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

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Bite-sized blog post: Bette Gordon

When BETTE GORDON attended film school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison MFA film program she was one of two woman and one of her professors joked when they were working with a Bolex camera “do you girls even know how to use that thing?” She became an expert and has gone on to teach film classes at Columbia as well as continuing to direct award winning features including Luminous Motion (2000) based on the novel by Scott Bradfield and Handsome Harry (2009).

Her most recent feature starring Josh Charles and Julia Stiles, Border Crossers is in post-production.

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Where to watch her films:

VIMEO

Bite-sized blog post: Lexi Alexander

LEXI ALEXANDER went from being a World Kick-boxing champion to a stunt woman to making an Academy Award nominated short film.

She then took her fighting skills to the screen and directed Green Street Hooligans (2005) and Marvel’s Punisher: War Zone (2008) before writing a scathing article on the hypocrisy of Hollywood liberals and gender discrimination.

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Where to watch her films:

VIMEO

Bite-sized blog post: Debra Granik

Before attending New York University’s MFA program in Film DEBRA GRANIK worked as a videographer for trade unions where she first became interested in characters and sharing their stories.

In 2011 her film Winter’s Bone was nominated for an Academy Award and catapulted Jennifer Lawrence into the category of A-list actor.

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Where to watch her films:

AMAZON (DVDs/BluRays for PURCHASE)

Bite-sized blog post: Nancy Savoca

NANCY SAVOCA graduated with an MFA from NYU and then went on to self-fund her first feature True Love (1989) which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. She then went on to direct Dogfight (1991) for Warner Brothers.

She continues to direct independent films and for television. Her company Cine-Si is a collaboration with her husband, film producer Rich Guay.

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Where to watch her films:

iTunes

Bite-sized blog post: Leslie Harris

LESLIE HARRIS was the first African American woman to win a Special Jury Prize at Sundance with her debut feature film Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. (1992). She got distribution for the film with Miramax for the self-financed, self-produced feature which she edited on her own in her apartment.

Harris teaches at New York University and is fundraising for her feature I Love Cinema.

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Where to watch her films:

AMAZON (DVDs/BluRays for PURCHASE)

VIMEO

Bite-sized blog post: Nicole Holofcener

At the beginning of her studies at Columbia’s MFA program NICOLE HOLOFCENER considered herself a screenwriter but soon realized she liked directing her own work.

After graduating she directed her first feature, a Sundance Film Festival favorite Walking and Talking (1996) and her character driven comedies have led to comparisons with Woody Allen but she has a style all her own.

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Where to watch her films:

NETFLIX

AMAZON (DVDs/BluRays for PURCHASE)

HULU

Bite-sized blog-post: Joan Micklin Silver

A producer once told her, “Feature films are expensive to make and expensive to market and women directors are one more problem we don’t need.” In response her husband insisted that they raise the funds and give her the chance to make a movie.

Silver went on to direct Hester Street (1975) and along with her husband and a few others successfully self distributed – before the age of the internet.

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Where to watch her films:

VIDEO INTERVIEW ON HER SUNDANCE PREMIERE

Bite-sized blog post: Clea DuVall

CLEA DUVALL began her career as an actress and has appeared in numerous movies and television shows.

Her success as an actress has given her the opportunity to transition into directing and her first feature film The Intervention premieres at Sundance.

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Where to watch her films:

Stay Tuned for distribution of her THE INTERVENTION after its Sundance premiere.

Bite-sized blog post: Kelly Reichardt

KELLY REICHARDT almost missed the debut her first feature film at Sundance, River of Grass (1994) because she couldn’t afford the plane ticket across country and got stuck on a train that took five days instead of three to make the trek.

Many of Reichardt’s films are set and shot in Oregon and she is known for character driven pieces including Wendy and Lucy (2008) starring Michelle Williams who she reunites with for her most recent film Certain Women premiering at Sundance.

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Where to watch her films:

AMAZON (DVDs/BluRays for PURCHASE