Betsy West is an Emmy-winning filmmaker, journalist, and educator. A 20-year veteran executive with stints at ABC and CBS, she has produced the news programs “Nightline,” “60 Minutes,” and “48 Hours.” Her film work includes “The Lavender Scare,” “The 4%: Film’s Gender Problem,” and “Constantine’s Sword.”

Julie Cohen is an award-winning filmmaker and producer with eight feature-length documentaries to her credit. Her films include “The Sturgeon Queens,” “American Veteran,” and “Ndiphilela Ukucula: I Live to Sing,” which won a New York Emmy Award.

“RBG” will premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival on January 21.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

BW & JC: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a rock star, but you may not fully understand why. This documentary will tell you how she earned the “Notorious RBG” nickname. From the early years when she pushed past outrageous sexism to become the top lawyer fighting for women’s rights, to the present when she does 20 push-ups as easily as she writes blistering dissents.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

BW & JC: A longstanding commitment to the fight for women’s equality, combined with a fascination for how this soft spoken, featherweight 84-year-old has developed a cult following among millennials.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

BW & JC: How a single woman, if she’s smart enough and tough enough, can change the world. Aside from what they’re thinking, we also want people to walk out of the theater feeling energized.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

BW & JC: Earning the trust of Justice Ginsburg, and persuading her to give us the access we needed to tell her story in a rich way.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

BW & JC: We are hugely fortunate to have CNN Films as a partner in this project. They came on board early — and with great enthusiasm — provided funding, substantive guidance, and moral support.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at Sundance?

BW: Top of the bucket list.

JC: Everything.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

BW: The worst advice is, “Get a perm.”

The best advice comes from what Justice Ginsburg says her mother told her, “Anger is a waste of time.” It’s not that you won’t get angry when bad or unfair things happen, but you should try to find a way to move forward. The strategy sure worked for Ginsburg: she went on to challenge the legal underpinnings of sexism in our country. By pushing through anger to action, she made the world a better place for every American woman.

JC: The worst advice was in college and again in graduate school. Male professors advised me not to write a thesis with a feminist theme, saying it would typecast me as a certain kind of student — not a “real philosopher,” my college adviser said. In one case I took the advice, but now I wish I’d spoken up for my own ideas.

The best advice is from back when I was a print reporter. A source once observed, “Sometimes it’s hard to tell bad news from good news in the moment it’s happening to you,” meaning something that seems like a bad development can twist around to be lucky in the end. It’s a wise point that’s especially applicable to making documentaries. Things unfold in unpredictable ways. Be prepared, but be open to having your plans change radically.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

JC: Practice optimism. In the course of making a movie — any movie — there can be literally hundreds of times when it seems like your whole endeavor is going to go down in flames. The people who get movies made are the ones who learn to push past those moments, and the doubts and anxieties that come with them. It takes a certain level of confidence, chutzpah, dare I say balls, to push past doubt. That’s a skill that women often find particularly hard to develop. But develop it.

BW: I second what Julie says about optimism, and thank her for being the most optimistic partner a person could want. This may sound contradictory, but it’s also a good idea to be a bit paranoid. Think about what might go wrong, and always have a backup plan.

W&H: Name your favorite woman directed film and why.

BW: “Whale Rider,” Niki Caro’s astonishing story of a Maori girl’s dream to become leader of her tribe. Thinking about it, especially the breathtaking scene of the girl riding the back of a whale, reminds me to put it on my screening list to watch again. At the mainstream end of the spectrum, I always love Nancy Meyers’ movies. From “The Parent Trap” to “It’s Complicated,” she knows how to make films that make me laugh, and a lot of other people, too, judging from the box office.

JC: There’s a lot to choose from, but I’ll go with “Monster” by the amazing Patty Jenkins. The scene when Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci roller skate to “Don’t Stop Believin’” is my favorite movie love scene ever. I only saw it once, but specific shots and the feeling they provoked stick with me. Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” was awesome in a whole different way. The fact that there were 14 years between those two features says a lot about the way Hollywood has undervalued female talent.

W&H: Hollywood is in the midst of undergoing a major transformation. Many women and some men in the industry are speaking publicly about their experiences of being assaulted and harassed. What do you think of the recently announced anti-sexual harassment Commission made up of industry leaders? Do you believe that it will help make systemic change? What do you think needs to be done to address this issue?

BW: It’s about time. Women have been talking among themselves for decades about sexual harassment, but for too long we accepted it as the price of admission to the working world. Of course, this is a problem that transcends Hollywood and the media. I hope the new commission will draw attention to the societal costs when women are marginalized, degraded, or abused.

JC: I’d describe myself as cautiously optimistic about the new commission. Harassment — and sexism, more broadly — has been around a long time, and it’s not going away overnight. But I’m glad to hear Hollywood power players are putting their full weight behind efforts to change things. And I would never bet against Kathleen Kennedy!