Producer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
A Deadly Adoption – The Mindy Project (1)- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Euzhan Palcy was born in Saint-Joseph, Martinique, France. Euzhan is a writer and director, known for Siméon (1992), Sugar Cane Alley (1983) and A Dry White Season (1989).A Dry White Season
To see: Sugar Cane Alley, Siméon