Interviews
Rubika Shah on Exploring the Power of Grassroots Activism in the Punk Scene in “White Riot”
Rubika Shah is a writer-director and Screen International Star of Tomorrow. Her films have screened at Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca, and Hot Docs. Her mini-doc about David Bowie, “Let’s...
Diane Paragas on Her Portrait of an Aspiring Country Singer, “Yellow Rose”
Diane Paragas is an award-winning director, editor, cinematographer, and producer of narrative features, documentaries, and commercials. She owns and operates Civilian Studios, a Brooklyn-based...
Warsaw 2020 Women Directors: Meet Lili Horvát – “Preparations to Be Together For an Unknown Period of Time”
Lili Horvát grew up in Budapest. She studied audio-visual arts at the Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris and film directing at the University of Theatre and Film in Budapest. “The Wednesday...
Haroula Rose on Telling a Story of Healing and Survival in “Once Upon a River”
Haroula Rose works in both fiction and nonfiction filmmaking. Rose’s pilot “Lost & Found” premiered at Tribeca, and her most recent short film starring Maya Hawke premiered on...
NYFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Heidi Ewing – “I Carry You With Me”
Heidi Ewing’s documentary credits include “Jesus Camp,” which received an Oscar nomination, “One of Us,” and “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.” She...
Miranda July Talks “Kajillionaire,” Connection, and Creativity at the Latest Girls Club Event
Prior to her feature directorial debut, “Me and You and Everyone We Know,” Miranda July formed her own movie club/distribution project for women filmmakers, Joanie 4 Jackie. As the...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Aisling Chin-Yee – “No Ordinary Man”
Aisling Chin-Yee is an award-winning producer, writer, and director based in Montreal, Canada and Los Angeles, California. She made her feature directorial debut with 2019’s “The Rest of...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Roseanne Liang – “Shadow in the Cloud”
Roseanne Liang is an award-winning New Zealand-born Chinese director and screenwriter. Her autobiographical feature film “My Wedding and Other Secrets” was the top-grossing New...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Farnoosh Samadi – “180° Rule”
Farnoosh Samadi is an Iranian award-winning director, writer, and member of the Academy. Samadi’s “The Silence” was nominated for a Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2016, and her short film “Gaze”...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Mayye Zayed – “Lift Like a Girl”
Mayye Zayed is an Egyptian filmmaker, director, producer, director of photography, and editor, and the founder of Cléo Media. She is the recipient of Film Independent’s Global Media Makers...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Suzanne Lindon – “Spring Blossom”
Suzanne Lindon is a French director, writer, and actor. “Spring Blossom” is her first film. “Spring Blossom” will screen at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, which is taking place...
Hannah Rosenzweig & Wendy Sachs on “Surge” & Why We Should Tell (Many) Stories About Women in Politics
Hannah Rosenzweig is a documentary film director and long-time producer. She is the founder and president of Intention Media Inc. Since serving as Hillary Clinton’s personal videographer for...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Sonia Kennebeck – “Enemies of the State”
Sonia Kennebeck is an independent documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist with 17 years of directing and producing experience. Her first feature-length film, “National Bird,”...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Stacey Lee – “Underplayed”
Stacey Lee’s work focuses on humanity, music, and movement. Her documentary short “Live Fast Draw Yung” premiered at Tribeca in 2015, winning awards in Atlanta and Tacoma. She was...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Tracey Deer – “Beans”
Tracey Deer is a Mohawk filmmaker and the recipient of this year’s TIFF Emerging Talent Award. Deer is the director, co-creator, and co-showrunner of “Mohawk Girls,” for which she has been...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Jennifer Abbott – “The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel”
Jennifer Abbott is a Sundance and Genie award-winning filmmaker who has been making films about social, political, and environmental issues for 25 years. She is best known as one of the directors and...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Emma Seligman – “Shiva Baby”
Emma Seligman is a Canadian filmmaker based in New York. She graduated from NYU’s Undergraduate Film & TV program in May 2017, where she made her first two short films, including her thesis,...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Madeleine Sims-Fewer – “Violation”
Madeleine Sims-Fewer studied film production at York University and completed an MFA in acting at Drama Centre London. She met Dusty Mancinelli at the 2015 TIFF Talent Lab and the pair joined forces...
TIFF 2020 Women Directors: Meet Cathy Brady – “Wildfire”
Cathy Brady is a two-time Irish Film & Television Award-winning director. She was recognized for her short films “Small Change” and “Morning.” In 2011 she directed the...
Venice 2020 Women Directors: Meet Celine Held – “Topside”
Celine Held is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker. She works as a co-writer and director with her partner Logan George. Their work as a team has premiered in competition at SXSW, Sundance Film Festival, and...
Venice 2020 Women Directors: Meet Mona Fastvold – “The World to Come”
Mona Fastvold is a New York and Oslo-based writer-director. In early 2012 Mona received a prestigious development grant from the Norwegian Film Fund followed by production support for her directorial...
Venice 2020 Women Directors: Meet Nicole Garcia – “Lovers”
Nicole Garcia is a French director, screenwriter, and actress. Her credits include “From the Land of the Moon,” “A View of Love,” and “Charlie...
American Black Film Fest 2020 Women Directors: Meet Funmi Holder – “Efunsetan Aniwura”
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Funmi Holder has acted in over 25 movies since she made her debut in the Nigerian film industry. Her big break came in 2010, when she took the role of Amaka Okoh in the...
American Black Film Fest 2020 Women Directors: Meet Alana Barrett-Adkins – “Asunder, One Flesh Divided”
Alana Barrett-Adkins is a director, actor, and producer. She is the CEO/Artistic Director of Rock Alari Studios, which has produced projects including the play “Women of Adonai,” the web...
Rebecca Naomi Jones Talks Hosting Playbill’s “Women in Theatre: A Centennial Celebration”
Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, Playbill is presenting “Women in Theatre: A Centennial Celebration.” Hosted by Drama Desk-nominee Rebecca Naomi Jones and Tony-nominee and Pulitzer Prize-finalist...
American Black Film Fest 2020 Women Directors: Meet Teniola Olatoni Ojigbede – “The New Normal”
Teniola Olatoni Ojigbede is the CEO and Creative Head of Sourmash Stories Production. “The New Normal” will screen at the 2020 American Black Film Festival, which takes place August...
American Black Film Fest 2020 Women Directors: Meet Chyna Robinson – “No Ordinary Love”
Director, writer, and producer Chyna Robinson made her film debut with “Greenwood: 13 Hours,” a short that won 18 awards. “No Ordinary Love” marks her feature debut. In...
American Black Film Fest 2020 Women Directors: Meet Drew V. Marke – “Get Luke Lowe”
Drew V. Marke has written short films which have been selected for international festivals such as Encounters and Sci-Fi London, won a Film London award, and been screened at the David Lean cinema...
American Black Film Fest 2020 Women Directors: Meet Lineo Sekeleoane – “Zulu Wedding”
Lineo Sekeleoane is an award-winning film and television director and producer. She helmed the short film “My Zulu Promise,” and produced the short “Home Sweet Home” for M-Net...
Catherine Hardwicke Discusses “Don’t Look Deeper,” “Twilight,” “Thirteen,” & More with the Girls Club
Catherine Hardwicke hardly needs an introduction — she’s been in our lives for a very long time making some great movies, starting with “Thirteen,” and breaking new ground...
Elyse Steinberg on Why “The Fight” Is the Most Important Film She’s Ever Made
Elyse Steinberg directed “The Fight” with Josh Kriegman and Eli B. Despres, her partners at Edgeline Films. The film offers an up-close look at four recent ACLU (American Civil Liberties...
Mary Mazzio on “A Most Beautiful Thing,” Her Doc About the First African American High School Rowing Team
Mary Mazzio is a documentary filmmaker, former attorney, and Olympic rower. As a filmmaker, Mazzio explores the concept of overcoming obstacles, whether it is a fight for social change (“A Hero...
Karen Maine Talks “Yes, God, Yes,” Her Coming-of-Age Comedy About Female Self-Pleasure
Karen Maine wrote and directed the 2017 short “Yes, God, Yes,” which premiered as a Vimeo Staff Pick and received 2.9 million views. It won Best Short at the St. Louis International Film...
Naomi McDougall Jones Talks Her Book “The Wrong Kind of Women” and Revolutionizing Hollywood
Earlier this year the Girls Club hosted actress, producer, and author Naomi McDougall Jones to discuss her book, “The Wrong Kind of Women: Inside Our Revolution to Dismantle the Gods of...
Leslye Davis & Catrin Einhorn on Exploring the Effects of Military Service in “Father Soldier Son”
Leslye Davis has been a documentarian and photographer at The New York Times since 2012. Her work highlights salient modern conditions, including the American opioid crisis, the proliferation of mass...
Natalie Erika James on Making “Relic,” a Psychological Horror Pic Inspired by Alzheimer’s
Natalie Erika James is a Japanese-Australian writer and director who is based in Melbourne, Australia. James’ 2016 short “Crestwick” premiered at the Melbourne International Film...
Anya Adams Talks TV Directing and Winning an NAACP Award for “GLOW”
Anya Adams is an award-winning director who most recently took home the 2020 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for “GLOW.” She won the prize for helming the...
Ivy Meeropol on Looking Beyond Evil in “Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn”
Ivy Meeropol’s documentary feature debut was “Heir to an Execution,” which premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and was shortlisted for an Academy Award. It was followed by two short...
Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2020 Women Directors: Meet Mira Jargil – “Reunited”
Mira Jargil is known for the award-winning festival hit “The Time We Have,” the feature documentary “Dreaming of a Family,” and the series “Till Death Do Us Part.” The...
Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2020 Women Directors: Meet Erika Cohn – “Belly of the Beast”
Erika Cohn is a Peabody and Emmy Award-winning director and producer. Most recently she completed “The Judge,” a Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated film about the first woman judge...
Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2020 Women Directors: Meet Shalini Kantayya – “Coded Bias”
Shalini Kantayya directed the season finale episode for the National Geographic television series “Breakthrough,” a series profiling trailblazing scientists transforming the future. Her debut...
Remembering Lynn Shelton
We were honored to host Lynn Shelton in an interview with The Girls Club to discuss her films and her recent work on “Little Fires Everywhere.” Sadly, Lynn passed away just two weeks...
Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2020 Women Directors: Meet Christina Antonakos-Wallace – “From Here”
Christina Antonakos-Wallace is a filmmaker and cultural organizer. Her short films and interactive work has been exhibited in over a dozen countries, in contexts from schools to festivals galleries...
Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2020 Women Directors: Meet Juliana Fanjul – “Radio Silence”
Juliana Fanjul received a BA in Visual Communication and attended the documentary department at EICTV (International Cinema and TV School of San Antonio de las Banos). She received a Masters in...
Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2020 Women Directors: Meet Ursula Liang – “Down a Dark Stairwell”
Ursula Liang is a journalist-turned-filmmaker and producer. Her producing credits include “One October,” “Tough Love,” “Wo Ai Ni Mommy,” “Spartan Ultimate...
Hot Docs 2020 Women Directors: Meet Elizabeth D. Costa – “Bangla Surf Girls”
An alumna of the IDFA academy and former participant in the Chicken and Egg Accelerator Lab, Elizabeth D. Costa has over eight years of experience working on media projects as producer, director,...
Hot Docs 2020 Women Directors: Meet Pippa Ehrlich – “My Octopus Teacher”
Pippa Ehrlich is a natural history filmmaker and award-winning environmental journalist, specializing in the field of marine science and conservation. Ehrlich has worked with some of the world’s...
Hot Docs 2020 Women Directors: Meet Laura Gabbert – “Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles”
Laura Gabbert feature documentary credits include” “No Impact Man,” “Sunset Story,” and “City of Gold.” In 2017, she was a director on the Netflix show...
Hot Docs 2020 Women Directors: Meet Chris J. Russo – “Lady Buds”
Chris J. Russo is a director whose work aims to give visibility to women in underrepresented communities in order to portray them in the power and equality they deserve. Her award-winning short films...
Hot Docs 2020 Women Directors: Meet Asia Dér and Sári Haragonics – “Her Mothers”
Asia Dér graduated as a documentary director from the DOC Nomads MA program. Her graduation film was nominated for the best short film at the Hungarian Film Festival. She is working on her second...
Hot Docs 2020 Women Directors: Meet Iryna Tsilyk – “The Earth Is Blue as an Orange”
Iryna Tsilyk is a Ukrainian film director and writer. “The Earth Is Blue as an Orange” marks her debut feature-length documentary film and has won a directing award at Sundance and two...