30 female directors to follow
Equal representation onscreen and offscreen has been a hot topic in Hollywood for a while. While numbers are gradually growing, it's up to everyone to make that change. Do you need some help, Hollywood? Here's a list of 30 women directors who are ready to break the glass ceiling with their magnificent work. Get ready- you'll be hearing about them more and more often.
Madeline Rozwat
Madeline is a Los Angeles based writer-director who uses the power of film to capture rich, distinctive worlds from novel and unexpected perspectives. Hailing from San Francisco, California, Madeline double-majored in Psychology and Communication at Northwestern University, then went on to earn her MFA from USC's School of Cinematic Arts. She enjoys telling female-driven stories that inspire conversations about social change and encourage viewers to reflect on taken-for-granted norms. Madeline channels her education, travels, and experience as a Division I student-athlete into stories that highlight the internal tensions and complex relationships of her characters. She has written over a dozen shorts (including the acclaimed Letters From Alcatraz), as well as the feature length screenplay, Police Story. Whenever she sits down to write, she thinks about what voices might lend unique perspectives that the audience might not otherwise have considered. It is Madeline’s hope that by bringing subordinated viewpoints to life and exploring the richness and complexities of their worlds, the audience might walk away thinking a little differently about their own world.
"Letters From Alcatraz" won 6 (!) awards at Festigious in June 2017, including Best Picture and Best Director. The lead judge, Nigel Barber, stated: "This is a well rounded, concise multi layered film that delivers much in a short time frame. It has good pace and the performances are solid. Its heartfelt story is underpinned by a well developed script and gives the viewer a clear context for the characters and their back stories. Beautifully filmed and well edited. Also, the Best Actress award goes to Kate Emerick, the young actress playing Belle, for an outstanding performance.”
"As long as you keep moving forward, your talent and resilience will win out" - Read this interview with Madeline Rozwat
Follow Madeline:
https://www.instagram.com/madelinerozwat/
https://www.madelinerozwatfilms.com/
Yiqing Catharine Lin
Catharine Lin is an award winning director currently based in LA. She holds a Masters in Linguistics, and has studied filmmaking at New York Film Academy. Originally from China as a producer, she has already worked on many international projects such as multi-awarded drama series "Empress Ki" with Korean MBC television and opening film of 20th Shanghai International Film Festival “The Chinese Widow” directed by Palme d’Or twice winner Bille August. She has written and directed short films like "Twenty Years After”, "A Midnight Visitor” and “Mr Heart”, and is currently focusing on her feature projects.
"Twenty Years After" won 5 awards at Festigious, including Best Picture and Best Director (December 2017). The lead judge, Lisa Roumain, stated: "It was simply, a perfectly executed short film. It said everything it needed to in the smallest of ways. A masterful team effort... Ms. Lin is a poetic storyteller, creating such a beautiful, deeply moving piece. She was able to tell a lifetime of a story in 10 minutes, showing how deeply humans strive for connection and relevance. She assembled an incredibly talented cast and crew, with wonderful work by Cinematographer Dhruv Lapsia, and Music Composer Alexander Rudd.”
Follow Catharine:
https://vimeo.com/catharinelin
Delphine Montaigne
Born in Lyons. Trained in drama arts in Nice and Paris, France. Delphine Montaigne has been a comedian since age 13. Commercials, documentaries, she has spoken a thousand voices and has incarnated just as many characters. She enjoys the subtle reassurance and tranquility of backstage and dubbing studios. She switches universes, from stages, to sets, to mikes, and has always done so. She never stopped working, in other words, never stopped playing. Encounters and opportunities have progressively drawn new projects. One of which was all about exploring human beings’ relationships dynamics. An obvious focus for an artist. Her growing interest for strange and fascinating reactions of her peers led to another venture in her life. In 2016 directing movies just happened, or so it seemed. Since then the actress directed two films and is now writing two more.
Delphine's directorial debut "DNA of Wild Beasts" won an Honorable Mention: First Time Director at Festigious (March 2018), and Best Indie Film of the Year at Top Shorts 2018. Top Shorts' juror Oliver Yan, stated: "This great short film exudes an independent spiritual film, and at the same time, it has a poetic beauty." The festival founder, Roy Zafrani, added: "DNA of Wild Beasts is an inspiring film with natural and powerful performances by writer-director-lead actress Delphine Montaigne (as detective Lea) and Tanya Mattouk (as Sophie). DNA of Wild Beasts is intriguing, mysterious and thrilling. Beautiful work!”
Follow Delphine:
https://www.facebook.com/adndegrandsfauves
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6767758/
Pari Antoniou
Pari Antoniou was born in 1982 in Greece. She studies at the Hellenic Cinema & Television School Stavrakos between 2013-2016; Compositing & VFX at Yafka School (2016-2017); and at Focus School of art Photography Video and New Technologies in 2011. In 2017 she completed her graduation film "Vous".
"Vous" is a story is about the hopes and dreams of a girl who is about to pass away, slowly dying just like her country around her ,the beautiful moments are the ones that stay with her until the end. The film is currently attending the festival circuit and has already won 10 international awards including Best Experimental Film at Festigious. It was also nominated for Best Picture award, selected as one of the 10 highest rated films by the Festigious' jury in May 2018..
Follow Pari:
https://www.facebook.com/%CE%92%CE%9F%CE%A5%CE%A3-VOUS-293335941147442/
https://vimeo.com/user62819472
Molly Bookner
Molly is a recent graduate of Tulane University with degrees in English and Digital Media Production. Hailing from New York, she spent many of her earlier years studying acting and auditioning for seemingly everything under the sun. As time passed though, her passions and dreams shifted from being in front of the camera to being behind it, so-to-speak. It wasn't long before she became fascinated by film development and had plans to become a professional screenwriter. Storytelling is at the core of her identity, and after spending the past year writing, directing, and editing her own short film, Molly feels inspired to move to California and make some waves in the entertainment world. Besides writing and filmmaking, Molly loves photography, travelling, and hanging out in adorable coffee shops.
Molly's film, "Endurance", is a powerful dramatic short that centers around two college students; Jenna, a once-championed cyclist now confined to a wheelchair, and Max, a closeted lacrosse player outed by his teammates and bullied relentlessly for being gay. Initially, Max and Jenna endure their struggles alone, but as Max falls further and further into the abyss of depression, Jenna comes along just in time to change his life, and subsequently, her own. "Endurance" won Best Student Film at Festigious (June 2018).
Follow Molly:
https://www.facebook.com/Endurance.Molly.Bookner/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9960272/
Dina Naji
Dina Naji was born and raised in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. She got her bachelor degree in Journalism in King Abdul Aziz University, then moved to Los Angeles, where she got her master degree in Filmmaking. Dina has written, directed, and edited many different short films in Los Angeles. She is experienced in working as a Production Designer on short films and commercials, and has excellent visual awareness and design skills.
Dina's film, "Hind's Case", follows Hind (20), who at a young age, witnessed her father kill her mother and then went on to suffer years of abuse at the hands of her father. When Hind escapes from her abusive home, she gets sent to live in a housing shelter. While there, Hind makes the first friends she’s ever had and enjoys the freedom away from her father. However, when the manager of the housing shelter informs Hind that her father has requested to take her home, Hind decides to take matters into her own hands and get sent to the solitary confinement room in order to join her mother in heaven as she can’t stand the thought of living with her father again.