March 29, 2024

Girl Power

July 15, 2016

THIS YEAR'S WOMEN DIRECTORS

It’s interesting that in this day and age, there’s even a need to pen an article specifically about women working in the film industry. But it’s also a reality that the majority of directors in Hollywood are still, in fact, men. A 2015 study by San Diego State University found that, for the top-grossing 250 films, women make up just 9 percent of directors and 11 percent of writers.

The 2016 Traverse City Film Festival is addressing this imbalance by putting a spotlight on female directors via one of this year’s panels, “Who Let the Women In?” (Friday, July 29 at 9:30am, City Opera House), a summit of women filmmakers that the fest predicts might just “start a revolution.” The TCFF also will screen many films helmed by women, including One Smart Fellow, a new movie produced and co-written by Michigan resident Melissa Gilbert (formerly of Little House on the Prairie) and another, Sister Cities, starring actress Amy Smart, who owns Traverse City’s Bonobo Winery with husband and HGTV host Carter Oosterhouse and his brother, Todd Oosterhouse.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the female directors to watch this year.

THEA SHARROCK

Casting the unlikely combo of Hunger Games’ Finnick (actor Sam Claflin) and Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen (actress Emilia Clarke) opposite each other as leads in this year’s romantic film Me Before You (June 2016) was only one of Sharrock’s smart moves. She got her start directing London theater productions, becoming one of the city’s preeminent stage directors (working with the likes of John Hurt and Benedict Cumberbatch), and then honed her film skills by directing the popular BBC TV series Call the Midwife.

Quote: “I think it’s the shared experience that is so wonderful about seeing a movie in a theater, rather than watching it on your iPad on a bus or on your way to work.”

Films of Note: Me Before You is actually Sharrock’s first big-screen success; her other acclaimed project was a dramatic episode of the BBC Shakespeare TV series The Hollow Crown (with actor Tom Hiddleston).

SHARON MAGUIRE

Maguire’s very first film as director was one that still resonates with many women today: the smash hit Bridget Jones’s Diary, based off of the wildly popular book by Helen Fieldling, one of Maguire’s pals. She’s directing the series’ third installment, Bridget Jones’s Baby (arriving September 2016) and has become well-known for her confidence and focus, and ability to remaining undaunted in her directing and casting choices — whether she’s dealing with a heavyweight movie exec or a fussy actor.

Quote: “With your first film, you can’t be the auteur you want to be. You have to make it your own as much as you can, but (the movie studios) are investing in me, so I listen to them. They have fabulous commercial instincts.”

Films of Note: In addition to the Bridget Jones series, she directed Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams in the drama Incendiary, and has helmed a big-screen documentary about wildly influential ’80s rock band R.E.M. (This Film is On.)

JENNIFER YUH NELSON

Nelson’s claim to film fame may at first seem a little unusual, as the bulk of her most successful work is via animated features. But note that with a worldwide box office of over $600 million, Nelson’s Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) is the highest-grossing movie directed solely by a woman. Nelson went on from this to direct Kung Fu Panda 3 (January 2016) with co-director Allessandro Carloni. Her animation and visual effects backgrounds have equipped her with a perfectly honed eye for color and detail.

Quote: “There’s always a danger with movie-making. Everything’s possible, then you go to the practicality of it, then there’s that middle part when you don’t have results yet, you just have a lot of questions.”

Films of Note: As director, the second and third films in the Kung Fu Panda series and the Spawn TV series; Nelson also worked as animation story artist for the big-screen feature Madagascar.

AMMA ASANTE

In her youth, English director Asante was an actress, but she began scriptwriting in her 20s for the U.K.’s Channel 4 and the BBC. Her first film, A Way of Life (2004), won numerous awards for its suspenseful slice-of-life view; this year, she’s the director behind the much-anticipated A United Kingdom (October 2016), featuring Rosamund Pike and Tom Felton. The film tells the story of Prince Seretse Khama of Botswana’s marriage to a white woman from London in the late 1940s.

Quote: “We all know that if you give the same script to two different directors, you get two different movies. The fact that there’s not the greatest chance for women to tell stories through a lens only damages society. It does nothing for people to restrict the variety in which stories can be told.”

Films of Note: Belle, the portrait of the mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral, which features Emily Watson, Matthew Goode, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, is the most popular film to date on Asante’s resume; she still acts, primarily in TV series, and also has written several screenplays.

NIKI CARO

Caro has been slowly but surely directing films since 1994, building up to her directorial achievement this year, The Zookeeper’s Wife (late 2016), a heavyweight story about the The Warsaw Zoo’s husband-and-wife zookeeper team who helped save hundreds of people and animals during the Nazi invasion. Caro is next directing Callas, a biopic about opera star Maria Callas, starring The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’s Noomi Rapace.

Quote: “I have to be inspired by the story. It’s as simple as that. I’m not useful for a lot of Hollywood movies. My agent despairs — she says there’s only about three percent of actual product in this industry that I’m useful for.”

Films of Note: Last year’s Disney sports movie McFarland USA, featuring Kevin Costner; 2005’s acclaimed North Country, featuring Charlize Theron; and the now-legendary family epic Whale Rider, for which Caro also wrote the screenplay.

Trending

Mysterious Michigan Reads

We can’t think of a better way to spend spring break than with a great book. Northern Express asked local bookseller... Read More >>

Heirloom Recipes With Heritage, History, and Nostalgia

Before we begin to stash our coats and put winter behind us, let us remember what years past have taught us…fake sp... Read More >>

A Floral Family Affair

In the quaint downtown of Elk Rapids sits Golden Hill Farms, a shop where the artistry of floristry meets the rustic charm... Read More >>

A Look at Originalism

O Tempora O Mores! Oh the times, oh the culture. This Latin phrase relates to both the 18th century and our current times.... Read More >>