Interviews
Kristin Scott Thomas Talks Playing Clementine Churchill, Ageism, and Hollywood After Weinstein
Scott Thomas in “Darkest Hour” Kristin Scott Thomas’s career spans over three decades. She received a BAFTA for “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and an Oscar nod for “The English...
Oscars 2018 Foreign Language Contenders: Annemarie Jacir— “Wajib”
Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir has written, directed, and produced over 16 films. Her short film “Like Twenty Impossibles” was the first Arab short film in history to be an official...
Oscars 2018 Foreign Language Contenders: Hana Jušić— “Quit Staring at My Plate”
Hana Jušić has written and directed several award-winning short fiction and documentary films which have been shown at prominent European festivals. Her credits include “No Wolf,” “Gnats,...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Lisa Immordino Vreeland — “Love, Cecil”
Lisa Immordino Vreeland is an award-winning director whose credits include “Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel” and “Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict.” “Love, Cecil” premiered at the...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Evan Briggs — “The Growing Season”
Evan Briggs worked as a field producer on the documentary “Tough Love,” which aired on the PBS series “P.O.V.” in 2015. She has taught filmmaking through the Digital Media Academy in San...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Alison Chernick — “Itzhak”
In award-winning documentaries profiling major contemporary artists, Alison Chernick has captured the thoughts and processes of this century’s most prolific visual artists. Her credits include...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Tiffany Bartok — “Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story”
Tiffany Bartok worked consistently as an actress but soon discovered a talent for makeup artistry. She began to sharpen her makeup skills on celebrities and film crews. Bartok made the decision to...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Lili Fini Zanuck — “Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars”
Lili Fini Zanuck is an Oscar-winning producer with a talent for finding and transforming unconventional material into box-office champions. Her producing credits include “Cocoon,” “Driving...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sascha Ettinger Epstein — “The Pink House”
Sascha Ettinger Epstein is a documentary director/shooter known for raw, observational Australian stories featuring unusual characters. Her credits include “Painting with Light in a Dark World,”...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Attiya Khan — “A Better Man”
Attiya Khan is a first-time director who primarily works as an advocate and counselor for abused women and children. She has worked in women’s shelters in Canada and the United States, including...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Rebecca Cammisa — “Atomic Homefront”
Rebecca Cammisa is a director, producer, and cinematographer. Her first feature documentary film, “Sister Helen,” aired on HBO, and went on to win the 2002 Sundance Film Festival’s Documentary...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Laura Fairrie — “Spiral”
Laura Fairrie is an award-winning documentary director with a background as a current affairs journalist and producer. At the beginning of her career she worked in the UK, Northern Ireland, China,...
Theresa Rebeck on Bringing “What We’re Up Against” Back, Literally and Figuratively
At the end of “What We’re Up Against,” a female character looks straight out into the audience and asks, “Why is it still like this?” The irony is that Theresa Rebeck wrote the play back...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Julia Bacha — “Naila and the Uprising”
Julia Bacha is a Peabody award-winning filmmaker, media strategist, and the Creative Director at Just Vision. Her credits include “Encounter Point,” “Budrus,” and “My Neighbourhood.”...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Paige Goldberg Tolmach — “What Haunts Us”
Paige Goldberg Tolmach founded The Little Seed in 2007, an eco conscious store in Los Angeles which helped raise awareness about the dangers of toxic chemicals in households. In 2009, The Little...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Talya Tibbon — “Sky & Ground”
Talya Tibbon is an award-winning director, producer, and writer. She’s worked in four continents documenting wide-ranging subjects such as street gangs, mass shooters and those who survive their...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Barbara Kopple — “A Murder in Mansfield”
Barbara Kopple is a two-time Academy Award winning filmmaker. Her credits include “This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous,” “Miss Sharon Jones!” and “Harlan County USA.” Kopple actively...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Jessica Wolfson — “Hot Grease”
Jessica Wolfson has created award-winning media content for ESPN 9 for IX, MTV, Conde Nast, NYU, Canon, and many nonprofit organizations. At IFCtv Original Programming, she developed and produced...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ceyda Torun— “Kedi”
Ceyda Torun is an Istanbul-born director who spent her early years among the street cats, while her mother worried she’d get rabies and her sister worried she’d bring home fleas. She co-founded...
Briga Heelan on the Close-Knit Relationship Between the Women of “Great News”
Heelan in “Great News” Actress Briga Heelan has appeared in the likes of “Love,” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “Ground Floor,” “Happy Endings,” and “Cougar Town.” But it’s her...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Geeta Gandbhir — “Armed With Faith”
Geeta Gandbhir is a prolific director, editor, and producer. She has co-directed numerous award-winning films, including “I Am Evidence,” “Prison Dogs,” “Remembering the Artist, Robert De...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Chanda Chevannes — “Unfractured”
Chanda Chevannes is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, and educator. Her first feature-length film, “Living Downstream,” won several awards, has been screened publicly over 200 times, and was...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Alice Elliott — “Miracle on 42nd Street”
Alice Elliott is the Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker of “The Collector of Bedford Street.” Her short “Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy” was nominated for an International...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Harriet Hirshorn — “Nothing Without Us: The Women Who Will End…
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Harriet Hirshorn — “Nothing Without Us: The Women Who Will End AIDS” Harriet Hirshorn is a documentary filmmaker with a focus on social justice issues....
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Rachel Dretzin — “Far From the Tree”
Rachel Dretzin has been honored with numerous awards for her documentaries, including the Emmy Award, the Peabody, the Du-Pont Columbia, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. For many years...
DOC NYC 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ky Dickens — “Zero Weeks”
Ky Dickens directed the acclaimed documentary “Sole Survivor,” which profiles four survivors of otherwise fatal plane crashes. “Sole Survivor” was acquired by CNN Films for broadcast and...
Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi on Celebrating a “Badass Butch” in “Chavela”
Catherine Gund is an Emmy-nominated producer, director, writer, and activist. Her media work focuses on strategic and sustainable social transformation, arts and culture, HIV/AIDS and reproductive...
Nancy Buirski on Exploring Hidden Stories in the Civil Rights Movement in “The Rape of Recy Taylor”
Nancy Buirski’s writing, directing, and producing credits include “By Sidney Lumet,” “Afternoon of a Faun,” and the the Oscar shortlisted, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning “The Loving...
Author Erin Carlson on Her New Book “I’ll Have What She’s Having” and the Legacy of Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron died in 2012, at the age of 71, but she left an indelible mark on the world as one of the most influential voices of our time. She left behind a strong legacy and continues to inspire...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Bornila Chatterjee — “The Hungry”
Bornila Chatterjee is a writer and filmmaker. Her feature film “Let’s Be Out, The Sun Is Shining” premiered at the 2012 New York Indian Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. Previous...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Tali Shalom-Ezer — “My Days of Mercy”
Tali Shalom-Ezer is a screenwriter and director whose previous works include “Princess” and “Surrogate.” Her films have garnered critical acclaim and won her the Grand Prix at the 2015 Kiev...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Kamila Andini — “The Seen and Unseen”
Kamila Andini made her feature debut with “The Mirror Never Lies,” which portrays the life of a sea wanderer in the Indonesian ocean. Previous short films include “Following Diana” and...
Brie Larson on Embracing Uniqueness, Directing Herself, and “Captain Marvel”
Brie Larson is an actress who has given standout performances in films such as “Short Term 12” and “Trainwreck.” In 2016 she won an Oscar for her turn as a young mother willing to do...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Mila Turajlic — “The Other Side of Everything”
Mila Turajlic is a documentary filmmaker from Belgrade, Serbia. Her 2010 directorial debut, “Cinema Komunisto,” premiered at the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam and the Tribeca...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Joan Chemla — “If You Saw His Heart”
Joan Chemla is a director who decided to dedicate herself to filmmaking after an initial stint in law. She has helmed three short films: “Mauvaise Route,” “Dr Nazi,” and “The Man with the...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Mouly Surya — “Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts”
Mouly Surya was born in Jakarta, where she currently lives. She is considered one of the most promising filmmakers in Indonesia. Her debut film, “Fiksi.” won numerous awards including Best...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ainsley Gardiner — “Waru”
Ainsley Gardiner is of Ngāti Awa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Pikiao, and Whakatōhea descent. Gardiner previously produced the short films “Two Cars, One Night” and “Tama Tu,” written...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Lisa Langseth — “Euphoria”
Lisa Langseth is a playwright and filmmaker from Stockholm. Her film credits include “Pure” and “Hotell,” both of which are toplined by “Euphoria” star Alicia Vikander. “Euphoria”...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Erika Cohn — “The Judge”
Erika Cohn is a director who has received numerous accolades for her work, including a Director’s Guild of America award for her film, “When the Voices Fade,” a narrative profile of the...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Brie Larson — “Unicorn Store”
Brie Larson is an Academy Award-winning actress whose credits include “Short Term 12,” “Room,” “The Glass Castle,” and the upcoming “Captain Marvel.” Her short film “The Arm” won...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Elizaveta Stishova — “Suleiman Mountain”
Elizaveta Stishova is a Russian writer and director. Her previous short films include “Arta,” “The Hen,” “Watering,” and “The Seagull.” In 2014, Stishova participated in Berlinale...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Rachel Grady — “One of Us”
Rachel Grady is a filmmaker and co-owns New York’s Loki Films with Heidi Ewing. She and Ewing have have directed six feature-length films, including “Jesus Camp,” “The Boys of Baraka,”...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Anahí Berneri — “Alanis”
Anahí Berneri is an Argentinian film and theater director and scriptwriter. Previous feature films include “Un Año Sin Amor,” “Encarnación,” and “Por Tu Culpa.” She has been...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Violeta Ayala — “Cocaine Prison”
Violeta Ayala is an award-winning Indigenous filmmaker and writer from Bolivia. Her other credits include “The Flight,” “The Bolivian Case,” and “Stolen,” which has won numerous awards...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Ingrid Veninger — “Porcupine Lake”
Ingrid Veninger is a writer, producer, and director whose work has premiered at numerous festivals around the world. Previous feature films include “He Hated Pigeons,” “I am a Good Person/I am...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Limor Shmila — “Montana”
Limor Shmila is an Israeli writer and director, who is also known for her work as a casting director. For the last 10 years she has been one of the leading casting directors in Israel, working on...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Zaida Bergroth — “Miami”
Zaida Bergroth is a Finnish film director whose works has been screened at several prominent festivals, including TIFF, and have received awards at Pusan International Film Festival and Chicago...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Clio Barnard — “Dark River”
Clio Barnard is a director whose films have won her The Douglas Hickox Award at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), Best Screenplay at the Evening Standard British Film Awards, and Best...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Nora Twomey — “The Breadwinner”
Nora Twomey is a filmmaker and co-founder of Cartoon Saloon, the twice Oscar-nominated animation studio based in Ireland. Having co-directed “The Secret of Kells” with Tomm Moore, Twomey went on...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Susanna White — “Woman Walks Ahead”
Susanna White is a BAFTA-winning film and television director. Her previous credits include “Our Kind of Traitor” and “Parade’s End.” White was lauded for her six episodes of “Bleak...
TIFF 2017 Women Directors: Meet Valerie Faris — “Battle of the Sexes”
Valerie Faris and her husband, Jonathan Dayton, have co-directed music videos for R.E.M., The Smashing Pumpkins, Janet Jackson, Oasis, and many others in the 1990s and 2000s. Their previous film...