The job of movie director has historically been dominated by males. Until recently, women have not been considered for the awards given for Best Director at the Oscars. While a small number have received nominations, the majority have not received recognition for their work. Part of the reason is that there have not been as many women stepping forward until the last few years. Today, there are more women filling the position than in the history of the business. Their representation in Hollywood is still low, but there is some forward movement. The truth is that women directors are beginning to make a noticeable mark with some excellent films coming out.
Here are the five top female directors who are at work right now.
Dee Rees
Dee Rees directed “Mudbound,” (2015) a film about two farming families in the 1940s. One family is black and the other, white in the story that shows the struggles of Americans of the time. The movie is an adaptation of the novel by Hillary Jordan. While there are people who focus on the things that make people different, this film concentrates on the things we have in common, in particular, the human struggle. The language expresses the vernacular of the period and the geography. She is also known for directing “Pariah” (2011).
Niki Caro
Niki Caro directed “The Zookeeper’s Wife” (2017). Jessica Chastain will star in the film that takes place at the time of the Nazi invasion. Jan and Antonina Zabinski are instrumental in saving the lives of scores of animals and humans in Warsaw. The actress was so enthralled with the fact that there were so many women on the set. She shared that it was an enjoyable experience. Niki has directed 11 other films and is in the pre-production stage for “Callas” and “Mulan.”
Patty Jenkins
Patty Jenkins directed the 2017 film “Wonder Woman.” She has also directed the television movie “Exposed” in 2015″Five” in 2011, “Monster” in 2003 and the two shorts “Velocity Rules” and “Just Drive” both in 2001. She has a good lineup of television series to her credit as director as well. These include “Betrayal,” “The Killing,” “Entourage” and “Arrested Development.”
Kathryn Bigalow
Kathryn is an actress, writer, producer, painter and director. She made her directing debut in 1978 with the short “The Set Up” followed by “The Loveless” in 1981. Her most recent works include “The Protectors” in 2017 and “Detroit” which is in post-production. Bigalow has earned 55 nominations for prestigious awards and 82 wins for which include an Oscar Award for Best Motion Picture of the Year for “The Hurt Locker” in 2008, and an Award for Best Achievement in Directing for the same film. She is the first female to win the Best Director Academy Award.
Reed Morano
Actress, writer and producer Reed Morano began directing in 2015 with “Meadowland.” She continued in this capacity with 1 episode of the “Halt and Catch Fire” television series in 2016, an episode of “Billions” in 2017 and three episodes of “The Handmaid’s Tale (2017). Her most recent work as director is the film “I Think We’re Alone Now” in the post production stage, slated for a 2018 release date. Reed started out with a few directing gigs to get a feel for it and at this point, her talents have matured and she is active in directing films.
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