There has been a lot of reaction and calls to action in the press of late about the lack of and expected overt discrimination of female directors. I’ve sat on it for a minute. I am a female director. And I’ve been ‘in the arts’ since high school- began formally pursuing an artistic career when I was 18 and hit the commercial auditioning streets of NYC with real zest. So I’ve always known that breaking in is hard- for ANY young artist of ANY background or gender. It’s a competitive field! A lot of people want to be on screens and telling stories and be recognized for their contributions. Moving on from acting, I knew that breaking into directing wasn’t an easy road but I went for it. And 5 years later- I am successful.. I used to say fortunate but I stopped that. Fortunate implies that some random wheel spun and you landed on a good thing- I’ve been successful in that I got into good schools, created good work, surround myself with talented collaborators who deepen the work, pushed myself harder and kept hustling. Keep on hustling. I have my moments where I keep expecting the knock on the door with the BIG PAYING JOB or the WOW WE JUST NOTICED HOW AWESOME YOU ARE call to come in. But the truth is after a few hours or days of this entitled expectancy I get over myself and settle in and do the work. The real grit (as was told to me by my AFI teacher and friend producer Brian Udovich). So I’ve done just that- made a successful short and then three solid features- the second one having just released theatrically and the newest about to premiere at LAFF. So this is where my story catches up to the news…
I never like to dwell on the negative. But I will say that what people are finally calling attention to, is out there. For me I liken it to a big fancy wedding at like The Plaza where there are rooms of buffet tables and the one where the really fancy lobster tails are- there’s a nice looking waiter at the door who just as I am about to enter- politely puts his hand on my arm and suggests that ‘there likely isn’t anything for me inside’ Encourages me ‘down the hall to the left where the fruit salad tower is’. It’s kind and informed and ‘for my own good’. And man I am HUNGRY. But I’m a polite girl so I head down to the fruit salads. But there are a lot of people with lobster tails on their plates. I’ve begun to pursue larger jobs more aggressively now- feeling ready with three full features under my belt and a good reputation- and I keep being redirected: to smaller films- smaller tables- smaller goals. And while I may not have an Avengers movie in me just yet I do have action and suspense and heartfelt characters and female driven fare and male driven fare and I know I can direct an actor be they male or female. And run a set and get what I want and not make people nervous. A lot of us can.
Some say a female directed story isn’t viably commercial. Have you seen Pitch Perfect 2? I have a son and daughter and I don’t look at one and say you are like this and the other and say you are like that- certainly not based on their GENDER. They are individuals with different tastes and likes and dislikes and desires and needs. Molly likes basketball. Jack likes to wear sunglasses. Who knows what their taste in movies will be. And I certainly won’t let the filmmakers gender dictate which thing they will like.
So while overt discrimination may still be determining its case..I lend my voice to the newfound awareness by saying- ‘Hey- I’ll take a lobster tail please.’
Voices are voices. We should all get the chance to be heard.
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