Interviews
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Darlene Naponse – “Falls Around Her”
Darlene Naponse is an Anishinaabe Kwe from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, Northern Ontario. She is a writer, film director, and a video artist. Her previous feature, “Every Emotion Costs,”...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Lila Avilés – “The Chambermaid”
After her start as a theater actress, Lila Avilés moved into directing. Her work as a theater director includes “Gardenia Club,” “Microdermoabrasión,” “Antígona,” and “The...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Rosanne Pel – “Light as Feathers”
Rosanne Pel received her master’s degree at the Netherlands Film Academy. She directed the award-winning short films “Ult Zicht,” “Newroz,” and “Heraut.”...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Bai Xue – “The Crossing”
Bai Xue was born in China and obtained her MFA from the Beijing Film Academy. After competing in the CFDG China Youth Film Director Support Program, she made “The Crossing,” her first...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Alejandra Márquez Abella – “The Good Girls”
Alejandra Márquez Abella’s made her feature debut with 2015’s “Semana Santa.” Her other credits include shorts “5 Memories” and “Perra,” as well as the documentary...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Annabel Jankel – “Tell It to the Bees”
Annabel Jankel was born in London and began her career directing music videos for artists such as Talking Heads, Miles Davis, and Elvis Costello. Along with her partner, Rocky Morton, Jankel directed...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Laura Luchetti — “Twin Flower”
Laura Luchetti has directed short films, music videos, commercials, documentaries, and theater productions. Her first feature, “Febbre da Fieno,” has been featured at many international...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Genevieve Nnaji — “Lionheart”
Genevieve Nnaji has been a prominent fixture in the Nigerian film industry for over 20 years, primarily as an actor. Her contributions to filmmaking have received several awards and nominations over...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Shannon Service – “Ghost Fleet”
Shannon Service is an independent reporter and filmmaker whose work has appeared in The New York Times, the BBC, and The Guardian. She primarily focuses on crimes at sea, but her stories covered...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Naziha Arebi — “Freedom Fields”
Naziha Arebi has made short films shown worldwide, completed a series of educational shorts on Libyan reconciliation, and directed a short doc about the assassinated Libyan activist Salwa...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian — “Fig Tree”
Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian was born in Awash, Ethiopia. She has directed the short films “Transitions” and “Facing the Wall.” “Fig Tree” is her feature directorial...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Victoria Stone — “The Elephant Queen”
Director Victoria Stone has worked in Africa for over 30 years telling wildlife stories that have been shown in more than 140 countries with audiences in excess of 600 million. Her previous film,...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sine Plambech — “Heartbound”
Sine Plambech is an anthropologist at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Barnard College, Columbia University. For 15 years, Plambech has worked...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Selma Vilhunen — “Stupid Young Heart”
Selma Vilhunen’s latest works as a director include the documentary “Hobbyhorse Revolution,” which premiered at the Tampere Film Festival and won the main prize in domestic...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Ash Mayfair — “The Third Wife”
Ash Mayfair was born and raised in Vietnam, and received her MFA in filmmaking from NYU. Her short films — including “The Silver Man” and “No Exit” — have been screened at...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Nandita Das — “Manto”
Nandita Das has acted in more than 40 feature films in 10 different languages. She made her directorial debut with 2008’s “Firaaq.” Das also acted, wrote, and directed the 2012 play...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Carmel Winters — “Float Like a Butterfly”
Carmel Winters is an award-winning writer and director for the screen and stage. Her debut feature “Snap” won Best Irish Feature and Best Director at the Dublin Critics’ Circle...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marielle Heller — “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Marielle Heller began her career in front of the camera, appearing in shows such as “Spin City” and “Single Dads,” as well as in movies like “MacGruber” and “A Walk Among the...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Jasmin Mozaffari — “Firecrackers”
Jasmin Mozaffari’s student thesis film, “Firecrackers,” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to screen at numerous other fests across Canada and Europe....
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Carolina Hellsgård – “Ever After”
Carolina Hellsgård is a writer-director born in Sweden and based in Berlin. Her critically acclaimed debut feature film “Wanja” premiered at the Berlinale in 2015 and was nominated for...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marija Kavtaradzė — “Summer Survivors”
Marija Kavtaradzė’s short film “I’m Twenty Something” won best student film at the Lithuanian Film Academy Awards in 2015. Kavtaradzė also co-wrote the feature film “The Saint,”...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Natalia Meschaninova — “Core of the World”
Natalia Meschaninova made her feature debut with 2014’s “Hope Factory,” a coming-of-age drama set in Russia. “Core of the World” will begin screening at the 2018 Toronto...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Carol Morley — “Out of Blue”
Carol Morley’s credits include “The Alcohol Years,” a BAFTA-nominated film about her scurrilous teenage past, “Dreams of a Life,” which went behind the anonymous newspaper headline about...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Camilla Strøm Henriksen – “Phoenix”
Camilla Strøm Henriksen was born in Oslo and studied directing at the London Film School. She has appeared on and directed numerous Norwegian television shows. Henriksen previously directed the...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Imogen Thomas — “Emu Runner”
Imogen Thomas’ short film “Mixed Bag” premiered at the Montreal Film Festival in 2008 and received the Gold Award at the Australian Cinematographers Society Awards . The film was also a...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Renée Beaulieu — “The Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin”
Renée Beaulieu holds a degree in screenwriting from INIS (the National Institute of Image and Sound), a PhD in film studies, and is a certified pharmacist. Her previous features include “Le...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Patricia Rozema – “Mouthpiece”
Patricia Rozema’s first comedy feature, “I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing,” screened at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, where it won the Prix de la Jeunesse. It then...
TIFF 2018 Women Directors: Meet Wanuri Kahiu – “Rafiki”
Kenyan director-producer-writer Wanuri Kahiu’s first feature, “From A Whisper,” was based on the real-life events surrounding the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in...
Venice 2018 Women Directors: Meet Nicole Palo – “Emma Peeters”
Nicole Palo’s credits include the 2005 short “Anna Doesn’t Know” and the 2008 feature “Get Born.” “Emma Peeters” will premiere at the 2018 Venice Film...
Dana Nachman on Her Guide Dog Documentary “Pick of the Litter”
Dana Nachman is an award-winning filmmaker of both fiction and documentary films. Nachman’s 2018 feature documentary, “Pick of the Litter,” was sold within 48 hours of its premiere at...
Venice 2018 Women Directors: Meet Elsa Amiel — “Pearl”
Elsa Amiel previously directed two short films, “Ailleurs seulement” and “Faccia d’Angelo.” “Pearl” is her feature debut. “Pearl” will premiere...
Venice 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sarah Marx — “L’Enkas”
Sarah Marx previously directed “Fatum,” a 2012 short about about a man struggling to reintegrate into society after serving time in jail. She later shot a documentary in a prison in...
Meg Wolitzer and Jane Anderson on “The Wife’s” 14-Year Journey to the Screen
I read Meg Wolitzer’s “The Wife” about a decade ago, and it is one of those books that sticks with you. I was convinced it’d make a great movie — so much so that I...
“Sex and the City and Us” Author Jennifer Keishin Armstrong on the Show’s Legacy
Jennifer Keishin Armstong has chronicled the history of TV shows in several books, including “Seinfeldia” and “Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted.” It seems almost perfect that...
“Never Goin’ Back” Writer-Director Augustine Frizzell on Her Love Letter to Female Friendship
“Never Goin’ Back” is a teen comedy, but not kind we’re used to seeing. Augustine Frizzell’s directorial debut doesn’t tell the familiar story of college-bound...
“Dietland” Star Jen Ponton on Her New Show, Sizeism, and Why She Wants to Play a Superhero
Jen Ponton was already a proponent of feminism and positive body image before she landed the role of Rubi on AMC’s new series, “Dietland,” a dramedy following a woman as she experiences a...
Sundance London 2018 Women Directors: Meet Lauren Greenfield — “Generation Wealth”
Lauren Greenfield is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and photographer. “The Queen of Versailles” won her the Best Documentary Director Award at Sundance Film Festival. She made her...
“Mean Girls'” Kate Rockwell On Working with Tina Fey and Playing an Iconic Character
Kate Rockwell now knows what it’s like to work with the one person she’s most admired throughout her career. That person is Tina Fey, whose teen comedy “Mean Girls” became a hit in 2004...
Broadway Star Ariana DeBose Talks Portraying Donna Summer in the Age of #TimesUp
Ariana DeBose’s life has certainly changed a lot since appearing in Broadway’s breakout hit “Hamilton.” First, she had a lead role in “A Bronx Tale,” and now she is in the spotlight...
“The Split” Star Nicola Walker on the Show’s Depiction of Women, Relationships, & Divorce
Two-time BAFTA nominee Nicola Walker has acted in many series, including “Last Tango in Halifax,” “Collateral,” and “River.” She’s also appeared in features...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Margarethe von Trotta — “Searching for Ingmar Bergman”
Margarethe von Trotta launched her career as an actress. She directed her first feature, “The Second Awakening of Christa Klages,” in 1978. The next year marked the release of “Sisters,...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Agnieszka Smoczyńska — “Fugue”
Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s first feature film, “The Lure,” was recognized as the best debut at the 2015 Polish Film Festival. “The Lure” has received numerous awards at festivals worldwide,...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Rohena Gera — “Sir”
Rohena Gera is a director and screenwriter. Her micro-budget documentary “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” screened at the Mumbai Film Festival. “Sir” is her narrative...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Pamela B. Green — “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché”
Nominated for an Emmy for the documentary ”Bhutto,” Pamela B. Green has produced main titles and created and advised on internal story sequences and marketing campaigns for films such...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Debra Granik — “Leave No Trace”
Debra Granik directed and co-wrote the Academy Award-nominated feature film “Winter’s Bone.” The drama was named Best Feature at the Gotham Independent Film Awards, won the Grand Jury...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Beatriz Seigner — “Los Silencios”
Beatriz Seigner’s feature debut, “Bollywood Dream,” screened at over 20 international film festivals, including Busan, Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles, and São Paulo. It marked the first film...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marie Monge — “Treat Me Like Fire”
Marie Monge has written and directed short films such as “Marseille by Night,” “Mia,” and “Les ombres bossues.” “Marseille by Night” was nominated for...
Cannes 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marta Bergman — “Alone At My Wedding”
Marta Bergman is a Bucharest-born director known for her documentary films, in which she has explored Romania and more specifically, the Roma communities. Her documentaries have been shown at...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Laura Bari — “Primas”
Laura Bari made her full-length debut with “Antoine,” a documentary about the imaginary life of a blind boy. The film was shown at 30 festivals around the world and won over a dozen prizes. She...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Alba Sotorra — “Commander Arian”
Alba Sotorra is an independent filmmaker and producer based in Barcelona. She has directed a number of documentaries, including “Unveiled Views,” which premiered at Guadalajara International...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Biljana Tutorov — “When Pigs Come”
Biljana Tutorov is a director, producer, film curator, and VJ. In 2010 she founded Wake Up Films, an independent film production company dedicated to young European talent. She is now in...