Female Horror Directors
Who said that women and horror don't match?
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- Producer
- Director
- Actress
Kristen Anderson-Sauve is an actor, writer, and director based in Calgary, Canada. She wrote, directed and starred in twelve short films that played in thirty-three festivals around the world including Calgary International, Calgary Underground, Edmonton International. In addition her films have won nine awards including Best Actor, Best Editor, and Best Film.
She trains with the advanced acting for film program at the Company of Rogues Actor's Studio.
She finished writing her latest feature screenplay, Last Call, in 2023 and has been scouted by Spec Scout after receiving a score of 73.2. It's now listed on Spec Scout and Slated databases.
She has a new short film called "Brush Your Hair" in development in 2023.- Undetected (short, 2012)
- Unbuckled (short, 2013)
- Director
- Actress
- Producer
Karen Arthur was born on 24 August 1941 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. She is a director and actress, known for Legacy (1975), Get Smart (1965) and Cagney & Lacey (1981).- The Mafu Cage (1978)
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Tara-Nicole is a disabled American actress who graduated High School, with honors, at the age of 14. At 15, she had already won 5 Telly Awards for her writing and directing.
At 16 she had written and directed 6 short films, 2 web shows and her work had shown at over 140 film festivals both Nationally and Internationally. By age 18, her director/producer credits included 7 short films and 2 web series.
Tara's films have shown at the iconic Egyptian Theater and the TCL Chinese Theater, in Hollywood, on cable television, in schools and in several different countries.
You may know Tara as "Tara Cosplay" quirky co-host of the shows #Nerdtabulous and #Adorkable,but Tara-Nicole began acting, when she was just a little girl.When Tara was just 4 years old, she had small part in a feature film. As a child actress, Tara was best known for her amazingly quick memory and her ability to cry on cue.She has appeared in films, commercials, videos and TV projects.
When she was 17, mystery health issues that had followed her all her life, became very present. After extensive testing, Tara was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Hashimoto's, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, ADHD, Autism, Scoliosis, Fibromyalgia and additional conditions.
She is an ambulatory wheelchair user, which means sometimes she needs a wheelchair or cane and sometimes she doesn't- depending on the severity of any one of her conditions that day. It's what's known as a "dynamic disability." A dynamic disability changes in severity from day to day, moment to moment, hour to hour. Because of the challenges Tara has experienced as a disabled person and artist, she has become an outspoken advocate of disability rights.
As a member of a writing family, Tara-Nicole began writing children's books at a young age. She has 3 times won the prestigious Young Author's contest. When just 11 years old, she branched out & wrote a screenplay entitled, "My Name Is...Anna", which is the film that started her career as an independent filmmaker and it has also been used by eating disorder treatment centers, which was Tara's goal when making the film.
At the age of 14, she signed her first distribution deal for one of her films, "Sybling Rivalry" which is a dark, horror comedy.
Tara-Nicole is also a former All-Star cheerleader and a life long Girl Scout. She is the recipient of the meritorious Silver Award in Girl Scouting, The Corlin National Community Service Award and National Community Service awards from NAM & ACP.
In addition to acting & cosplaying, Tara is also an artist and created the brand, "Magickal Stuff."
In her spare time, Tara-Nicole loves amusement parks and is crazy about Japanese Anime.- Sybling Rivalry (short, 2011)
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Amy Lynn Best is a trained dancer and actress who started in the business by co-producing the independent feature horror film, The Resurrection Game, and co-stars as the pop psychologist turned zombie exterminator, Sister Mary Bliss. Like many independent film producers, Amy learned the film business from the ground up. On the short haunted house film Tenants, for instance, Amy studied cinematographer from that film's director of photography, Bill Fuller. Out of necessity, she learned the basics of grip work, camera operation, and the fine art of line producing. In addition to acting in and producing The Resurrection Game, Amy served the film as art director, additional photographer and craft services. On one shooting date in particular, she fed the cast and crew two specially-made lasagnas, then denied herself her nourishment due to the fact that she still had to go before the camera in a skin-tight leather-and-spandex costume. Born in Topeka, Kansas but raised as a Pittsburgh native, Amy studied acting and dancing since she was three years old. She has acted or worked on many films and made her feature directorial debut on Happy Cloud Pictures' Severe Injuries. Amy's most notable cameo is in Paul Scrabo's Dr. Horror's Erotic House of Idiots, a funny parody of the b-movie industry starring Debbie Rochon. An outspoken advocate for women in the horror industry, Amy co-created the Women in Horror Website Pretty-Scary.net- Severe Injuries (2003)
- Blood Bath: Blood Wrestling Volume I (2007)
- Splatter Movie: The Director's Cut (2008)
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Angela Bettis is an American film and stage actress, film producer, and director best known for her lead roles in the 2002 TV adaptation of the Stephen King novel Carrie, the title character in May (2002), and in Girl, Interrupted.
In addition to her work in film, Bettis also starred in two Broadway productions: The Father in 1996 with Frank Langella, and as Abigail Williams in a 2002 revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible alongside Liam Neeson and Laura Linney.
Her debut role was a lead in the romantic tragedy, Sparrow, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, at the age of 18. She later went on to star in a film called The Last Best Sunday, before supporting Winona Ryder in Girl, Interrupted and Kim Basinger in Bless the Child.
In 2002, she starred as Abigail Williams in a production of The Crucible on Broadway alongside Laura Linney and Liam Neeson. Bettis is most famous for her work in independent horror films, and especially her working relationship with writer/director Lucky McKee. Her title role in McKee's 2002 film May won her something of a cult following. Since then, she has appeared in McKee's Masters of Horror episode, "Sick Girl", and provided a voice-over for his film The Woods. In 2006, their May roles reversed, when McKee acted for Bettis in her directorial debut, Roman, based on a McKee script. In 2011, she played a major role in McKee's adaptation of Jack Ketchum's The Woman.
Bettis starred as Carrie White in Carrie, a made-for-TV remake of Brian De Palma's 1976 classic, and headlined Tobe Hooper's Toolbox Murders, an in-name-only remake of an obscure 1970s horror film. She also starred in the crime thriller Scar.[2] She had a guest role on the TV show Dexter's fifth season as Emily Birch, the first victim of Jordan Chase.- The ABCs of Death (2012)
- Director
- Producer
- Actress
A very talented painter, Kathryn spent two years at the San Francisco Art Institute. At 20, she won a scholarship to the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program. She was given a studio in a former Offtrack Betting building, literally in an old bank vault, where she made art and waited to be critiqued by people like Richard Serra, Robert Rauschenberg and Susan Sontag. Later she earned a scholarship to study film at Columbia University School of Arts, graduating in 1979. She was also a member of the British avant garde cultural group, Art and Language. Kathryn is the only child of the manager of a paint factory and a librarian.- Near Dark (1987)
- Director
- Producer
Antonia Bird was born on 27 May 1951 in London, England, UK. She was a director and producer, known for Priest (1994), Face (1997) and Ravenous (1999). She was married to Ian Ilett. She died on 24 October 2013 in London, England, UK.- Ravenous (1999)
- Actress
- Stunts
- Producer
The desire to perform began early for Melantha, by the age of six, she was studying classical ballet and continued to do so until her early teens. She loved the thrill of performing on stage and decided to enroll in her secondary school's dramatic arts program. These early performances cemented her passion for acting.
In 1999, Melantha created the web character Countess Bathoria who symbolized her love of the horror genre. Almost overnight the character and the website gained legions of fans. It wasn't long before Melantha found herself playing a vampire in an independent film.
Blackthorne has screamed, bit and clawed her way onto the big screen and her indie film success has led her to appear in Hollywood blockbusters. She has since studied her craft and thrives in a wide variety of film genres. In addition to appearing in front of the camera, she has also honed her skills behind it, as producer, director and editor of three feature films.- Sinners and Saints (2004)
- Countess Bathoria's Graveyard Picture Show (2007)
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Lizzy Borden was born on 20 December 1976 in Huntington Beach, California, USA. She is an actress and director. She was previously married to Robert Black.- Cannibalism (2002)
- Forced Entry (2002)
- Editor
- Producer
- Director
Lori Bowen was born in North Canton, Ohio, and moved to Sarasota, Florida, ten years later. Although she showed a proclivity for writing and performing at an early age, she didn't consider a career in the arts until, when in sixth grade, she became the editor for Brookside Middle School's weekly ten minute show called "Campus Views."
Her love for the horror genre started when she saw the movie Cujo at the tender age of six and her mother had to explain to her terrified daughter the magic of special effects. From that not-so-gentle stepping stone, Lori moved on to Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street, George A. Romero's Dead Cycle, and Lucio Fulci's Gates of Hell (at the age of 10!)
When she was 12, Lori wrote her first feature-length screenplay called A Nightmare on Elm Street 7: The Last Dance. While this was never a screenplay that would be produced, it instilled in her one simple idea: she could do it, too. Around that time, Lori was bitten by the acting bug and when it came time to go to high school, she auditioned for, and got into, both the Theatre and Radio/Television/Film programmes at the Booker High School of the Visual and Performing Arts. Lori chose Radio/Television/ Film as it offered an education in every part of the creative process, including acting. During this time, her love of the horror genre was discouraged and the message was clear: no self-respecting filmmaker, especially a woman, wants to be in the redheaded stepchild genre of the Industry.
Luckily, in her tenure with the Radio/Television/Film department, she learned she wasn't a very good actress, which was a relief; she enjoyed writing and directing far more than being in front of the camera. She also learned some very hard lessons within the school's microcosm Industry, but instead of breaking her, they made her more determined to make it and to go as far as she can on her terms.
Unlike most directors, Lori hasn't graduated from film school or college. She had one semester of film education at Manatee Community College in Florida under the direction of Del Jacobs. That one semester taught Lori more about filmmaking than four years at Booker, but her real education comes from hands-on experience and observation of her favourite films. Eventually, Lori realized that she only felt truly comfortable writing and directing horror films and her first post-school short, "Without/Within," won the Director's Choice Award at the ShockerFest International Film Festival in 2008.
In 2010, when Anathema was rejected from the mainstream Sarasota festival, Lori fell in with a group of filmmakers also rejected from that festival who called themselves the Fringe and their outlet was the Sarasota Fringe Film Festival. She was hired to edit together two flagship documentaries: the first one was about a traveling circus and charitable organization called Circus Sarasota and the other was about one of Sarasota's founders, a woman named Bertha Palmer. For her efforts, Lori was awarded two Colson awards, one for her editing work on Circus Sarasota and the other as a group award for the extremely well-received A Conversation with Bertha Palmer.
A Hammer Fell in Jerusalem: Anathema is, itself, an award-winning film, having been given a medal in the Best Sci-Fi Short category at the Indie Gathering in Cleveland, Ohio. It's also played at the Central Florida Film Festival in Ocoee, Florida, the Vampire Film Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana in a Gothic Shorts programme, the Female Shorts Film Festival in Alexandria, Virginia, and in the Sarasota Fringe Film Festival. She also has a music video she made for her brother's new band, World Collision, played in the Summer 2010 program at New Filmmakers in New York and was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Alternative Rock at the World Music and Independent Film Festival.- Without/Within (short, 2008)
- Aftershock (short, 2008)
- JustUs (short, 2011)
- A Hammer Fell in Jerusalem: And Be at Rest. (short, 2011)
- Stella Buio (short, 2012)
- I Am Monster (short, 2013)
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
DG is known for her dynamic, award-winning vision powered by her extensive production experience. She is in post-production in 2021 on "Montana Amazon Redux" starring Olympia Dukakis and Alison Brie. In 2020 she directed the pilot for Big Picture Digital's comedy web series, "Perfect Women" starring Ashley Clements from the Emmy-awarded "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries." The pilot has since been invited to the Seattle and Moscow Comedy (GELOS) Film festivals. DG was selected as a Guest Director at the 2017 Los Angeles Beyond Fest for her work as a woman director and won Best Feature Director at the Los Angeles International Femme Festival for "Misadventures of the Dunderheads." The South Arts Foundation then selected her as a Best Narrative Director for a six-city screening/speaking tour with the film. "Misadventures" was subsequently picked up by Starz Entertainment, HuluPlus, the Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Artist View International. DG started her career directing children's episodic TV for the Fox Network, and young adult features including the 2006 Lions Gate release, "Rock 'N' Roll High School Forever" for the legendary producer, Roger Corman. Prior to directing, she was an in-demand "Film Doctor" Production Consultant on twenty-plus theatrical and TV features for Phoenix Pictures, Lions Gate, Warner Bros., the Syfy Channel, and Film Finances Inc. among others. Her work involved solving the problems of troubled features so they could be successfully distributed as well as premiered at the Cannes, Toronto, and Sundance Festivals. She never lost a patient.- Slumber Party Massacre II (1987)
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Tara Cardinal is the daughter of a psychic and a musician. Tara grew up on a small farm in Indiana. Cardinal moved out on her own at age 16 and worked three jobs in order to initially support herself. She was discovered in a shopping mall and acted in her first movie in 2006. Tara frequently appears in horror and fantasy films and likes to perform her own stunts. Moreover, Cardinal has not only acted on stage, but also has modeled for various comic book characters, performed at Renaissance Festivals, and even done live shows as a professional wrestler. A dedicated humanitarian and staunch advocate for children's rights, Tara co-founded the non-profit peer counseling organization C.L.U.B. (Children Living Under Blindness) at age 12 and has toured middle schools in both America and Canada educating children on their rights and resources since the age of 15. Cardinal has a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. In addition, Cardinal writes poetry as well as writes for the websites the IndependentCritic.com and NerdRemix.com. She lives in Los Angeles, California.- Scarlet Samurai: Incarnation (2013)
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- Actress
- Writer
Axelle Carolyn started out as a freelance reporter for some of the world's most prestigious film magazines and websites. Her non-fiction writing career culminated with the 2009 publication of her book 'Horror Movies In The New Millennium'. After a brief stint in front of the camera (most notably in CENTURION for Pathe), she directed her first short films in 2011: THE LAST POST and THE HALLOWEEN KID- both of which gained awards and acclaim in festivals worldwide -, and HOOKED, which premiered on FearNet. Her first feature, British ghost story SOULMATE, came out in the US and UK in 2014. It toured festivals around the world and won, amongst others, a Best Director accolade at Rome's FantaFestival. In 2015 she created, co-produced and co-directed horror anthology TALES OF HALLOWEEN, which also featured directors such as Lucky McKee and Neil Marshall. It is certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and won a Rondo Award, as well as a prestigious 2017 Saturn Award. It also prompted Fandango to list her as one of their new directors to look out for, and Tribeca Film to declare she 'holds the key to indie horror's future.- The Last Post (short, 2011)
- Hooked (short, 2011)
- The Halloween Kid (short, 2011)
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Hélène Cattet was born in 1976 in Paris, France. She is a director and writer, known for Amer (2009), The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (2013) and Let the Corpses Tan (2017).- Catharsis (short, 2001)
- Chambre jaune (short, 2002)
- La fin de notre amour (short, 2003)
- L'etrange portrait de le dame en jaune (short, 2004)
- Amer (2009)
- The ABCs of Death (2012)
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Jennifer Lynch was born on 7 April 1968 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Chained (2012), Boxing Helena (1993) and Surveillance (2008).- Hisss (2010)
- Chained (2012)
- Script and Continuity Department
- Actress
- Writer
Rachel Cole is known for Pregnant and Dying (2012), Bluebeard (2016) and Monsters and Animals (2015).- Pregnant and Dying (short, 2012)
- Director
- Editor
- Writer
Ginnetta Correli is known for The Beauty Strip (2014), The Earl Sessions (2011) and Marty's House (2013).- The Earl Sessions (2011)
- Marty's House (2013)
- Director
- Producer
- Editor
Holly Dale is one of Canada's premiere directors recognized globally for her outstanding, award-winning television and cinema work crafted over the past twenty-five years. Ms Dale has directed movies, entire mini series, pilots and episodic. She has worked in all genres.
Recently, Ms Dale was taped to be the Producer Director for showrunner Nick Santora's upcoming Netflix/Skydance series FUBAR starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Monica Barbaro and Fortune Feimster. The series will start streaming on Netflix in the Summer of 2023.
Previously Ms Dale was the Producer Director on the Warner Bros/Berlanti Productions series Batwoman for three seasons where she directed 13 episodes.
Ms Dale was also Producer Director of the international sensation Transplant. She block shot the pilot and first 3 episodes of Transplant, creating its stunning visual template. Transplant focuses on a Syrian trauma surgeon who himself is the transplant. The series holds the distinction of becoming the #1 drama series of the year in both its Canadian run and US network run on NBC.
Among many prestigious awards Ms Dale has earned is the Canadian Screen Award for Best Picture and Best Director for the groundbreaking hard edged serial killer miniseries Durham County. She was also honoured with a Canadian Screen Award for Best Director for Mary Kills People, a limited series delving into the murky waters of euthanasia which she directed/co-executive produced the entire first season of six hours. Variety selected Mary Kills People as one of their top ten series of the year.
The Directors Guild of Canada has recognized Ms Dale as their Best Director of Drama series on four [4] separate occasions for her work on the acclaimed one hour shows Flashpoint, Durham County, Mary Kills People and most recently for Transplant.
Highlights of the many extraordinary series Holly has guest directed include Dexter, The Americans, Chris Carter's X-Files, Joan Allen's The Family, Dick Wolf's Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Law & Order:SVU, Halle Berry's Extant, Bradley Cooper's Limitless, Marvel's Agents of the S.H.I.E.L.D, Steven Spielberg's Falling Skies as well as 12 individual hours of the Jerry Bruckheimer anthological series Cold Case, to name just a few.- Dead Meat (short, 1989)
- Blood & Donuts (1995)
- Blood Ties (2 episodes, 2007)
- Grimm (3 episodes, 2011-2012)
- Producer
- Production Manager
- Director
Donna Davies is known for Fanarchy (2015), Nightmare Factory (2011) and Decoding Life: The Epigenetics Revolution (2019).- Zombiemania (2008)
- Writer
- Director
- Actress
Marina de Van was born in France in 1971, her father being a musicologist. She studied at the Lycée Henri IV and at the Sorbonne University where she earned a degree in philosophy. Then, in 1993 she became a student at the FEMIS, the French school for cinematic studies, where she graduated in 1996. She directed and wrote 6 short movies as well as working as an actress and a writer with fellow FEMIS student director François Ozon. In 2002 she made her first feature film In My Skin (2002) as director, writer and actress.- Dans ma peau (2002)
- Ne te retourne pas (2009)
- Dark Touch (2013)
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Julie Delpy was born in Paris, France, in 1969 to Albert Delpy and Marie Pillet, both actors.
She was first featured in Jean-Luc Godard's Detective (1985) at the age of fourteen. She has starred in many American and European productions since then, including Disney's The Three Musketeers (1993), Killing Zoe (1993), Three Colors: White (1994), and the "Before" series, alongside Ethan Hawke: Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013).
She graduated from NYU's film school, and wrote and directed the short film Blah Blah Blah (1995), which screened at the Sundance Film Festival. She is a resident of Los Angeles.- The Countess (2009)
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- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
The films of Claire Denis frequently explore the fragile connections between people and the ways in which the most seemingly inconsequential relationship can have life-changing effects. At the heart of Denis' cinema is a fascination with the delights and difficulties of belonging and otherness, the gravity and gift of foreignness. Often revolving around reactions to the intrusion of the other, be it a stranger or foreigner, Denis' films insist on the vital necessity of the unusual to coexist within the "normal" world. In films such as I Can't Sleep (1994) and Nénette and Boni (1996), Denis captures the mercurial and instant shifts in tone, from the pleasurably sensual to the menacing or the simply unaccountable, caused by the intrusion of the strange into the fabric of the everyday. In Denis' films one often feels that all is well even as worlds collide and collapse or, conversely, that a grave challenge underlies the seemingly calm moments. While Denis' childhood in French colonial Africa is reflected most directly in the African setting shared by her debut feature Chocolat (1988) and best-known film, Beau Travail (1999), this encounter with the intimacies and injustices of colonialism resounds throughout much of her work. Also shaping Denis' unique vision are the apprenticeships she served, just out of film school, under a variety of renowned directors, including Jacques Rivette, Wim Wenders, Dusan Makavejev and Jim Jarmusch - an eclectic company that is itself suggestive of the unique juxtaposition of careful craft and seeming casualness within Denis' work. Denis has often spoken of her shock as a young woman at discovering the novels of Faulkner that have exerted such a major influence over postwar French cinema. For Denis, Faulkner "was a plunge into the senses, into terror and the pain of his characters." These words describe Denis' films as well. But whatever terror and pain her characters may sometimes experience is outmeasured by the depths of Denis' deep affection for them and by her curiosity in their experiences of pleasure as well as fear. Even in the unsettling Trouble Every Day (2001), the not-infrequent catastrophes in Denis' films provoke a sense of wonder at, and even delight in, the sheer weight of existence.- Trouble Every Day (2001)
- Director
- Writer
- Actress
Diane Doniol-Valcroze was born in Paris, France. She is a writer and director known for Penny Dreadful (2006), Hit and Run (2009), Kill by Inches (1999), and Fissure (1996). She is the co-writer and the co-creator of "41 Strange", a book of original flash fiction stories, a first of its kind anthology. Her grandfather was French film director André Cayatte.- Kill by Inches (1999)
- Writer
- Director
Caroline du Potet is known for In Their Sleep (2010), Son visage (2021) and Et toi, c'est pour quand? (2022).- Dans ton sommeil (2010)
- Producer
- Actress
- Writer
Michelle Fatale (born September 20, 1983) is a multi-award winning writer, director, and producer originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2011, she formed the production company Chromosome 16 Productions with husband and filmmaker Justin Berger. In addition to her work in film, Michelle is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist.- Dead Line (short, 2006)
- The Cleaner (short, 2007)
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Additional Crew
- Director
Louisa Fielden is a multi-award winning director of television drama and films. After premiering at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, her viral-smash short film, People You May Know, debuted online to 250,000 views in 48 hours, and won the 2019 Best British Drama at The Discover Film Awards (from 5,000 submissions). Louisa has served as Second Unit Director on Atlantis, a BAFTA-nominated fantasy drama series for BBC One and BBC America. Her other recent television credits include Crazyhead (Netflix), Hollyoaks (Channel 4) and War of the Worlds (FOX/Canal+). One of the country's brightest rising stars, Louisa graduated with a first class degree from Oxford University. She has also directed commercials for international brands including Levis and Pepsi, and her groundbreaking music video work includes content for Passion Pit and Vaults.- Mr Lewis (short, 2009)
- Narke (short, 2010)
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
- Distraught (short, 2010)
- I Hate L.A. (2011)
- Scrutinize (short, 2011)
- Producer
- Director
- Editor
The prolific, funny, and fearless writer/director/producer of feature thriller "The Commune", awarded Best International Picture at Bram Stoker Festival.
Despite the terrible timing of winning "Best Action Screenplay" by Fade In Magazine and "Best Thriller Screenplay" by Creative Screenwriting Magazine days before the 2007 Writers's Strike, Elisabeth's unproduced spaghetti western script "Pistoleras" took the blogosphere by storm and remains her most requested screenplay.
Her forte is thriller/horror and superhero actioners. Fies cites Star Wars and Twin Peaks as influences ingested at a cellular level, and most wishes she had directed "Terminator 2".
Elisabeth's undergraduate UCLA years included interning at Debra Hill Productions and doing stunts as monsters on the The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. With a prestigious grant from Do Something, she created and starred in the indie TV show "Kids Know it All!" After earning her first Masters degree from New School University in Media Studies, she returned to UCLA to study screenwriting in the renowned Professional Program, where co-chair Hal Ackerman declared her a brilliant writer.
Before embarking on her own filmmaking career, Fies was an associate producer on acclaimed no-budget triumph "Conventioneers", a political Romeo & Juliet tale that overcame industry powerhouses "Brick" and "Puffy Chair" to claim the 2006 Independent Spirit Award in the John Cassavettes category.
Lis comes from a family of accomplished artists she refers to as the Tennebaums or "West Coast Sedaris clan." She learned how to read on her cartoonist brother's Avengers comic books. In 2005, Brian Fies won the first digital Eisner Award for Mom's Cancer, an intimate graphic novel starring Elisabeth, sister Brenda, himself, and their deceased mom Barbara.
Fies collaborates with her sister Brenda on film shorts. In 2010, the diabolical Fies Sisters founded BleedFest. The mission grew out of their experience taking The Commune on the festival circuit and finally meeting other women with similar taste. The BleedFest Film Festival has screened over 100 films; celebrated the works of Anna Biller, Stacey Title, and mentor Katt Shea; and presented Partnership Awards to male genre luminaries like Ryan Levin, Lucky McKee and Drew Daywalt who create multidimensional female characters. Many alums state BleedFest has given them more press and opportunities than any other festival.
Lis is an accomplished academic whose published work includes a graduate thesis on Catwoman's feminist influence on twentieth century pop culture. She is the rare auteur who is as comfortable onset as she is in the classrooms of her alma maters New School and UCLA. A founding member of the Scribosphere, Lis is a supportive and accessible mentor to screenwriters and DIY filmmakers and loves speaking on panels. Her work has been extensively profiled everywhere from the L.A. Times, NY Times, Huffington Post, FEARnet to Cinematical.
Voted a top 10 movie reviewer by millions of Netflix subscribers three years running, Lis Fies above all remains passionate about storytelling.- The Commune (2009)
- Scream Queen (short, 2010)
- Consumed (short, 2010)
- T Is for Torture (short, 2011)
- I Hate L.A. (2011)
- Hard to Do (short, 2011)
- Scrutinize (short, 2011)
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Cinematographer
- Director
Noted adult and exploitation cinema filmmaker Roberta Findlay was born Roberta Hershkowitz in 1943 in New York City. The youngest in a family of three children, Roberta grew up in a tenement apartment in the Bronx. Findlay's Hungarian immigrant parents wanted her to be a pianist. Roberta met her husband Michael Findlay while a student at the City College of New York after she volunteered to be the accompanying pianist for a silent movie program that Michael was running on campus. Roberta married Michael at age eighteen. The couple collaborated on several sleazy and sadistic exploitation features together in the 1960's which include the notoriously nasty "Flesh" trilogy. After parting ways with Michael in the early 1970's, Roberta went on to direct a handful of explicit hardcore movies for producer and distributor Allan Shackleton. Moreover, Findlay also worked on various films as an editor, composer, producer, and cinematographer. Roberta ended her directing career toiling away on low-budget horror and grindhouse fare throughout the mid to late 1980's. In addition, Findlay and her late partner Walter E. Sear founded the recording studio Sear Sound in New York City.- Take Me Naked (1966)
- A Woman's Torment (1977)
- The Oracle (1985)
- Tenement (1985)
- Blood Sisters (1987)
- Lurkers (1988)
- Banned (1989)
- Prime Evil (1989)
- Actress
- Cinematographer
- Director
Kei Fujiwara was born on 12 March 1957 in Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan. She is an actress and cinematographer, known for Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), Organ (1996) and Ido (2005).- Organ (1996)
- Ido (2005)
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Emily was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her family moved to Austin, Texas in 1993, when Emily was 8 months old. Emily showed an unusual interest in movies at an early age, particularly The Muppet Movie. As she grew she became increasingly fascinated with movies and would often see movies such as My Neighbor Totoro, Iron Giant and Spy Kids multiple times in the theater. In second grade she was nicknamed the "Movie Girl". In third grade she had just finished reading The Hobbit when she saw Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings the Fellowship of the Ring, and felt inspired to become a movie maker herself. At By the time Emily was 11, she had produced several shorts as well as written her first feature-length script for the zombie movie "Pathogen". In August, 2005, Pathogen won a Texas Filmmakers Production Fund grant from the Austin Film Society, and was the youngest recipient in the history of the grant. Emily wrote and produced a second feature, The Retelling, by age 16.Her third feature, My Sucky Teen Romance Premiered at SXSW in Austin, and play at Frightfest in London in 2011 and is now available on Blu Ray and DVD or VOD. Her fourth feature, Grow Up, Tony Phillips, also premiered at SXSW in 2013 and will be available on DVD and VOD in the Fall of 2014. Emily now resides in Los Angeles.- Pathogen (2006)
- Party Killer (short, 2007)
- The Retelling (2009)
- Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear (2013)
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter. She gained recognition for her role in writing and directing several independent films, including I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), American Psycho (2000), and The Notorious Bettie Page (2005). She co-wrote American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page with Guinevere Turner. Although Harron has denied this title, she has been thought to be feminist filmmaker due to her film on lesbian feminist Valerie Solanas, in I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), and a queer story-line within her teenage Gothic horror, The Moth Diaries (2011).- Fear Itself (1 episode, 2008)
- The Moth Diaries (2011)
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Amy Holden Jones was born on 17 September 1953 in Florida, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for The Resident (2018), Mystic Pizza (1988) and Indecent Proposal (1993). She was previously married to Michael Chapman.- The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
- Producer
- Actress
- Editor
Genie Joseph was born on Long Island, New York and attended Fordham University in New York City. She first began appearing in explicit hardcore movies in the mid-1970s. Genie's college studies crossed over with her work in adult films when she wrote her academic dissertation "And They Knew They Were Naked: Behavior (and the Role of Sexuality) in a New York Subculture" in 1977. Among the notable directors Joseph acted in X-rated pictures for are Shaun Costello, Carter Stevens, Radley Metzger, Joe Davian, Chuck Vincent, Roberta Findlay, and the Amero brothers John Amero and Lem Amero. Using the alternate name Eve Milan, Genie wrote, cast, directed, and edited three early entries in the still popular and profitable porn parody genre: Flash Pants (1983), The T & A Team (1984), and First Time at Cherry High (1984). In the wake of making these movies Joseph went on to eke out a mainstream film career.- Spookies (1986)
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Valerie was born in Bogotá, Colombia. At a young age, she discovered her passion for writing fairy tales. While studying photography, Valerie decided to transform her stories into visual content, and earned degrees in Filmmaking, Cinematography and Screenwriting in New York and Los Angeles. Since then, she has produced, written and directed several award winning films that have participated in film festivals around the globe.- Sylvie (short, 2010)
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Jackie Kong is a director, producer, and screenwriter known for irreverent comedy and over-the-top horror films. In 1983, she made her feature film debut as director with the low-budget drive-in horror film The Being, which starred Martin Landau and Jose Ferrer. In 1984, she followed up by directing and co-writing the comedy Night Patrol, featuring Linda Blair, about a Los Angeles policeman moonlighting as a stand-up comedian. Kong received a Platinum Video award from the RIAA for Night Patrol, which became a college-party film staple. Night Patrol was a major worldwide theatrical success, setting the stage for Kong to direct the comedic cult horror film Blood Diner, released in 1987.
Kong added her comedic flair to Blood Diner, changing the traditional horror film into a gore fest with outrageous effects and comedy, ultimately pioneering a new sub-genre of horror film. The fact that Blood Diner was directed by a woman blew audience' and critics' minds. She followed that with another comedy, The Underachievers.
Kong's films are always irreverent, inventive, shocking, and funny. Weirdly, she enjoyed making the horror films much more than the comedies. "Making a monster movie was actually more fun than making a comedy," she says. "People watched the comedies and because they're laughing, think it must have been so much fun, when in fact that was harder work than making a monster movie. There's something about getting everyone in makeup and costumes and creating a hyper reality, that's so much more fun. Both are tough crowds to surprise."Writer/director/producer Jackie Kong made a handful of enjoyably low-budget pictures throughout the 80s. She was born on June 14 in Hanford, California and grew up in Benedict Canyon above Beverly Hills. Kong made her film debut with the entertainingly tacky killer toxic mutant monster horror feature "The Being." The cast for this flick includes Jose Ferror, Ruth Buzzi, Dorothy Malone, and Martin Landau. Jackie next made the hilariously stupid comedy "Night Patrol" starring Linda Blair, Murray "The Unknown Comic" Langston, and Pat Paulsen. Both "The Being" and "Night Patrol" were produced by Kong's then husband Bill Osco of "Flesh Gordon" infamy; Osco also appears in "The Being" acting under the pseudonym Rexx Coltrane. Her next film was the outrageously campy and gory "Blood Diner," which was an affectionate tongue-in-cheek tribute to the notorious Herschell Gordon Lewis splatter landmark "Blood Feast." Her last movie to date was the amusingly dopey slapstick farce "The Underachievers." Moreover, Jackie Kong also directed and produced episodes of the short-lived TV series "Karaoke Nights." Her films have played worldwide theatrical to acclaim and financial success. and have developed a loyal "cult " following.- The Being (1983)
- Blood Diner (1987)
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Karyn Kusama was born on 21 March 1968 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She is a director and producer, known for The Invitation (2015), Yellowjackets (2021) and Destroyer (2018). She has been married to Phil Hay since October 2006. They have one child.- Jennifer's Body (2009)
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
- The Cabinet (short, 2007)
- Doll Parts (short, 2011)
- The Stolen (short, 2012)
- The Pit: A Study in Horror (short, 2013)
- The Meeting (short, 2013)
- Evangeline (2013)
- Director
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Mary Lambert was born in 1951 in Helena, Arkansas, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Pet Sematary (1989), Madonna: Like a Prayer (1989) and The in Crowd (2000). She has been married to Jerome Gary since 28 September 1991. They have one child.- Tales from the Crypt (1 episode, 1989)
- Pet Sematary (1989)
- Pet Sematary II (1992)
- Strange Frequency (2 episodes, 2001)
- Strange Frequency (2001)
- Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005)
- The Attic (2007)
- The Dark Path Chronicles (7 episodes, 2008)
- Dark Path Chronicles: Behind the Characters (2008)
- Dark Path Chronicles: Making Of (2008)
- Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (2011)
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Shannon Lark is a filmmaker and entrepreneur.
Noted as having "a highly original vision", Lark is an Academy recognized screenwriter and a critically acclaimed filmmaker with an extensive body of work that has been exhibited at hundreds of festivals, screenings, and retrospectives worldwide. She is most known for pushing cinematic boundaries with thematic tones of gender relations and sexuality, as well as giving talks at universities and festivals about the importance of women behind the lens.
Lark is the co-founder of Double Exposure with filmmaker Lori Bowen.- Marburg (short, 2004)
- It's My Birthday (short, 2006)
- Brains (short, 2007)
- Go Ask Alice (short, 2008)
- Lip Stick (short, 2010)
- Cult Vol. 1 (2011)
- I Am Monster (short, 2013)
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Laura Lau was born on 31 March 1963 in San Francisco, California, USA. She is a producer and writer, known for Open Water (2003), Silent House (2011) and Grind (1997). She has been married to Chris Kentis since 1997. They have one child.- Silent House (2011)
- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Lauren Marsden is an award-winning, Canadian filmmaker and media artist of Trinidadian and European descent based in Vancouver, BC. As a storyteller, she focuses on narrative and experimental works that revolve around gender, Caribbean identity, and the human impact on the land. Her 2022 short film "Tabanca" has screened at 30 festivals around the world, including at BFI Flare London, Inside Out Toronto, and the Short Shorts Film Festival in Japan.
With two decades of media arts experience under her belt, her creative work has been presented by the British Film Institute, Pacific Cinematheque, the Koffler Centre of the Arts, the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, New Media Gallery, Antimatter Film Festival, Cineworks, and SFMOMA. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from the California College of the Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria.- The Pit: A Study in Horror (short, 2013)
- Producer
- Casting Director
- Additional Crew
Sally Mattison is known for Ultra Warrior (1990), The New Gladiators (1988) and Full Fathom Five (1990).- Slumber Party Massacre III (1990)
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Rebekah McKendry is known for All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018), The Dump (2012) and Tales of Halloween (2015). She has been married to David Ian McKendry since 1 November 2003.- The Dump (short, 2012)
- The Barista (short, 2013)
- Witches Brew (short, 2013)
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Maude Michaud was born on 23 December 1983 in Greenfield Park, Québec, Canada. She is a director and writer, known for Dys- (2014), Frankenstein Unlimited (2009) and Complex Model (2007).- Recessed (short, 2007)
- Frankenstein Unlimited (2009)
- Snuff (short, 2010)
- Hollywood Skin (short, 2010)
- I Hate L.A. (2011)
- Red (short, 2011)
- Music Department
- Director
- Writer
- The Morning After (short, 2011)
- Dumped (short, 2011)
- My Brother's Keeper (Or How Not To Survive The Apocalypse) (short, 2012)
- Production Manager
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Ashleigh Nichols was born on 5 September 1981 in San Diego, California, USA. She is a production manager and producer, known for He Said She Said (2020), Coffee Shop Squatters (2013) and Fanboys (2009). She has been married to Eddie Beasley since 17 May 2008.- Summer of the Zombies (short, 2011)
- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Brianne Nord-Stewart is an award-winning Canadian filmmaker known for writing and directing comedy films and series, and directing music videos around the world.
She got her start in Edmonton, Alberta, before moving to Vancouver, BC where she built a foundation for her work. After producing a handful of short comedies, Nord-Stewart began developing and producing series and feature films.- The Provider (short, 2011)
- Cinematographer
- Producer
- Editor
Christine Parker was born on November 25, 1962 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England as Christine Patricia Parker. She is a director, cinematographer and producer, known for her feature films Forever Dead, Fistful of Brains, A Few Brains More, Fix It In Post and countless short films including her award winning film The Tell-Tale Heart: Sisters (2016). She runs two production companies, Adrenalin Productions and her female-centric company Sick Chick Flicks. She spends much of her time creating films and making guest appearances at scifi and horror conventions along the east coast but lately has begun to focus her efforts on her latest endeavor the Sick Chick Flicks Film Festival in Cary North Carolina. Sick Chick Flicks Film Fest will focus on supporting women directors and bringing their amazing talents to the masses.- Forever Dead (2007)
- Fistful of Brains (2008)
- Getting a Head in the Movie Biz (short, 2008)
- Dead of the Night (short, 2009)
- Loneliness (short, 2011)
- A Few Brains More (2012)
- Director
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Writer/director Barbara Peters was one of the few female filmmakers who specialized in entertainingly trashy low budget drive-in exploitation fare in the 70s and early 80s. Peters often worked for Roger Corman's B-flick studio New World Pictures. She made her feature debut as co-writer and co-director of the soft-core lesbian outing "The Dark Side of Tomorrow." Barbara followed this movie with the gritty distaff biker item "Bury Me an Angel," the amusingly silly comedy "Summer School Teachers," and the enjoyably inane "Starhops." Peters achieved her greatest notoriety with the wonderfully nasty horror creature feature winner "Humanoids from the Deep." Moreover, Barbara handled second unit director chores on the car chase pictures "Moving Violation" and "Eat My Dust," designed the costumes for "The Fabulous Bastard from Chicago," and was the art director on "The Young Nurses." She acted in "Gun Runner" and "Caged Desires" (Peters also wrote the script for this one). Barbara Peters ended her career directing episodes of such TV shows as "Misfits of Science," "Shadow Chasers," "Falcon Crest," "Remington Steele," "Cagney & Lacey," and "Matt Houston."- Humanoids from the Deep (1980)
- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hope Perello is known for Bridget Cleary and the Good People, St. Patrick's Day (1997) and Howling VI: The Freaks (1991).- Howling VI: The Freaks (1991)
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Stacie Ponder is known for Ludlow (2010), Buyer Beware: Soulmates (2016) and Brunch with Bridget (2008).- Itch (short, 2010)
- Ludlow (2010)
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Writer/director Stephanie Rothman was one of the few female filmmakers who specialized in low-budget drive-in exploitation fare in the '60s and '70s. Her movies are distinguished by gutsy, strong-willed and sympathetic women main characters and a radical libertarian feminist point of view. Stephanie was born on November 9, 1936 in Paterson, New Jersey (made famous by Lou Costello, who mentioned it in every one of his movies). She was the first lady to be awarded the Directors Guild of America fellowship. Rothman served as an associate producer on Queen of Blood (1966), Beach Ball (1965) and Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965). She co-wrote and co-directed the fright flick Blood Bath (1966) and made her solo directorial debut with the frothy "Beach Party"-type romp It's a Bikini World (1967). Stephanie made two features for Roger Corman's New World Pictures: the excellent The Student Nurses (1970) -- which was the first and best of the popular nurse comedy cycle -- and the offbeat and inspired horror bloodsucker outing The Velvet Vampire (1971). Rothman then went to work for Dimension Pictures, in which she and her writer/producer husband Charles S. Swartz had a minority share, where she made the charming Group Marriage (1972), the delightful The Working Girls (1974) and the gritty Terminal Island (1973) (an early vehicle for Tom Selleck. Moreover, she wrote the story for the enjoyable fantasy adventure Beyond Atlantis (1973) and penned the screenplay for the amusingly inane Starhops (1978). In 2007 Stephanie was honored with a retrospective on her work at the Vienna International Film Festival.- Blood Bath (1966)
- The Velvet Vampire (1971)
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Fran Rubel Kuzui was born on 21 January 1945 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a producer and director, known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), Orgazmo (1997) and Angel (1999). She is married to Kaz Kuzui.- Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Sara is a Mexican Director based in Los Angeles. Her directing feature film debut "Coyote Lake" starring Academy Award Nominee and Adriana Barraza and Camila Mendes premiered on HBO. It also received the Tribeca Film Institute's TAA grant and was selected for Film Independent fast track and NALIP's LMM. Sara's episodic directorial debut, MGM's "Hotel Cocaine" (Episodes 105 & 106) is set to premiere summer 2024.
Sara has a diverse background in physical production, development, and post-production. Living in LA with her rescue cats, she aspires to expand her family with rescue dogs and, perhaps, a little pig.- Hawkins Hill (short, 2010)
- Director
- Writer
- Actress
Writer-director Katt Shea's latest movie "Rescued By Ruby" (2022) is a hugely successful Netflix original that received the highly coveted 100% Rating on Rotten Tomatoes. She balanced working with a dog as the star, a two year old toddler, 37 other dogs and animals, real canine unit members w/ principal roles and Strict Covid protocols to create a near perfect family film.
Katt has been honored by retrospectives her critically acclaimed films at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, The British Film Institute in London and various festivals throughout Europe. She also won the Silver Award for screenwriting at The Houston Film Festival and the Trailblazing Award for "inspiring a generation of young filmmakers". Katt has been profiled on the front page of The New York Times Arts & Leisure section and in a special issue of US Magazine dedicated to the role of the director in filmmaking. Critics have compared her to Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone and even Ingmar Bergman.
Andrew Sarris says of her, "I see an unusually kinetic talent combined with a flare for complex narrative. Ms. Shea does little things so well that big meanings flow out of them." Rolling Stone's Peter Travers adds, "The emotional resonance, visual sophistication and strong subtext of Shea's work fuse to create a distinctive style worth monitoring. Look at Jonathan Demme's Caged Heat, Martin Scorsese's Boxcar Bertha. Shea follows in that tradition and does it proud." New York Times writer Caryn James credits Katt with starting a new genre, about the screenings of Poison Ivy at the Sundance Film Festival she wrote: "One of the best competition films is Poison Ivy directed by Katt Shea whose previous movies were made for Roger Corman. Four of these movies will be shown at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan which says everything about the genre she and Sundance are helping to define."
Katt's first studio film, The Rage: Carrie 2, opened at # 2 at the box office, the film received rave reviews in The L.A. Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Post, The Village Voice and The Nation. Kevin Thomas of The Los Angeles Times called her "...a master of genre. Shea's ability to play various elements against one another gives "The Rage" welcome complexity and tension." Stuart Klawans of The Nation raves the Katt Shea's movies are "...remarkable for their disquieting themes, for their style (bold, fluent and varied)...Over the past dozen years only five or six American women besides Shea have managed to turn out a comparable number of commercial features...Look at he beauty and terror that Katt Shea can achieve and ask whether there's motivation today for The Rage." In recent years, the film has been discovered by younger audiences and praised for it's examination of real-life toxic masculinity & misogyny, that puts more importance on the futures of rapist boys over the dignity of teenage girls.
Katt's movies seem to set trends within the industry. Poison Ivy, which was a significant video hit and boasts the highest turns per copy in video history, inspired dozens of high profile imitators and the influence of her even her earliest low budget films, is still felt within the thriller genre. Katt's first TV Movie for CBS, called Sharing The Secret, won the prestigious Peabody Award. Airing on sweeps week, The Hollywood Reporter paid tribute: "Some first rate performances, along with Shea's fine tuned direction create Sharing The Secret's intelligent two hours." Her next TV movie, Nora Roberts' Sanctuary, is the first adaptation of a novel by the largest selling female author in history. It aired on CBS during February sweeps week. Variety said, "Director and co-screenwriter Katt Shea hits all the right beats, establishes the characters with depth and even invests the genre piece with some stylish dream sequences." ...Perhaps Peter Travers sums things up best when he says, "Why settle for a usual walk around the block when Shea offers a wild ride with the top down into un-chartered territory?"
Her Films continue to Screen to Sold out Audiences at Quentin Tarantino's New Beverly Theatre in Los Angeles, The Alamo Draft House & other Art House Cinemas across the country.
Katt is currently writing an Indie feature for production in 2023.
She is a voting member of the Academy.- Dance of the Damned (1989)
- Joe Bob's Drive-In Theater (1 episode, 1994)
- Carrie 2 (1999)
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Kate Shenton is a London based screenwriter with a passion for genre. She is represented by Mark Casarotto at Casarotto Ramsay & Associates. Her TV comedy series "The Big O" won the grand final of the Shore Scripts TV Pilots Contest and her TV pilot "Savage" won the Filmmatic Horror/Thriller Screenplay Award. Her comedy pilot script 'Ace' made the semifinals for the Screen Writing Network Sokolow Award, and her drama pilot script 'Belladonna' was long listed for the BBC Writers Room. She won first place on the Starlight Residency for her web series script "Dead in Love", where she spent two weeks at there studio developing the project.
Her comedy horror, web series 'Netfl!x and Kill', was nominated for Best British Web Series at the Pilot Light TV Festival. She was nominated for the Screen International Rising Horror Star award for her debut feature film "Egomaniac," which enjoyed a limited theatrical run, finishing at the Prince Charles Cinema. It achieved international festival success, screening at film festivals such as Fright Fest, Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (where it was nominated for two awards) and Dublin Horrorthon. It was also featured in Starburst Magazine, Sci-fi Now and The Guardian.- Bon Appitit (short, 2010)
- Gimp (short, 2012)
- Baby Face (short, 2012)
- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Growing up in Huntington, her father worked as an engineer and her mother worked as a teacher. As a child she discovered her penchant for dressing up and her preference for the bad guys she read. Later, while studying at the State University of New York at Buffalo, she developed her passion for art. After painting, Sherman began taking photographs. The "Hallwalls" exhibition was founded at this time. In 1975 and 1975 she created the photo series "Untitled A - D" and "Bus Riders". She graduated from college in 1976 and settled in New York. They represent her famous self-portraits, in which she slips into different roles through disguise and make-up and portrays different types of women. In particular, the "Untitled Film Stills" created between 1977 and 1980 made Sherman known as a photographer, self-director and disguise artist.
The photographic works in black and white show her as an actress. The artist wanted to draw attention to the role clichés of women - based on the films of the 1940s and 1950s. In 1995, the Museum of Modern Art paid more than a million dollars for it. With the photo series "History Portraits" Cindy Sherman turns to the role of women in the history of art. In real life she fills a dual role, being a model and photographer (artist) at the same time. The intentions of her works include not only the staging of one's own body, but also critical messages about identity, feminine role clichés, violence, sexuality, play and reality, ugliness and beauty, as well as the revelations of the topics addressed. Another thematic focus of her work relates to the image of the body, which she alienated for the first time in the series "Disasters" (1985 - 1989).
In these works, she herself is no longer the subject of her work, but rather a mix of repulsive materials such as prosthetic body parts or rotting food. They represent temporality and decay and are intended to evoke feelings of disgust in the viewer. For the artist, the grotesqueness of the body is based, among other things, on the alienation in the photography of models. Cindy Sherman was named one of the ten best living artists by ARTnews magazine. Today she still lives in New York. After two marriages to the video artist Michel Auder, she is dating the musician David Byrne. In 2008, a Sherman work fetched a record $2.85 million at a Christie's auction. In 2012, the Museum of Modern Art in New York showed a large-scale exhibition entitled "Cindy Sherman. A retrospective". Under the title "Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s from the Verbund Collection, Vienna", it was on view in 2016/17 at the Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe.
In 2016, Sherman was honored with the prestigious "Praemium Imperiale" and in 2019 she was awarded the Max Beckmann Prize. In the same year, 2019, her retrospective followed at the National Portrait Gallery (London).- Office Killer (1997)
- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Devi's unique approach to the horror genre has been likened to everything from the silent classics of Buster Keaton to EC Comics to Tim Burton and beyond. In 2007, Devi was selected as one of only 8 participants in the American Film Institute's (AFI) prestigious Directing Workshop for Women where she directed "Death in Charge" in which she continues to explore themes of life and death with playful irony. When she's not making her own, Devi teaches a course on horror films at the University of Notre Dame. She is a featured director in author Greg Lamberson's "Cheap Scares", a Bram Stoker award-nominated book about the next wave of horror auteurs.- Raven Gets a Life (short, 2006)
- Death in Charge (short, 2009)
- I Spit on Eli Roth (short, 2009)
- Last Seen on Dolores Street (short, 2010)
- Trippin' (2011)
- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Identical twins, writers, directors, actors even stunt players, the Soska sisters have always loved twisted film. Even at an early age, they devoured Stephen King novels, one after another as fast as they could read - and snuck into the over 18 sections at video stores, to critique the bloody images on the backs VHS horror movies and in gore magazines.
They both entered the film industry, acting and doing background work - and were soon unsatisfied with stereotypical roles that were commonly offered to identical twins. To expand their horizons, they trained in martial arts in hopes to pick-up stunt roles and briefly attended a film school that included an intensive stunt program. For one of the school's final film projects, their prepared short film had it's funding misappropriated and their short was pulled from the program. Undeterred, they decided to go ahead with it anyway, getting a new cast and crew and paying for it out of their own pockets. The title of that project was 'Dead Hooker In A Trunk'.
'Dead Hooker In A Trunk' - their debut film, which the twins wrote, directed, produced, starred in, and performed the stunts. Using Robert Rodriguez's book, Rebel Without A Crew - a bible for how film-making could be done on a modest budget, armed only with creativity and ambition. Even following the spirit of El Mariachi, the twins' story reached the original El Mariachi, actor Carlos Gallardo - who not only gave the ladies advice, but appeared in the film - as God. The completed film - embraced by horror fans, film festivals, and critics - became an underground sensation, called "a hidden gem in indie film-making" and "a cult classic in the waiting", and won multiple awards: Pollygrind's Favorite Feature, Best Screenplay, City of Death's Best Director Award, and Cinefantasy's Audience Favorite Prize.
In 2008 the twins incorporated, Twisted Twins Productions -- to create their own label for many future projects to come, including their highly anticipated second feature, American Mary, an analogy of their own struggles in the film industry. American Mary has gone on to win numerous praise and awards. The film has gone on to become a cult classic and the various costumes of the lead character Mary Mason a Halloween and horror convention favorite for cos-players.
The Soska Sisters have gone on to be very outspoken about equal rights across the board including but not limited to gender equality and equal rights for the LGBT community. They're actively involved in promoting blood donation and create a new PSA for it every February. And they are only just getting started.
2014 was a big year with the Soska Sisters bringing a new life to See No Evil 2 where they resurrect the WWE Studios franchise with WWE Superstar Glenn "Kane" Jacobs reprising his role as Jacob Goodnight and scream queens Danielle Harris and Katharine Isabelle appear together for the first time. As well, the Twins will be one of the all star director line up for ABCs of Death 2 in a segment that will shock and be destined for cult status. Their segment, T is for Torture Porn, has since been banned in Germany.
In 2015, the twins did a genre jump, teaming again with Lionsgate and WWE Studios, with a action revenge thriller called Vendetta to star, Dean Cain, Paul 'Big Show' Wight, and Michael Eklund. The high action, ultra gory nature of the film proved that the sisters are not one trick ponies as they expand their sensibilities to this Justin Shady written, men's prison revenge flick.
Avid comic book fans, the Soska Sisters have teamed up with Daniel Way (Deadpool, Daken) to create their own very graphic novel entitled Kill-Crazy Nymphos Attack! with artist Rob Dumo & cover artist Dave Johnson which is a pitch black satire on patriarchal society and women's roles within it. The very graphic novel is set with a 2017 release date.
September 16th, 2015, also marks the release of Jen & Sylvia Soska's first collaboration with Marvel comics with their Night Nurse story line 'The Risk of Infection' featured in Secret Wars Journal #5. The Soska twins have been long time fans of Marvel Comics and been quite vocal in their interests to tackle the adaptation of one of their stories for the big screen with them at the helm as directors. In April it was announced that the twins would be teaming with Marvel again, this time writing 'The Ripley' as a Guardians of the Galaxy story featured in Guardians of Infinity #8.
The mediums that the twins take on ever expanding, the Soska Sisters are the hosts of the survival horror game-show called Hellevator that premiered October 21 2015 on GSN. The show is a creation from Blumhouse, GSN, Matador, and Lionsgate. The show just enjoyed it's second season and received even more attention when it was made available on VOD through Netflix and Hulu proving that evil twins continue to have a rich history with elevators and scaring people.
In February 2016, the directing duo of Jen and Sylvia Soska came on board to direct a remake of David Cronenberg's 1977 zombie thriller Rabid. John Vidette's Somerville House Releasing entered into a joint venture with Paul Lalonde and Michael Walker to produce a feature film and original TV series based on the 1977 Canadian horror film.
December 11, 2016 will mark the twins' company, Twisted Twins Productions' 8 year anniversary which will have them with 4 feature films, 2 graphic novels, a series of blood donation PSAs, and a television show. Not too shabby for a pair of twins from Canada who set their sites on shaking up the entertainment industry playing by their own rules and leaving a hefty cinematic body count in their wake.- Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009)
- Bad Girls (short, 2009)
- WiH Massive Blood Drive PSA 2010 (short, 2010)
- WiH Massive Blood Drive PSA 2011 (short, 2011)
- American Mary (2012)
- WiH Massive Blood Drive 2012 (2012)
- Director
- Actress
- Writer
Identical twins, writers, directors, actors, and even stunt players, the Soska sisters have always loved twisted film. Even at an early age, they devoured Stephen King novels, one after another as fast as they could read - and would sneak into the over 18 sections at video stores, to critique the bloody images on the backs VHS horror movies and in gore magazines.
They both entered the film industry, acting and doing background work - and were soon unsatisfied with stereotypical roles that were commonly offered to identical twins. To expand their horizons, they trained in martial arts in hopes of picking up stunt roles and briefly attended a film school that included an intensive stunt program. For one of the school's final film projects, their prepared short film had its funding misappropriated and their short was pulled from the program. Undeterred, they decided to go ahead with it anyway, getting a new cast and crew and paying for it out of their own pockets. The title of that project was 'Dead Hooker In A Trunk'.
'Dead Hooker In A Trunk' is their debut film, which the twins wrote, directed, produced, starred in, and performed the stunts. Using Robert Rodriguez's book, Rebel Without A Crew - a bible for how film-making could be done on a modest budget, armed only with creativity and ambition. Even following the spirit of El Mariachi, the twins' story reached the original El Mariachi, actor Carlos Gallardo - who not only gave the ladies advice, but appeared in the film - as God. The completed film - embraced by horror fans, film festivals, and critics - became an underground sensation, called "a hidden gem in indie film-making" and "a cult classic in the waiting", and won multiple awards: Pollygrind's Favorite Feature, Best Screenplay, City of Death's Best Director Award, and Cinefantasy's Audience Favorite Prize.
In 2008 the twins incorporated, Twisted Twins Productions -- to create their own label for many future projects to come, including their highly anticipated second feature, American Mary, an analogy of their own struggles in the film industry. American Mary has gone on to win numerous praise and awards. The film has gone on to become a cult classic and the various costumes of the lead character Mary Mason a Halloween and horror convention favorite for cos-players.
The Soska Sisters have gone on to be very outspoken about equal rights across the board including but not limited to gender equality and equal rights for the LGBT community. They're actively involved in promoting blood donation and create a new PSA for it every February. And they are only just getting started.
2014 was a big year with the Soska Sisters bringing a new life to See No Evil 2 where they resurrect the WWE Studios franchise with WWE Superstar Glenn "Kane" Jacobs reprising his role as Jacob Goodnight and scream queens Danielle Harris and Katharine Isabelle appear together for the first time. As well, the Twins will be one of the all star director lined up for ABCs of Death 2 in a segment that will shock and be destined for cult status. Their segment, T is for Torture Porn, has since been banned in Germany.
In 2015, the twins did a genre jump, teaming again with Lionsgate and WWE Studios, with a action revenge thriller called Vendetta to star, Dean Cain, Paul 'Big Show' Wight, and Michael Eklund. The high action, ultra gory nature of the film proved that the sisters are not one trick ponies as they expand their sensibilities to this Justin Shady written, men's prison revenge flick.
Avid comic book fans, the Soska Sisters have teamed up with Daniel Way (Deadpool, Daken) to create their own very graphic novel entitled Kill-Crazy Nymphos Attack! with artist Rob Dumo & cover artist Dave Johnson which is a pitch black satire on patriarchal society and women's roles within it. The very graphic novel is set with a 2017 release date.
September 16th, 2015, also marks the release of Jen & Sylvia Soska's first collaboration with Marvel comics with their Night Nurse story line 'The Risk of Infection' featured in Secret Wars Journal #5. The Soska twins have been long time fans of Marvel Comics and been quite vocal in their interests to tackle the adaptation of one of their stories for the big screen with them at the helm as directors. In April it was announced that the twins would be teaming with Marvel again, this time writing 'The Ripley' as a Guardians of the Galaxy story featured in Guardians of Infinity #8.
The media that the twins take on ever expanding, the Soska Sisters are the hosts of the survival horror game-show called Hellevator that premiered October 21 2015 on GSN. The show is a creation from Blumhouse, GSN, Matador, and Lionsgate. The show just enjoyed its second season and received even more attention when it was made available on VOD through Netflix and Hulu proving that evil twins continue to have a rich history with elevators and scaring people.
In February 2016, the directing duo of Jen and Sylvia Soska came on board to direct a remake of David Cronenberg's 1977 zombie thriller Rabid. John Vidette's Somerville House Releasing entered into a joint venture with Paul Lalonde and Michael Walker to produce a feature film and original TV series based on the 1977 Canadian horror film.
December 11, 2016 will mark the twins' company, Twisted Twins Productions' 8 year anniversary which will have them with 4 feature films, 2 graphic novels, a series of blood donation PSAs, and a television show. Not too shabby for a pair of twins from Canada who set their sites on shaking up the entertainment industry playing by their own rules and leaving a hefty cinematic body count in their wake.- Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009)
- Bad Girls (short, 2009)
- WiH Massive Blood Drive PSA 2010 (short, 2010)
- WiH Massive Blood Drive PSA 2011 (short, 2011)
- American Mary (2012)
- WiH Massive Blood Drive 2012 (2012)
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Spheeris is often referred to as a 'rock 'n roll anthropologist'.
In 1974 she formed the first Los Angeles music video production company, ROCK 'N REEL. She concluded her music video work with the Grammy-nominated, "Bohemian Rhapsody" video for "Wayne's World". Spheeris' feature film debut was the 1979 documentary on the Los Angeles punk scene, "The Decline of Western Civilization" which was received with stunning and unanimous critical praise. In 1983 she wrote and directed "Suburbia", produced by Roger Corman. It is a disturbing and prophetic story of rebellious, homeless kids squatting in abandoned houses, trying to make new families, and protecting one another. "Suburbia" won first place at the Chicago Film Festival. Almost 25 years later her documentary, "The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III" would eerily mirror the events she scripted in "Suburbia". In the mid-80s she directed "The Boys Next Door", starring Charlie Sheen and Maxwell Caulfield, then "Dudes" starring John Cryer, Flea, and Daniel Roebuck. Both films have attained cult classic status. "The Decline of Western Civilization, Part II: The Metal Years" was released in 1988, again to spectacular critical acclaim. Commentaries from Ozzy Osbourne, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, Alice Cooper, Lemmy of Motorhead, Poison, etc. make it one of the most memorable pieces of rock film history.
In 1992, Spheeris directed her seventh feature, and first studio film, "Wayne's World" at Paramount Pictures. Subsequently she directed and produced "The Beverly Hillbillies" (Fox), wrote and directed "The Little Rascals" (Universal), then directed "Black Sheep" (Paramount), etc. In 1999, Spheeris documented The Ozzfest, America's most successful summer concert tour, and the reunion performances of the original Black Sabbath. Both as director and one of the cinematographers, Spheeris achieved a remarkable and historic film which offers the audience a unique view of life on the road: "We Sold Our Souls For Rock 'N Roll".
(2016) She is currently touring with her Producer/daughter Anna Fox, screening "The Decline" trilogy in support of the Shout Factory DVD release.- Hollywierd (1999)
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Rachel Talalay was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents, Paul and Pamela, moved to Baltimore to work/teach at Johns Hopkins when she was 6 years old. After graduation from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, she met Director John Waters and entered the movie business as a production assistant on his 'Polyester', starring Divine. She worked on the "Nightmare on Elm Street" films as assistant, production manager, producer and culminated with directing "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare". From there she continued her directing career, moving into television, and working on a wide variety of projects from family entertainment "Wind in the Willows" to Horror "Supernatural" to Comedy "Ally McBeal". In 2014 she became the first American and seventh woman to direct "Doctor Who".- Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)
- Killer machine (1993)
- Wolf Like (1 episode, 2001)
- Supernatural (1 episode, 2007)
- Haven (2 episodes, 2010)
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- Editor
Rebecca Thomson is a Tasmanian based filmmaker who lives in nipaluna/Hobart with her husband, three miniature humans, chooks, bees and extensive costume collection. Rebecca has been involved with all aspects of filmmaking from writing, producing, and directing through to shooting, editing and distributing. Rebecca has made numerous films to date, including off the wall genre shorts Cupcake: A Zombie Lesbian Musical, Slashed and The Jelly Wrestler, which combined, have screened at more than seventy film festivals worldwide including Frameline San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Fest, New York City International Film Festival, and won many awards along the way. In 2019 Rebecca completed the Screen Australia funded A Hairy Problem, about female body hair, which has had close to a million views online. Rebecca's short film I Am Undone was selected to be part of an anthology feature films A Night of Horror: Volume 1, produced by Deadhouse Pictures. Rebecca is one of the key filmmakers behind Women Of The Island, a multi-award winning web series of short documentaries telling the stories of the fascinating women who inhabit the island of Tasmania. The series has played to sold out audiences all over Tasmania as part of Ten Days On The Island 2019 as well as being an Official Selection for many international festivals as well as winning Grand Jury Prize at Berlin Web Fest 2019, Best Cinematography at LA Webfest and Best Direction in a Doco Series at Baltimore Webfest. In 2020 Rebecca enjoyed collaborating on a number of music videos for songwriter/songstress Monique Brumby, and has just completed a beautiful series of animated documentaries called There Is No I In Island that reflect on the fears and dreams of the Tasmanian community during Covid-19 lockdown. Rebecca is in writing mode, working on a webseries of original fairytales that she is developing with creative producer Catherine Pettman. Rebecca runs a highly shonky but super fun festival in her own backyard named Bec's Backyard Film Festival!- Cupcake: A Zombie Lesbian Musical (short, 2010)
- Apple Head (short, 2010)
- The Jelly Wrestler (short, 2013)
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Donna Thorland is known for Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018), Shadow and Bone (2021) and Salem (2014).- The Cobbler's Daughter (short, 2006)
- The Night Caller (short, 2011)
- Writer
- Make-Up Department
- Additional Crew
Kate Tsang is known for So You've Grown Attached (2014), Marvelous and the Black Hole (2021) and Adventure Time: Distant Lands (2020).- My Mom and Other Monsters (short, 2013)
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Vivita is a Canada-based actress/filmmaker (and former model), who was born in Baghdad, Iraq. After t.v. production and extra work, she began to do acting & film-making work, within the genres of science fiction, fantasy and horror ( with frequent artistic partner: Tony "Tex" Watt, with whom she shared a love for many various (mainly cheesy) '60's, '70's and 80's grind-house/drive-in (indie & mainstream) VHS/DVD video feature productions of ''exploitation'' type movie- "genres'' ). In 2003 she co-hosted (with Watt) the Canadian ''Twisted Sinema'' b-movie t.v. showcase. Vivita also co-produced, co-directed & acted (in multi-roles) in the b-movie features: ''Frankenpimp'', ''Vixen Highway 2006: It Came From Uranus'' & Acid Head: The Buzzard Nuts County Slaughter". In 2012, Vivita decided to produce her first self-directed feature project "Violet is Blue" and plans to continue her work as an independent Canadian movie producer with her Slum Goddess film studio.- Frankenpimp (2009)
- Vixen Highway 2006: It Came from Uranus! (2010)
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Katja von Garnier was born on 15 December 1966 in Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. She is a director and writer, known for Bandits (1997), Iron Jawed Angels (2004) and Windstorm (2013). She is married to Markus Goller. They have one child.- Blood and Chocolate (2007)
- Director
- Visual Effects
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Jovanka Vuckovic is an award winning writer and filmmaker. She got her start in broadcasting as a visual effects artist, winning a Gemini Award (Canadian Emmy) for Best Visual Effects, then went on to edit the horror publication Rue Morgue Magazine for six and a half years. Her presence at the helm opened up the doors for more women to become involved in the horror genre and she has been twice-named one of the most influential women in horror, alongside Kathryn Bigelow, Debra Hill, and Mary Shelley.
Vuckovic now writes and directs her own films. The first of which, the award-winning short The Captured Bird, was executive produced by genre film legend Guillermo del Toro. She has been an outspoken voice for gender equality in film and in 2016 she executive produced and directed a segment for XX, the first ever all-female horror anthology from XYZ Films/Magnet Releasing, which had its world premiere at Sundance in 2017. She is a proud member of The Directors Guild of America as well as The Directors Guild of Canada. She is also the author of Zombies! An Illustrated History of the Undead, from St. Martin's Press (with an introduction by zombie godfather, George Romero).- The Captured Bird (short, 2012)
- Self Portrait (short, 2012)
- The Guest (short, 2013)
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Doris Wishman was born on 1 June 1912 in New York City, New York, USA. She was a director and producer, known for Satan Was a Lady (2001), Nude on the Moon (1961) and Keyholes Are for Peeping (1972). She was married to Louis Silverman and Jack Abrahms. She died on 10 August 2002 in Miami, Florida, USA.- Come with Me My Love (1976)
- A Night to Dismember (1983)
- Each Time I Kill (2007)
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Reyna Young's alter ego Miss Misery has been labeled by press as "The Queen of Horror in the bay area". She currently resides in San Francisco with her husband John Gillette and son Logan. Reyna is an Award Winning Director and actress with over 15 years of experience in Theater, Television and Film.
Reyna is known for her work in the horror and action genre films and is a late night horror hostess of the popular syndicated show Movie Massacre which she writes, directs and produces. She was born in 1983 in San Francisco, Ca and grew up taking dance, singing, tap dancing, martial arts and acting classes. The oldest of two children, her younger sister and her were raised by their Father. She is of English, Hispanic and Native American descent.
Reyna became interested in acting after watching John Carpenter's Halloween when she was a little girl, wanting to grow up and be Jamie Lee Curtis, she quickly begged her father to take her on auditions, which he did. Landing her roles in commercials, and seeking out every audition she could.
Before Directing her first short Reyna auditioned and landed roles in independent films and theatre productions her first year of college. Quickly wanting to be behind the camera, she wrote and directed her first short film and from there fell in love with Directing. After meeting her future husband John Gillette, they quickly created Last Doorway Productions and started making short films. In 2007 on October 31st The Last Doorway aired and Reyna Young presented her persona Miss Misery. The Last Doorway lasted for 78 episodes before being asked by a station in Hayward to host late night movies. Thus Movie Massacre was born and is now a syndicated television show. Reyna also hosted Zombie Proms around the bay area and ran for six years a film festival showcasing the work of short horror films called A Nightmare to Remember. She's producing, Directing and writing feature horror films in the industry.- Sinner (short, 2006)
- Confession (short, 2006)
- Out of Print (short, 2007)
- Confession 2 (short, 2007)
- Confession 3 (short, 2007)
- The Last Doorway Show with Miss Misery (8 episodes, 2007-2008)
- Miss Misery Christmas Special (short, 2009)
- Welcome to My Darkside! (2009)
- Zombie Attack (short, 2011)
- The End (short, 2011)
- Miss Misery's Movie Massacre (2011)
- Sally (short, 2012)
- Little Miss Muffin (short, 2012)
- Miss Misery's Movie Massacre, Night of the Living Dead (1 episode, 2012)
- Under the Bed (short, 2013)
- Monster of Golden Gate (2013)
- M Is for... Miscarriage (short, 2013)
- A Nightmare to Remember: Volume 1 (2013)