Interviews
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Audrey Gordon — “Siblings”
Audrey Gordon is a French documentary filmmaker and former journalist. She has directed several documentaries for TV including “Kinderlekh,” “Edith and Lucile,” “A Two-way-Street,” and...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Margarita Cadenas — “Women of the Venezuelan Chaos”
Margarita Cadenas served as a co-writer and producer for French Television, and has produced numerous commercials around the world. Her filmmaking credits include “Cenizas Eternas,”(“Eternal...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Hind Bensari— “We Could Be Heroes”
Hind Bensari’s first documentary short, “475: Break the Silence,” contributed to a movement in Morocco that succeeded in repealing a law that allowed men accused of rape to marry their...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sandra Luz López Barroso — “Artemio”
Sandra Luz López Barroso is an anthropologist and award-winning filmmaker. She’s spent more than 10 years working on diverse artisticprojects in Mexico. She served as a DP on the short film...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Christy Garland — “What Walaa Wants”
Christy Garland has directed award-winning and critically acclaimed documentary features and fiction shorts. Her credits include “Cheer Up,” “The Bastard Sings the Sweetest Song,” and...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Trisha Ziff — “Witkin & Witkin”
Trisha Ziff has worked for the last 25 years as a writer, editor, curator, and documentary filmmaker. Her feature credits include “The Mexican Suitcase,” and “The Man Who Saw Too Much,”...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Elizabeth Mirzaei — “Laila at the Bridge”
Elizabeth Mirzaei served as director and cinematographer on the BBC’s “The Killing of Farkhunda,” which was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award, and a cinematographer on the...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Cynthia Wade and Sasha Friedlander — “Grit”
Cynthia Wade’s 2008 documentary “Freeheld” won an Academy Award, Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and 13 other awards. Her other credits include “Grist for the Mill,”...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Elan Bogarín — “306 Hollywood”
Elan Bogarín was nominated for at the 2009 Gotham and Spirit Awards for producing “Big Fan.” She co-founded The Wassaic Project, an arts festival/residency program that has hosted thousands of...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Kate Novack — “The Gospel According to André”
Kate Novack is an Emmy-nominated producer and director of documentary films. She was a producer and writer on “Page One: Inside the New York Times,” which was nominated for two News &...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Katrina Costello — “The Silver Branch”
Katrina Costello co-founded Sea Fever Productions in 2006 along with her husband, Kevin O’Sullivan. The company is dedicated to producing natural history documentary films in Ireland. “The...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown— “United Skates”
Dyana Winkler is a director, producer, and film festival programmer whose narrative screenplay “Bell” was a participant in the Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab and awarded a Sundance Sloan...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Laura Brownson — “The Rachel Divide”
Laura Brownson worked for nearly 15 years in narrative features and television before turning to documentary film. She is the co-director of the documentary “Lemon,” which won a Special Jury...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Paula Eiselt — “93Queen”
Paula Eiselt is an independent filmmaker. She is currently a POV/Wyncote Filmmaker Fellow and was a 2017 Sundance Creative Producing Summit Fellow and a 2016 IFP Lab fellow. “93Queen” is her...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Sarah Menzies — “Afghan Cycles”
Sarah Menzies’ documentary films have screened at Telluride Mountainfilm, Banff Mountain Film Festival, Port Townsend Film Festival, and many other festivals. She directed the documentary shorts...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Azadi Moghadam — “The Broker”
Azadi Moghadam was born in Tehran. She filmed her first documentary, “Kahrizak — Tajrish,” in 2015. She published Simia, a professional theater magazine, while she was a student in...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Lindsey Cordero — “I’m Leaving Now (Ya Me Voy)”
Lindsey Cordero is a Mexican filmmaker based in Brooklyn. She previously co-directed the TV documentary “Firmes, Mexicans in the Bronx” and produced “En el Séptimo Día.” “I’m Leaving...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Samara Grace Chadwick — “1999”
Samara Grace Chadwick has spent more than 15 years working in the field of documentary film throughout Europe and North and South America, primarily as a filmmaker, editor, and festival programmer....
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Christina D. King and Elizabeth A. Castle — “Warrior Women”
Christina D. King is a member of the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma whose work across commercials, documentary, film, and television focuses on human rights issues, civic engagement through...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Irene Lusztig— “Yours in Sisterhood”
Irene Lusztig is a filmmaker whose work has been screened around the world, including at the Berlinale and MoMA, and on television in Europe, Taiwan, and the U.S. Her credits include her...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Laura Marie Wayne — “Love, Scott”
Laura Marie Wayne’s short films have been featured in festivals across Europe, North America, and the Caribbean. In 2015 her lyrical memoir film “Most of Us Don’t Live There” premiered in...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Yasemin Samdereli— “Night of All Nights”
While at the University of Television of Film in Munich, Yasemin Samdereli worked as Assistant Director on two of Jackie Chan’s features. She has also directed “Kismet” and “Almanya: Welcome...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Shameela Seedat — “Whispering Truth to Power”
Shameela Seedat is a human rights law specialist turned filmmaker from South Africa. Since she began documentary filmmaking, Seedat has been commissioned by various local and international...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Joannie Lafrenière — “Snowbirds”
Joannie Lafrenière is a photographer and director based in Montreal, Canada. Her credits include “The Woman Who Saw the Bear,” which has been shown in major festivals across Canada and...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Almudena Carracedo — “The Silence of Others”
Almudena Carracedo directed and produced her debut feature, the Emmy-winning documentary “Made in L.A.” She also directed the award-winning short “Welcome, A Docu-Journey of Impressions.”...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Beatrice Behn— “The Artist & the Pervert”
Beatrice Behn is Senior Film Critic and Editor-in-Chief of Kino-Zeit, the largest German language film magazine for arthouse and independent film. “The Artist & The Pervert” is her first...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Katja Fedulova — “Faith Hope Love”
Katja Fedulova has been working since 2004 as a freelancer, cinematographer, and director for advertising, documentary, and feature films. “Faith Hope Love” will premiere at the 2018 Hot Docs...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Elwira Niewiera — “The Prince and the Dybbuk”
Elwira Niewiera’s last feature documentary, “Domino Effect,” was shown at more than 50 festivals and received many awards. She is a member of the Polish Film Academy. “The Prince and the...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Shasha Nakhai — “Take Light”
Shasha Nakhai is a filmmaker based out of Toronto with Compy Films and Storyline Entertainment. Her award-winning films have screened at festivals and aired on TV worldwide. Her last film with...
Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Jessica Leski — “I Used to Be Normal”
Jessica Leski wrote, directed, and co-edited her first full-length documentary, “The Ball.” The film won a Hugo Television Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. Leski’s short films...
Veteran TV Writer Nell Scovell on Her New Book and Hollywood’s Progress — and Lack Thereof
Nell Scovell is no stranger to Hollywood. A 30-year veteran, she has worked on some of the most memorable shows in TV history, including “Murphy Brown,” “The Simpsons,” “Late Night with...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Assia Boundaoui — “The Feeling of Being Watched”
Assia Boundaoui is an Algerian-American journalist and filmmaker based in Chicago. She has reported for BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera, VICE, and CNN and was the recipient of a first place Mark of Excellence...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Nia DaCosta — “Little Woods”
Nia DaCosta has written and directed projects for stage, film, and new media platforms. “Little Woods” is her debut feature. “Little Woods” premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival on...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Andrea Nevins — “Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie”
Andrea Nevins is an Academy Award-nominated, Emmy award-winningdirector, producer, and writer. Her credits include “The Other F Word” and “Play it Forward” “Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Yolanda Ramke — “Cargo”
Yolanda Ramke is an award-winning screenwriter and director. In 2013, she wrote the short film “Cargo” and co-directed with Ben Howling. It garnered almost 14 million views on YouTube. She...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Liz Garbus — “The Fourth Estate”
Liz Garbus is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmaker whose film “What Happened, Miss Simone?” opened the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, received a Peabody Award, and was nominated for an...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Haifaa Al-Mansour — “Mary Shelley”
Haifaa Al-Mansour is the first female filmmaker in Saudi Arabia, and is regarded as one of its most significant cinematic figures. The success of her 2005 documentary, “Women Without Shadows,”...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Susanna Nicchiarelli — “Nico, 1988”
Susanna Nicchiarelli has written and directed many short films, documentaries, and two features: “Cosmonaut,” winner of the Controcampo award at the Venice Film Festival, and “Discovery at...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Susanna White — “Woman Walks Ahead”
Susanna White is a BAFTA award winning director who began her career making documentaries such as “Tell Me the Truth About Love.” She made her feature narrative debut with “Nanny McPhee...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Madeleine Sackler— “It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It”
Madeleine Sackler is an Emmy-winning director and producer whose credits include “The Lottery,” “Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus,” and a second upcoming Tribeca...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Kate Davis — “Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland”
Kate Davis is an Emmy and Peabody-award winning filmmaker whose film “Southern Comfort” won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and First Prize at Hot Docs. Her other credits include “The...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Melissa Miller Costanzo — “All These Small Moments”
Filmmaker Melissa Miller Costanzo’s films have been featured in IFP Film Week and the American Black Film Festival. She previously directed the short film “The Busker,” produced projects such...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Melissa Haizlip— “Mr. SOUL!”
Melissa Haizlip is an award-winning filmmaker whose credits include the short film “You’re Dead to Me,” which she produced, and her directorial feature-length debut, “Mr. SOUL!” The latter...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Nancy Schwartzman — “Roll Red Roll”
Nancy Schwartzman is a documentary film director, producer, and media strategist who uses storytelling and technology to create safer communities for women and girls. She directed short doc “The...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Mitzi Peirone — “Braid”
A model, actress, and director, Mitzi Peirone’s directorial debut premiered at Art Basel in 2015. Her directing credits include the short films “Chaosmos” and “Vesperlings.” “Braid” is...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Eva Vives — “All About Nina”
Eva Vives won Best Short at the Sundance and Cannes in 2000 with “Five Feet High and Rising,” a short she cast, edited, and produced. She followed that up with a feature she co-wrote, “Raising...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Emma Forrest — “Untogether”
Emma Forrest is a columnist, novelist, screenwriter, and director. Her novels include “Namedropper,” “Thin Skin,” and “Cherries in the Snow,” and she penned the acclaimed memoir “Your...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Jill Magid— “The Proposal”
Jill Magid is an artist, writer, and filmmaker whose work includes performance art and large and small-scale installations. She has been commissioned to make work for the Whitney Museum of American...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Hagar Ben Asher — “Dead Women Walking”
Hagar Ben Asher is the writer-director of features “The Slut” and “The Burglar.” Her work has screened at festivals such as Cannes, Telluride, Rotterdam, Moscow, and Warsaw. Ben Asher has...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marilyn Ness — “Charm City”
Marilyn Ness is a two-time Emmy, Peabody, and DuPont winning filmmaker who has produced and directed documentary film and television for over 15 years. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts...
Tribeca 2018 Women Directors: Meet Marianna Palka — “Egg”
Marianna Palka is an actress and filmmaker from Glasgow, Scotland. Her film “Bitch” sold at Cannes after its 2017 Sundance premiere, and her film “Good Dick” was nominated for the Grand Jury...