Women Directors React to the Bigelow Win

It’s still sinking in — the big Bigelow win — and I wanted to hear what other folks thought, so I reached out to women directors around the world at all levels of their careers and asked them what they thought and what it means for them.  Thanks to everyone who responded.  If other still want to respond, I’d be happy to add.  I would love to get the reactions of the women who have been nominated previously and I am working on that — if you know Lina Wertmuller, or Sofia Copolla and can contact them (I already have a feeler out to Jane Campion), please email me —   I’ll let you know if I hear from them.

Here are the women who participated in alphabetical order (check out their sites to learn about their work):

Allison Anders, director Gas, Food Lodging; Anne Bass, director- Dancing Across Borders;  Tracy Lynch Britton, director, Melrose Place; Gabrielle Burton, Five Sisters Productions; Kathi Carey, director – Worth; Wendy Jo Carlton, director - Hannah Free; Jules Dameron; Katherine Dieckmann, director – Motherhood; Emily Dell, director- B-Girl;  Rachel Feldman, director – Beyond the Break and Sisters; Carey Graeber, director- Rediscovering Dorothy; Rhianon Elan Gutierrez, director- When I’m Not Alone;  Deborah Kampmeier, director-Hounddog; Aviva Kempner, director- Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg; Alex Kondracke, director- GirlTrash; Barbara Kopple, director – Shut Up and Sing, Harlan County USA (Oscar winner); Sue Kramer, director – Gray Matters; Alexis Krasilovsky, Director – Women Behind the Camera; Kasi Lemmons, director- Eve’s Bayou; Suzanne O’Keefe, director- Full Serve; Shamim Sarif, director – The World Unseen; Nancy Schwartzman, director- Where is Your Line?; Dawn Scibilia, director- Home; Nell Scovell, director- It Was One of Us; Therese Shechter, director- I Was A Teenage Feminist; Amy Sewell, director- What’s Your Point, Honey?; Karen Skloss, director- Sunshine; Juanita Wilson, director – The Door (nominated for an Oscar)

Allison Anders

Kathryn was a role model and inspiration several years before I directed my first movie.  And after I first met her, she became a warm beacon and comrade and big sister.  Now, with this Oscar, and the DGA win, she restored all the dreams I didn’t even realize I had allowed to get sidetracked over the years.   My happiness for her is complete, because she worked so very hard for it.  She never whined, even though she is privately well aware of our struggle as women in the industry.  She never became a victim, she did her best, always.

What has been incredible to me about Kathryn’s Oscar win is that women who are not even filmmakers, not in the industry at all, feel her victory is one for all of us.  And true to her nature, I knew she would not acknowledge her gender in her acceptance speech, but it was there, she was fully aware of how momentous her win was for all of us.  I love her and could not be happier for her.  And for every little girl and old girl who was watching with that same dream.

Anne Bass

I find it very interesting that Kathryn Bigelow started her career an artist before she became a director.  One sees it in her work. Her film has an unusually powerful and singular vision which provides an almost perfect expressive form for what is clearly a remarkable script.

Tracy Lynch Britton

Since I was 6 years old I have never missed the Oscars. I have been practicing ( and timing) my speech every year since.  I was shocked to discover as an adult that no woman had EVER won. But last night changed all that – Kathryn Bigelow punched through that glass ceiling with a gritty, realistic, riveting Action War story – a film that could never be called a “chick flick”.  God bless her and the Academy for recognizing talent for talent’s sake and not because she was or wasn’t a woman!  And to have Barbara Streisand be the one to give her the Oscar – WHAT A NIGHT !  FOR HER AND FELLOW FEMALE DIRECTORS ALL OVER THE WORLD – HALLEJUAH!!!!!!

Gabrielle Burton

This is a gamechanger.  We may not see the impact of that change tomorrow, or even this year, and it will continue to be a Promethean struggle for women, but this is a major crack to help shatter the glass ceiling.  It’s like the last Presidential race and what it did to shift people’s perspectives for what is possible.  No one can now NOT think of a woman in this position of honor/power/achievement, and that changes the future for us all.  This is also an inspiring triumph for all filmmakers: for women and men with dreams for films of any size, for artists with a passion, for people who keep at their craft.

Think of all the little girls and boys who saw Bigelow up there; this shifts the paradigm of power in our conscious and subconscious.  Now, new things are possible.

Kathi Carey

The breaking of the gender barrier in acknowledging a female as Best Director in the year 2010 is not dissimilar to Ernie Davis’ breaking the color barrier in winning the Heisman trophy in 1961.  But unlike Davis’ win that took only 26 years from the award’s inception, Kathryn Bigelow’s achievement took 83 years.  Davis’ landmark win was also meaningful because it was in the face of open discrimination against person’s of color.  Women directors have suffered an unspoken, but no less prevalent, attitude of discrimination.  This is not to say that women have not been afforded opportunities to direct major studio films.  They just haven’t been acknowledged by their peers as having the ability or vision to direct anything other than the softer, “women’s” fare — the romantic comedies, the lighter comedies, the romance dramas, etc.  It is my hope that acknowledging Kathryn with this award for this film will open the doors for women to be considered to direct ALL types of films.

Wendy Jo Carlton

This may sound trivial, but the music for the Helen Reddy song, “I am Woman” playing behind Bigelow and Streisand as they exited the stage felt patronizing, reductive and silly. Who was responsible for selecting that as music and why did they think it was appropriate? I’m glad Bigelow won the award, but playing “I am Woman” served to underscore the institutional sentiment of “Okay, maybe now those girls can stop complaining.”   If Lee Daniels had won, were they going to cue up the theme to “We shall Overcome”?  That would be equally condescending to do, as it diminishes the much more complex accomplishment of the skill, talent, effort, and devotion it takes to direct a successful feature film. I’m curious, when Scorsese was given his long overdue Directing Oscar, what did they play then?

Jules Dameron

I believe this is wonderful.  Women for a long time have not been recognized as equals in the film industry, and there is absolutely no reason for us to not be viewed as equals.  There is nothing involved in film that rejects females, physically speaking, so, what’s the point?  It’s time for us to get rid of the car mechanic can be males only mentality and move forward and tell our stories to the world.

My being deaf does add another minority to the challenge, but Kathryn Bigelow has broken one of the biggest challenges for minorities in the film industry– women.

Katherine Dieckmann

In her acceptance speech, KB said “the secret to directing is collaborating….” Has any male director ever said that in quite that way from the podium — e.g., completely shared that moment and acknowledged that no director can get there without the work and support of so many other creative individuals? I really had that sense all night watching “Hurt Locker” win its various awards, up to the two biggies at the end. Whenever one of her team started up to receive an award, and the camera cut to Bigelow, what you saw was such pure unadulterated delight in that win, a selfless kind of delight, a delight that was completely free of ego.

It wasn’t about “oh they worked on MY film,” it was more an aura of “that person worked so hard and was so brilliant and helped make my film great, and here’s his moment in the sun.” (Because, let’s face it, all of them were guys.) I was really struck by that  generosity of spirit and lack of grandstanding on Bigelow’s part — the complete antidote to a puffed-up king of the world stance.

This was one of my favorite aspects of that evening.

For me, Bigelow’s stress on collaboration and evident joy in same was as radical as Jane Campion explaining that it took her so long to make “Bright Star” because she took time off to watch the movie that was her daughter. Again, not really a comment one could imagine flowing freely from the lips of a Scorsese, Almodovar, Eastwood, Tarantino, etc etc. In that sense, let’s celebrate the gender divide, because there can be clear humanistic advantages to the way some women approach these jobs. Consider the way Streisand, so often slammed for her own directing, embraced Bigelow’s moment with a similar radiance and absence of self-interest. Just lovely.

Emily Dell

The sad truth is The Hurt Locker is an outlier, it was made for the Hollywood equivalent of bupkus, and so she was left alone to just work and make it the best it could be.  The people who are in charge of the big money are not going to put a woman at the helm of a multi-million dollar movie, and you’re kidding yourself if you think the people in charge of the money aren’t the people in charge of the whole shebang.

My take-away from the KB win:  we’ve got to control the money.  Please, for the love of God ladies, we’ve GOT to control the f-ing money!  I’m not trying to say “greed is good” but to control your projects you HAVE to understand the financials, you have to love them.  They are inextricably intertwined with all creative choices and when you know them you can maneuver within them, you will have a leg to stand on.  That goes for the film world and beyond.

Rachel Feldman

While I am personally thrilled for this director’s win and am deeply touched by the historic significance, I imagine very little will change in the life of we women directors.  I can only hope that with her win, along with Geoffrey Fletcher’s win for writer’s of color, consciousnesses will shift and awarenesses be made and that the world will see that talent and the ability to tell stories does not have a gender or a race.

Carey Graeber

Congratulations Kathryn, and all of us, what a great way to celebrate International Women’s Day!  To say this is long overdue is an understatement, but as we bash at the glass ceiling with battering rams, we do it for those women who started this struggle long ago and for those who come after, that they never know that being a woman was once “less than.”

Rhianon Elan Gutierrez

I went to order lunch in Hollywood this afternoon and, while waiting, asked the two male servers if they watched the Oscars last night.  They both replied that they had.  I immediately commented that I, as a female director, was pleased that Kathryn Bigelow won for Best Director.  They both agreed and offered positive comments.  I told them that the best part of her win wasn’t her acceptance speech, but what she said in the press room afterwards.  She mentioned how she saw herself as a filmmaker before anything else.  I can especially relate to that statement.  Female, male, black, Hispanic, white, disabled, non-disabled, gay, straight, deaf, or hearing—we are filmmakers before we are anything else.  Certainly any of these labels can inform our choice of subject matter and create communities of people who cheer for us.  These labels are powerful indicators of the desire for representation.  Kathryn’s win represented a victory for women in film—and she won by creating a film that she believed in.  Women everywhere are cheering because they won, too.

When I was presenting on a panel to parents of deaf and hard of hearing children last month, I was asked what I thought about being referred to as a deaf filmmaker.  Like Kathryn, I responded that I want to be seen as a filmmaker first.  My hearing loss is a part of me, but it does not define my identity as a filmmaker.  I won’t deny that it has helped me to not only be sensitive to people of many abilities, but it has also made me an advocate for accessibility and for dynamic, anti-pity representations of deaf and hard of hearing people and people with disabilities on and off screen.  When we add a label (or two) to the title of “filmmaker”, we create something much bigger than the individual.  We create a movement.  I think that Kathryn’s win offers the potential for all sorts of minorities to be active in the change towards Hollywood’s recognition of their filmmaking.

Deborah Kampmeier

GRATEFUL. GRATEFUL. GRATEFUL.

GRATEFUL to Kathryn Bigelow and all of the women directors who have inspired me over the years…Jane Campion, Allison Anders, Catherine Breillat, Mira Nair,  Kimberly Peirce, Niki Caro, Agnes Varda, Nancy Savoca, Kasi Lemmons, Julie Taymor, Sofia Coppola, Lina Wertmuller, Lisa Cholodenko, Chantal Ackerman, Sally Potter, Marguerite Duras, Claire Denis, Martha Coolidge, Barbara Kopple, Julie Dash, Maggie Greenwald, Lizzie Bordon, Catherine Hardwicke, Kelly Reichardt, Lone Scherfig, Courtney Hunt, Maya Deren, Deepa Mehta, Mary Harron, Tamara Jenkins, Patty Jenkins, Gillian Armstrong…I know I’m forgettingsome…

GRATEFUL to ALL women who have made a film.

GRATEFUL to ALL women who have tried to make a film.

GRATEFUL to ALL women who will make a film.

GRATEFUL that we are getting our voices out there. The world needs them. May it be easier for our daughters.

Aviva Kempner

Today on March 8th is International Women’s Day, a celebration for women’s economic, political and social achievements.  Female directors around the world have great news to celebrate. A few minutes before this celebration commenced Kathryn Bigelow became the first women in 82 years to win an Oscar for directing a film.  And after midnight, which was already March 8th, she won another one for producing Hurt Locker, a brilliant war film.  We are all bursting with pride. Kathryn Bigelow is so talented and her speech was so gracious and caring for those soldiers at war.

As female directors celebrate around the world for her victory we can only wish for is that it won’t take another 82 years for a female feature director to win again. After all women have been winning Oscars for directing documentaries for years.  And may Hollywood start green lighting the film projects of so many women directors that nominations for Oscars become the norm instead of a breakthrough phenomena.

Alex Kondracke

A little shot in the arm for all of us.

Barbara Kopple

Kathryn’s win is so exciting and so well deserved, she made such an incredible film.  To me it’s more proof of something I’ve known for a long time – that women are brave, willing to take risks, passionate about the work and committed to great storytelling.  Kathryn and so many other women who direct films have such perseverance, such strong visions and so many important and unforgettable stories to tell.  I hope it inspires women of all ages to take charge, to be visionary artists and let no one stand in their. way.  Kathryn’s wonderful achievement goes to show that gender doesn’t really matter – it’s all about the passion for storytelling.

Sue Kramer

The glass ceiling has been broken or should I say the 50mm lens! It’s been a long time in the waiting but our time is come and this is only the beginning! Women filmmakers should be popping champagne all over the world to celebrate Kathryn Bigelow’s achievement and use this as a launching pad to say…WE ARE HERE, WE ARE TALENTED, WE ARE UNITED, AND WE EXPECT TO BE TREATING LIKE EQUAL—MOVE OVER BOYS AND MAKE ROOM!

Alexis Krasilovsky

This is indeed a much-awaited, monumental achievement.  However, before we finish cheering (and believe me, here at London’s Bird’s Eye View Film Festival, a woman’s film festival with 11,000 attendees- where my film and many others directed by women — the cheering has been long and loud), let’s make sure this win isn’t a token win, and that other deserving women filmmakers — as well as women cinematographers, who have as yet to win an Oscar — are recognized by the Academy and other male-dominated festivals.  If enough women women awards, they, too, will be able to vote for future Academy Award-winners.  If enough women are hired by the mainstream media as film reviewers, that should also help to bring enough attention to more films by women to have them nominated in the first place.  Once these components are in place, we can expect to see much more gender equity in terms of who gets to make the “important” films.

Kasi Lemmons

I went to bed last night and woke up this morning in a glow. Words cannot express how incredibly inspired and uplifted I am by the image of Katherine Bigelow with an Oscar in each hand…It’s a great day!

Suzanne O’Keefe

When I was growing up, the thought of being a movie director never entered my mind. I loved films, but I thought I’d have to write them if I wanted to have anything to do with making them. I even went to film school and directed and produced a short film that was nominated for best student film (Leo Awards, Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television) , but didn’t consider directing a career path.

Katherine Bigelow’s win IS a critical breakthrough. It is time for women to tell stories in a much larger way. It is time for them to step onto the biggest soap box there is — making movies — and tell things how we see them. I believe the world needs to hear our voices now.

For all the young women growing up now, it’s now obvious that not only is it possible to be a movie director, but also it’s possible to be the best at it in the world. My heart just beams at that thought shifting all those young women’s dreams right now.

Shamim Sarif

It’s been a much-anticipated, and much-appreciated moment. We’d all like to live in a world where it isn’t necessary to comment on the fact that the Best Director is a woman, or to have a Women’s Day, but the fact is, we are not there yet, even in the US and Europe, so a win like this for Kathryn Bigelow is meaningful because it suggests to people that yes, women can be known and successful directors.

Nancy Schwartzman

I’m thrilled that Kathryn Bigelow won the Oscar for best director last night, she is a fierce and talented filmmaker that sure knows how to shoot an action sequence! She’s been at it for 30 years, and she deserves recognition, but I’m also disappointed that they chose to honor her for this film.

We celebrate “The Hurt Locker”, which is a film about war that remains “a-political” and by doing so, tacitly accepts our invasion and occupation as fact, and war as an inevitable reality. We celebrate a female director telling stories about men – men as heroes, men as flawed adrenaline junkies, men who have fear, men who die, men who care about each other. We celebrate “The Hurt Locker,” a film by a woman about men.

Let’s be revolutionary. Let’s celebrate stories about women, that celebrate their risk-taking, their flaws, their losses and their joys. Let’s tell stories about women that are entertaining, thought-provoking, sexy, smart and all things that we women are. Let’s be revolutionary and reflect our visions on a screen of a world free from violence, rape, and full of sex, relationships, drama, and humanity. That’s my vote.

Dawn Scibilia

History has been made, but will it bring change? Although the glass ceiling is now broken, my fear is that this may not matter for female directors making films with female protagonists. That’s the reality we all have to face.

Part of me hoped Bigelow was going to say something similar to what Mo’Nique said, thanking the academy for not letting politics get in the way and then saying something profound about the plight of female directors in the industry. In the end I’m glad she didn’t, and that she avoided any negativity or anger. I say this because I myself don’t like to acknowledge the disturbing numbers. I ignore it. I won’t believe it. I will stay true to why I’m in this in the first place, my love of cinema, and I will never give up. I consider myself a filmmaker, not a female filmmaker. It shouldn’t matter that I’m a woman. At the end of the day it’s not about black or white or male or female, it’s about green. It’s about money. Always was, always will be. Not so much for awards, but certainly for getting hired in the first place. The old adage still holds true, “You’re only as good as your last picture.” Bottom line, If you can make the studios money, you will get work.

Congratulations Bigelow! Congratulations to us all. And thank you Ida Lupino for paving the way!

That said, a female filmmaker shouldn’t have to make male films in order to be able to work or win awards. Unfortunately, it’s widely held that the male audience is where the money is. So, I suppose more women can direct more films, as long as they cater to the male audience. At the same time, it’s great that a woman can be allowed to make a film for the male audience. Years ago when I saw “Point Break” I remember being surprised to learn a woman directed it, that a woman was allowed to direct such a male film. And she did it better than many men could’ve. I loved it, and thought I too could have easily made that kind of film.

Nell Scovell

It’s not surprising that a great director who made a great movie won an Oscar.   If Kathryn Bigelow’s achievement ushers in a wave of opportunity for female directors, I will rejoice. But I do worry that her win merely assuages the industry’s guilt and now they’ll go back to their (white male) business as usual.   Still, I was encouraged by this piece of news.   Apparently, for a few moments during Bigelow’s acceptance speech, Chris Matthews forgot she was a woman.  Hope.

Therese Shechter

The message for me was that sometimes it IS truly about making good work, and believing in yourself and your vision, and pushing ahead, no matter what. We don’t hear that enough as women. I know I’ll be using the image of Bigelow clutching TWO Oscars as my inspiration for a good long time. (Without the “I Am Woman” background music, though. Lame.)

Amy Sewell

So glad it was based on merit and talent and NOT tokenism.  That is the BEST platform with which to now jump.  We need to now see a day when just as many women (of all colors) as men (of all colors) are nominated.  Onward!  Let’s keep keeping on.

Karen Skloss

Now, with the full advent of the 3-D spectacle picture, Bigelow’s win is an important signal about what’s still valued in Hollywood. The timing of this emphasis on story and craft couldn’t be more perfect. It makes me believe that the day might arrive when great storytelling makes gender just an interesting side note. We are not there yet, but what a great stride in that direction – a first tangible step.

Juanita Wilson

I am so delighted for Kathryn and hopefully this will be the first of many awards for women directors.

Tags: Allison Anders, Kasi Lemmons, Katherine Dieckmann, Nell Scovell

Tagged as: Allison Anders, Kasi Lemmons, Katherine Dieckmann, Nell Scovell