Female Directors

I've told a couple people in the class I would post an article about female directors (and why there only about three of them) so here it is:

http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/movies/feature/2002/08/27/women_directors/index.html?pn=1

In both mainstream and independent films, female directors are a rare and diminishing species. This article interviews various female directors, asking why this is going on. It seems to be a combination of Hollywood money (old dudes don't like financing young women) and film schools attempting to mimic Hollywood's standards:

"In the hallways of San Diego State, says Professor Lauzen, "I have heard male professors say to female students, 'Don't even think about directing or being a cinematographer. Get into producing.'"

Even after fighting through film school, womens' ideas often clash with the ideas of their financial backers:

"Famed screenwriter and director Nora Ephron, whose movies include "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail," adds, "I always think every movie should begin with a logo that says, for example, 'Warner Bros. did everything in its power to keep from making this movie.'"

To me, the most interesting (and sad) aspect of this situation is the self-selection that occurs before any tangible barriers get in a female director's way. Few female directors make it in Hollywood, but there are far fewer women than men out there trying.