April 26, 2016 by JENDEAN

Bite-sized blog post: Yvonne Rainer

YVONNE RAINER was born in San Francisco and made her mark as a dancer and filmmaker in New York City.

Rainer made her first short in 1966 and went on to experiment with the medium, exploring dance, sexuality and feminism.

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Where to watch her films:

Bite-sized blog post: Barbara Hammer

Born in Hollywood BARBARA HAMMER’s grandfather was a cook for D.W.Griffith and she went on to direct experimental films exploring gender roles.

She has directed over forty films and videos and is considered among the first to create lesbian themed work in the United States.

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Where to watch her films:

PURCHASE DVDs on her website

VIMEO

Bite-sized blog post: Kimberly Pierce

KIMBERLY PEIRCE began working on her first feature Boys Don’t Cry (1999) while a graduate student at Columbia film school. She started by making a self-funded short catching the attention of producer Christine Vachon who would help her turn it into a feature.

The remake of the Stephen King classic Carrie (2013) directed by Peirce was only one of two female helmed films to be in the top 100 grossing films of that year.

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Where to watch her films:

AMAZON (PRIME STREAMING)

AMAZON (DVDs/BluRays for PURCHASE)

HULU

Bite-sized blog post: Dee Rees

DEE REES began studying business and then went on to get her MFA from NYU. She interned for Spike Lee before making her first feature film Pariah (2011) based on the short she directed of the same name. The film premiered at Sundance and she then went on to write and direct the Emmy award winning HBO film Bessie (2015).

She is currently developing a television series with Shonda Rhimes.

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Where to watch her films:

NETFLIX

AMAZON (PRIME-STREAMING)

AMAZON (DVDs/BluRays for PURCHASE)

HULU

Bite-sized blog post: Cheryl Dunye

After directing and producing several shorts CHERYL DUNYE made her first feature film The Watermelon Woman (1996) exploring sexuality and race and film, funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts.

After the success of The Watermelon Woman and the HBO movie Stranger Inside (2001) Dunye directed the Hollywood vehicle My Baby’s Daddy (2004) written by Eddie Griffin. She continues to write and direct as well as teaching at various Universities in California.

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Where to watch her films:

NETFLIX

FANDOR

FIRST RUN FEATURES

AMAZON (PRIME STREAMING)

AMAZON (DVDs/BluRays for PURCHASE)

VIMEO

Bite-sized blog post: Dorothy Arzner

After returning home from the first World War where she worked in the ambulance corps DOROTHY ARZNER decided against medical studies and chose to pursue a career in film directing. She began her career as a writer and editor at Paramount Pictures and eventually leveraged her success in those arenas by telling the powers that be at Paramount if they didn’t give her a directing opportunity she would move to rival studio Columbia.

Paramount gave her Fashions for Women (1927) to direct which was a financial success and led to her being the only woman working as a director in the studio system at the time.

Tying a microphone to a pole during a scene in an attempt to get better sound she invented what is now known as the boom!

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