A new documentary has assembled some of the most prominent women directors, and they’re speaking out about why there are so few of them. There’s plenty of female filmmakers out there, but as a new trailer for Amy Adrion’s “Half the Picture” explains, the directors on most people’s radar — including those who are doing the hiring — are “overwhelmingly white and overwhelming male.”

“A Wrinkle in Time” helmer Ava DuVernay recalls being told “no, we’re not going to accept you in the festival and no, we’re not going to give you money,” and others speak out about the “heartbreaking” experience of going into “meetings and meetings” and coming up short. “It’s just me. I’m not good enough. Just gotta work harder and be more brilliant,” “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke remembers thinking. Karyn Kusama, whose credits include “The Invitation” and “Girlfight,” adds that some work environments can make women feel like “our very femaleness is a disability.”

The doc emphasizes that the dearth of opportunities for women directors is a civil rights issue, and one that impacts global audience. The film industry shapes culture, and “Hollywood has the ability to deliver dreams to girls and boys around the world of what they can be and what this world can be like. That is the power of story,” says Dr. Stacy Smith, Founder and Director of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.

“Half the Picture” made its world premiere at Sundance in January

“I want people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations to leave [the theater] with an even greater passion to tell their own stories,” Adrion told us. “I want them to get fired up by watching the incredible work made by the women in the film, who have all encountered discrimination, roadblocks, and rejections, yet found a way to power through and not just persevere, but make great cinema.”

“Half the Picture” is Adrion’s feature debut. The film opens June 8 in NY and June 29 in LA. You can catch it on VOD beginning July 24.