Linda Saffire has worked on numerous award-winning film and television productions. Among her feature documentary and film credits are “A Conversation with Gregory Peck,” a collaboration with Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck; “My Generation,” a non-fiction feature film that examines the Woodstock legacy; and “Married In America,”a multi-year, multi-program documentary by British director Michael Apted following the lives of nine couples across the country, all married in the year 2001. Recently she produced and co-directed “Sporting Dreams,” a documentary film for Al Jazeera America examining youth sports in America.

“Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan” will premiere at the 2016 New York Film Festival on October 9. The film is co-directed by Adam Schlesinger.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

LS/AS: It’s the story of an extraordinary artist who is coming to an end of a brilliant career in classical ballet and rediscovering herself in a way she never imagined.

The film is about an end and a beginning — a coming-of-age story in and on a different stage.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

LS/AS: Wendy Whelan is one of the greatest ballet dancers of our time. When you see her dance, you also witness her passion, drive, beauty, strength. We were drawn to her story because this was a unique opportunity to capture a crucial time in her career when she was struggling to let go of the ballet world as well as transition into a new world she really didn’t know very well.

We didn’t quite know what to expect and it made for a potentially exciting story arc.

W&H: What do you want people to think about when they are leaving the theater?

LS/AS: We want people to relate to Wendy as a woman and as an artist. She’s an inspiration. This is a universal story that almost everyone experiences — we all age one way or another. For some, turning 47 means coming to the most rewarding time in a career where experience and wisdom overshadows age. For Wendy, turning 47 was beyond being aged out of normal ballet world, so she had to overcome enormous obstacles to not only continue as a dancer but to reinvent herself as an independent artist. That is incredibly inspirational.

We feel that everyone in the audience will walk away being both sympathetic to her humanity and riveted by her strength and grace.

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

LS/AS: This film needed time to tell the story properly, time in the shooting schedule and time in the editing schedule. The story had to evolve and have its natural flow.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

LS/AS: This is an independent film. We were fortunate to have an investor who was just as passionate about Wendy Whelan and her story as we were.

W&H: What does it mean for you to have your film play at NYFF?

LS/AS: We both live and work in New York City. Our executive producer, Diana DiMenna, our cinematographer, Don Lenzer, and our editor, Bob Eisenhardtm, are also from New York. And then there’s Wendy Whelan, whose home has been at Lincoln Center since she was 15 years old.

To have this film premiere at NYFF is a dream come true for all of us.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

LS/AS: Best advice: When in between jobs or projects always try to stay in the game — take any job offered on a production.

Worst advice: A film has to be made specific way, shot a specific way, and edited a specific way.

W&H: What advice do you have for other female directors?

LS/AS: Embrace the creative anxiety that occurs when making a film and use it to push yourself to do better work. Avoid falling into a formula on how to make a film. Surround yourself with smart and talented people. In the documentary world, a great film is a team effort.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

LS/AS: Mira Nair is my favorite female director. She has a magical touch that’s hard to describe. I always feel her presence come through in all of her films — it feels like she’s telling us her story.

W&H: Have you seen opportunities for women filmmakers increase over the last year due to the increased attention paid to the issue?

LS/AS: Of course. Though we are still not 100 percent there and we have room to improve, we have also made great strides in terms of films by and about women.

W&H: If someone asked you what you thought needed to be done to get women more opportunities to direct, what would be your answer?

LS/AS: Thirty years ago we saw in all positions of a production that women had to work twice as hard to prove they were just as qualified as a man. Today we still work very hard to prove that we can excel on par with men, but we also see more attention paid to women and their issues as well as male producers being much more open to work with women directors.

I think it’s a matter of telling more stories about women, [and hiring a] woman director or co-director would [make sense because she would] be a more natural partner in telling the story.