Money Monster, Jodie Foster’s fourth directorial effort, received a standing ovation at Cannes and earned $15 million during its opening U.S weekend, an 180 degree difference from her last film, The Beaver, which opened amidst a storm of controversy surrounding lead actor Mel Gibson’s bigotry. But no matter the media frenzy, Foster navigates it all … Continue reading Jodie Foster & Money Monster
It wasn’t until Tina Mabry saw Kimberly Peirce’s Boys Don’t Cry and Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love & Basketball that she decided she had to pursue a career in film. Mabry was born in Tupelo, Mississippi and attended the University of Mississippi for college. After completing her bachelor’s, she moved to Los Angeles and received her MFA … Continue reading 52 Weeks of Directors: Tina Mabry
Amy Heckerling grew up in the Bronx and then Queens and attended the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan. She wanted to be a writer and artist for MAD Magazine but changed her career goal when she saw what the boy next to her had written for his goal. He wanted to be … Continue reading 52 Weeks of Directors: Amy Heckerling
Niki Caro would not consider herself a “crusading feminist filmmaker” but her films often feature female protagonists. Caro is a New Zealand-born writer and director. She was born in Wellington, New Zealand and earned a BFA from the Elam School of Fine Arts at the University of Auckland. Originally, she was interested in art, specifically, … Continue reading 52 Weeks of Directors: Niki Caro
Friends with Kids was Jennifer Westfeldt’s directorial debut, but she has fought for the films she’s written as much as any director would. Westfeldt grew up in Connecticut to a Jewish therapist mother and an electrical engineer father. She attended Yale, where she was part of an a cappella group, Redhot and Blue. She started … Continue reading 52 Weeks of Directors: Jennifer Westfeldt
Although Academy Award predictions are now favoring The Revenant to win Best Picture, two films based on real events, The Big Short and Spotlight, received numerous accolades and critical acclaim in 2016’s awards race. While real event based and true story films are common throughout film history, there has been a spate of these films … Continue reading ‘Based on Real Events’: Five Movies That Should Get Made
Samira Makhmalbaf may have followed in her father’s footsteps when she decided to become a filmmaker, but her work has made a name for herself. Makhmalbaf is considered to be one of the most influential directors as part of the second wave of Iranian New Wave cinema. Iranian film was originally reflective of popular cinema … Continue reading 52 Weeks of Directors: Samira Makhmalbaf
Scotland wouldn’t be the first place that comes to mind when you think about good filmmakers, but Lynne Ramsay proves it to be true. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1969, Ramsay studied photography at Napier College in Edinburgh before attending UK’s National Film and Television School where she specialized in cinematography and direction. Ramsay said … Continue reading 52 Weeks of Directors: Lynne Ramsay
Lucretia Martel grew up in Salta, a northeastern province of Argentina, where her films are now often set. As a child, she planned to become a physicist. “But I started to have doubts about this career path and I enrolled in a series of programs for various careers: zoology, advertising, and art history—all in different … Continue reading 52 Weeks of Directors: Lucretia Martel
2009 did not get off to a good start for Amma Asante. Within a couple of weeks, three projects she was commissioned to write and direct collapsed. A couple were Hollywood studio projects and the third was a British indie, a labor of love for Asante. In an article penned for The Independent, she said … Continue reading 52 Weeks of Directors: Amma Asante
Lauren C. Byrd 