THE 2ND SEX &amp; THE 7TH ART: WOMEN DIRECTORS IN FILM

Bite-sized blog post: Jodie Foster

JODIE FOSTER grew up in Hollywood and in 2013 she won the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.” She went after directing with as much force and insight as she did in pursuit of acting roles. At one point she reached out to French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet and expressed interesting in appearing in a film of his convincing him her French was up to par and she would play any size role despite her Hollywood status because she so admired his filmmaking.

In 1993 Jodie Foster started her own production company Egg Pictures after directing her first feature Little Man Tate (1993). She found out about the Netflix series Orange is the New Black and intrigued by the book it was based on and the show itself she reached out to get a directing gig on the show for which she was nominated for an Emmy.

More to add to this “bite-sized blog” – please send us a comment!

Where to watch her films:

Bite-sized blog post: Kasi Lemmons

In 1997 Roger Ebert. wrote of KASI LEMMON’s first feature film, “There has been no more assured and powerful film debut this year than Eve’s Bayou.” She won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature that year.

Lemmons appeared as an actor in several films before her directorial debut and has gone on to direct several feature films with notable actors and in 2002 gave the tribute to Sidney Poitier at the 74th Academy Awards celebration.

More to add to this “bite-sized blog” – please send us a comment!

Where to watch her films:

AMAZON (PRIME STREAMING)

BARNES & NOBLE DVD to PURCHASE

HULU

Bite-sized blog post: Lake Bell

LAKE BELL studied drama in England at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance and came back to the United States to start a successful career as an actress. She directed her first short film Worst Enemy (2010) shown at Sundance. Her feature In a World... (2013) also premiered at Sundance.

In an interview she said about her directing experience: “The first day I thought, ‘My god, I feel so at home. What a great comradery This quenches my thirst for something creative in a way I never knew was possible.’ I sort of loved the bustle of a thousand questions. Women are inherently kind of multitaskers.”

More to add to this “bite-sized blog” – please send us a comment!

Where to watch her films:

AMAZON (PRIME STREAMING)

Bite-sized blog post: Sarah Pirozek

SARAH PIROZEK comes from a fine arts background – studying at the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program early in her career, then going on to study at the Actors Studio and screenwriting at the New School.

Her first feature documentary Free Tibet (1998) documents the 1997 two day concert to benefit Tibet. Many prominent rock artists of the time took part – Smashing Pumpkins, De La Soul, Fugees among others. Pirozek has gone on to direct numerous music videos and commercials.

More to add to this “bite-sized blog” – please send us a comment!

Where to watch her films:

DVD on Netflix

Bite-sized blog post: Barbara Loden

BARBARA LODEN, inspired by John Cassavetes and other independent filmmakers of the time, wrote, produced and directed her feature film Wanda (1970).

As the wife of famed director Elia Kazan Loden was able to get Wanda made but the financiers expected to use the film as a write off assuming it would be a financial failure and were less than pleased by its critical acclaim and modest earnings which did not allow them to take that loss. Loden died of cancer at a young age and was never able to direct another feature.

More to add to this “bite-sized blog” – please send us a comment!

Where to watch her films:

YOUTUBE

Bite-sized blog post: Sofia Coppola

SOFIA COPPOLA began her career as a still photographer and actress in her famous father’s films, playing an infant in a christening scene in The Godfather (1972). She learned all about making movies first hand by growing up in the industry and after directing a few shorts made her first feature film The Virgin Suicides (1999) which premiered at Sundance.

She was the third woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director with her film Lost in Translation (2003) for which she won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

More to add to this “bite-sized blog” – please send us a comment!

Where to watch her films:

HULU

Bite-sized blog post: Claudia Weill

Stanley Kubrick praised CLAUDIA WEILL’s first feature film Girlfriends (1978) as one of the most interesting American films of its time, comparable in quality to European films (high praise from Kubrick).

Weill most recently directed for the popular television series Girls.

More to add to this “bite-sized blog” – please send us a comment!

Where to watch her films:

HULU

Bite-sized blog post: Gillian Robespierre

GILLIAN ROBESPIERRE co-wrote and directed the Independent Spirit Award nominated film Obvious Child (2014) based on the short she created of the same name after graduating from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

The film was funded in part by a crowdfunding via a Kickstarter campaign and premiered at South by Southwest.

More to add to this “bite-sized blog” – please send us a comment!

Where to watch her films:

VIMEO

Bite-sized blog post: Gurinder Chadha

GURINDER CHADA was a BBC news reporter who made award winning documentaries in England before her fiction feature film Bend It Like Beckham (2002) became a US (and international) success.

She continues to direct for the screen and has recently turned Bend It Like Beckham into a stage musical.

More to add to this “bite-sized blog” – please send us a comment!

Where to watch her films: