Interviews
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Nira Burstein – “Charm Circle”
Nira Burstein is an emerging director based in New York City and was recently selected for Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. Burstein is an Independent Film Project (now The...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Emily Kuester – “Messwood”
Emily Kuester is a director, producer, and writer. She got her start at 371 Productions and has assisted in producing short and long form documentaries, virtual reality experiences (2019 Sundance VR...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Alysa Nahmias – “Krimes”
Alysa Nahmias is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of the Los Angeles-based production company AJNA. Her work has been shown at festivals and exhibitions worldwide, including the Venice...
Vivian Kleiman Talks Tracing Queer Comics’ Journey to the Mainstream with “No Straight Lines”
Vivian Kleiman is a Peabody Award-winning filmmaker. A longtime producer with storied filmmaker Marlon Riggs, her credits include additional cinematography on his landmark documentary “Tongues...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Neasa Ní Chianáín – “Young Plato”
Neasa Ní Chianáin is a documentary filmmaker whose credits include “Frank Ned & Busy Lizzie,” “Fairytale of Kathmandu,” and “The Stranger,” which screened at...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Abby Epstein – “The Business of Birth Control”
Abby Epstein started her career as a theater director having her own Chicago-based production company, Roadworks Productions, which was founded in 1992. After directing a few productions in Chicago,...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Erin Bernhardt and Din Blankenship – “Refuge”
Erin Bernhardt is an independent filmmaker. She has won two Peabody Awards, an Emmy, and numerous film festival awards. Her first independent feature documentary, “Imba Means Sing,” aired...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Holly Morris – “Exposure”
For two decades Holly Morris has told, and championed, pro-woman, cross-cultural stories on the global stage. She is an internationally known filmmaker, author, and presenter. Her last feature film,...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Sandra Alvarez – “InHospitable”
Sandra Alvarez has spent her career directing and producing a wide spectrum of documentary and television programs for CNN, Netflix, Sundance Channel, History Channel, BBC America, A&E Network,...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Yasmin C. Rams – “Go Heal Yourself”
Yasmin C. Rams’ credits include the mid-length documentary “Miriam” and the short documentary “A Life in Blue.” She co-directed the former and directed the latter. As a...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Kavery Kaul – “The Bengali”
Kavery Kaul is a filmmaker and the founder of riverfilms. She was born in India and is based in the U.S. Her works have been featured at DOC NYC, Telluride, London, Rotterdam and Sydney Festivals,...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Bianca Stigter – “Three Minutes: A Lengthening”
Bianca Stigter is a historian and cultural critic. She made the short film essays “Three Minutes – Thirteen Minutes – Thirty Minutes” and “I Kiss This Letter –...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Yunhong Pu – “Go Through the Dark”
Yunhong Pu is a director, editor, cinematographer, and producer based in New York City. Born and raised in China, she received her MFA in Social Documentary Film from SVA in 2019. “Go Through...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Valerie Blankenbyl – “The Bubble”
Valerie Blankenbyl is an Austrian documentary filmmaker. She previously directed feature length documentaries “I Am Jesus” and “A Mother’s Dream.” “The Bubble”...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Vera Krichevskaya – “F@ck This Job”
Vera Krichevskaya is a Russian filmmaker. She is the co-founder of TV Dozhd (TV Rain), which is the only independent private TV channel in Russia. She is an award-winning television director and has...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Jamie Boyle – “Anonymous Sister”
Jamie Boyle is a two-time Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker. She is the director, cinematographer, and editor of the short documentary “Take A Vote” and she is the producer, editor, and...
DOC NYC 2021 Women Directors: Meet Alexandra Dalsbaek – “We Are Russia”
Alexandra Dalsbaek is a French-Russian filmmaker based in Moscow. Previously a freelance journalist, she made her documentary feature debut with “Cinderella Syndrome,” which premiered in...
Vanessa Lapa Talks “Speer Goes to Hollywood,” Her Cautionary Tale About Media’s Power to Manipulate
Vanessa Lapa is an Israeli Academy-winning director and producer. She launched her career as a journalist and produced and directed over 100 news reports for Israeli TV. In 2006 she founded Realworks...
NewFest 2021 Women Directors: Meet Emily Branham – “Being BeBe: The BeBe Zahara Benet Documentary”
Emily Branham is a filmmaker captivated by artists, performance, and identity. She directs short documentaries for art and corporate organizations including Lincoln Center, AT&T, and JP Morgan,...
Amanda Lipitz Talks “Found,” Her Doc About Biological Cousins Who Bond Over Their Adoptions
Amanda Lipitz is an award-winning producer, writer, and director. Her directorial debut and first feature-length documentary, “Step,” premiered in competition at the 2017 Sundance Film...
NewFest 2021 Women Directors: Meet Cristiane Oliveira – “The First Death of Joana”
Cristiane Oliveira is a Brazilian writer and director. Her debut feature, “Nalu on The Border” (“Mulher do Pai”), premiered internationally at the Berlinale 2017 and has...
Axelle Carolyn on Exploring Themes of Aging in Gothic Creature Feature “The Manor”
Axelle Carolyn has directed episodes of FX’s “American Horror Story” and Netflix’s “The Haunting of Bly Manor.” Her other credits include Shudder’s “Creepshow,”...
Connie Hochman on Exploring an Influential Choreographer’s Teaching Style with “In Balanchine’s Classroom”
Connie Hochman was a professional ballet dancer with Pennsylvania Ballet where she performed many Balanchine masterworks. In 2007, Connie began a series of interviews with former Balanchine dancers...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Nathalie Biancheri – “Wolf”
Nathalie Biancheri is an Italian writer and director based in Dublin. Her short films have won awards at several international festivals such as SXSW, Edinburgh, Galway, Rhode Island Flickers Fest,...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Camille Griffin – “Silent Night”
Camille Griffin is a writer, director, and co-producer. She originally trained in the camera department and worked for 13 years as a Clapper Loader, and has since written and directed seven short...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Laura Santullo – “The Other Tom”
Laura Santullo is a Uruguayan filmmaker and author based in Mexico. She is an internationally recognized for her work as a screenwriter, collaborating with film director and life-partner Rodrigo...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Agustina San Martín – “To Kill The Beast”
Agustina San Martín is an Argentinian filmmaker, screenwriter, and colorist who has also worked as a screenwriting professor at her alma mater, the University of Buenos Aires. Her short films...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Darin J. Sallam – “Farha”
Darin J. Sallam is a Jordanian writer and director who has five award winning short films including “Still Alive,” “The Dark Outside,” and “The Parrot,” all of...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Laura Samani – “Piccolo Corpo” (“Small Body”)
Laura Samani was born in Trieste, Italy. In 2016, her short film “The Sleeping Saint” premiered at Cannes Cinéfondation and has since gained international acclaim and awards from several...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Kamila Andini – “Yuni”
Kamila Andini is a mother and filmmaker based in Jakarta, Indonesia. She released her debut feature film, “The Mirror Never Lies,” in 2011 and her second feature, “The Seen and...
Crystal R. Emery Talks “The Deadliest Disease in America,” Her Doc About Racism in Healthcare
Crystal R. Emery is a producer, educator, author, and filmmaker known for producing socially conscious storytelling on a variety of platforms that celebrate the triumph of the human spirit, a cause...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Haya Waseem – “Quickening”
Haya Waseem is a Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker. An alumna of the Director’s Lab program at Norman Jewison’s Canadian Film Centre, Weseem began her career as a documentary editor. Her short films...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Kate Dolan – “You Are Not My Mother”
Kate Dolan is an Irish writer and director. She wrote and directed “Little Doll,” a short film that premiered at the Berlinale in 2016. Dolan’s next short film, “Catcalls,”...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Mounia Akl – “Costa Brava, Lebanon”
Mounia Akl was born in Lebanon. She completed an MFA in directing at Columbia University. Her directorial credits include the shorts “Beirut, I Love You (I Love You...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Shasha Nakhai – “Scarborough”
Shasha Nakhai is a Filipina-Canadian filmmaker. Her directorial projects include documentary shorts “Thirty Eight Minutes,” “18 Roses,” “Paruparo,” “The...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Ruth Paxton – “A Banquet”
Ruth Paxton is a Scottish filmmaker and writer. Her short film “Paris/Sexy,” a grim tragedy about a young caregiver and her brain-damaged father, premiered at the 64th Edinburgh...
Gita Pullapilly on Transforming Undervalued and Discounted Women into “Queenpins”
Gita Pullapilly is an award-winning writer, producer, and director. Along with her collaborator and husband Aron Gaudet, Pullapilly currently has projects with Amazon Films, STX Entertainment,...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Ana Lazarevic – “The Game”
Ana Lazarevic is a writer and director born in Belgrade, Serbia. She holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University. Her short film “The Runner” premiered at the New York Film Festival....
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Aga Woszczyńska – “Silent Land”
Aga Woszczyńska is a director, scriptwriter, and anthropologist. Her short films have screened and won awards at numerous film festivals — including Cannes, Helsinki International Film...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Neus Ballús – “The Odd-Job Men”
Neus Ballús is a Catalan film director and scriptwriter. Her first film, “The Plague,” premiered at Berlinale Forum and was nominated for the European Film Awards, LUX Prize, and Goya...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Tea Lindeburg – “As in Heaven”
Tea Lindeburg wrote the TV series “Equinox” for Netflix, as well as the podcast “Equinox 1985” for DR, which was nominated for the Prix Italia 2017. She’s also directed...
TIFF 2021 Women Directors: Meet Jenna Cato Bass – “Mlungu Wam” (“Good Madam”)
Jenna Cato Bass is a South African writer, filmmaker, and former magician. Together with Wanuri Kahiu, Bass co-wrote the coming-of-age romance “Rafiki,” which premiered in Cannes’...
Venice 2021 Women Directors: Meet Dina Amer – “Tu Me Ressembles” (“You Resemble Me”)
Dina Amer is an award-winning filmmaker and journalist. She helped produce the Oscar-nominated and Emmy award-winning documentary “The Square,” which chronicled the Egyptian Revolution...
Venice 2021 Women Directors: Meet Laura Bispuri – “The Peacock’s Paradise”
Laura Bispuri’s first film, “Sworn Virgin,” was presented in Competition at the Berlinale and received the Nora Ephron Prize at Tribeca Film Festival, the Firebird Award at Hong...
Venice 2021 Women Directors: Meet Michale Boganim – “The Forgotten Ones”
Michale Boganim grew up in Israel, in a Moroccan family. Her father was in the Israeli Black Panther movement. She is a graduate of the National Film School in London. Her student film “Dim...
Angel Kristi Williams Talks “Really Love” and Celebrating Black Romance
Angel Kristi Williams is a writer and director. She’s a Film Independent Project Involve Directing Fellow and was the recipient of the Sony Pictures Diversity Fellowship. This year she was...
Ann Hu Talks Bringing a Personal Story to the Screen with “Confetti”
Writer, producer, and director Ann Hu’s debut “Shadow Magic” (2000) won both the Chinese Academy Award and Presidential Award in China for Best Film. The film premiered at the 2000...
rePRO Film Festival 2021 Women Directors: Meet Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt – “Bei Bei”
Rose Rosenblatt and Marion Lipschutz are partners in Incite Pictures/Cine Qua Non. Their prior titles include “Young Lakota,” “The Education of Shelby Knox,” “Live Free...
“Cousins” Directors Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace-Smith on Exploring Indigenous Identity and Resilience
Ainsley Gardiner (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Awa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Whakatōhea), has produced more than a dozen short and feature films, documentaries, and television drama series. Her first short...
Cannes 2021 Women Directors: Meet Kira Kovalenko – “Unclenching the Fists”
Kira Kovalenko was born in Nalchik, Russia. She graduated from Alexander Sokurov’s directing workshop at Kabardino-Balkarian State University in 2015. She made her feature directorial debut in 2016...
Cannes 2021 Women Directors: Meet Luàna Bajrami – “The Hill Where Lionesses Roar”
Self taught, Luàna Bajrami acquired experience through her collaborations with different filmmakers while practicing writing, editing, and directing through numerous amateur short film projects....