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Filmmaker Highlight: Mati Diop
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Mati Diop
Mati Diop, actor and director, was born in Paris into a prominent Senegalese family, the daughter of noted musician Wasis Diop, and niece of well known filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambéty. As a director, she has several short films under her belt, including Atlantiques in 2009. Her short films Big in Vietnam and A Thousand Suns screened at TIFF in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Atlantics is Diop's first feature, which she directed as well as co-writing the screenplay with Olivier Demangel. ATLANTICS is Mati's debut feature and she is one of the only filmmakers to have her debut film accepted in competition at Cannes. She also became the first woman of color ever to have her film screened in competition at the festival. ATLANTICS awed critics and eventually won the Grand Prix at Cannes. The film was recently named Senegal's official entry to the Oscars.
Watch the ATLANTICS trailer here!
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SUNDANCE SPOTLIGHT
Did you go to Sundance or are still there?
We want to hear from you.
What were your favorite female directed films of the fest?
Submit your favorites to a poll here and
look out for our best of the fest recap!
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BADASS SHORT FORM FILMMAKER OF THE WEEK:
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Jordan Canning
Jordan is one of the most in demand directors in Canada. She has built a healthy career in both comedy and drama. She recently won a CSA for best direction for her work on BARONESS VON SKETCH. Jordan is a fan favorite at SCHITT’S CREEK having directed on multiple seasons. She was the first female director on THIS HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES. On the drama side her credits include SAVING HOPE, BURDEN OF TRUTH and THE DETAIL. Jordan’s first feature WE WERE WOLVES premiered at TIFF and her second feature SUCK IT UP premiered at Slamdance.
Watch all of their sketches here!
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Hollywood Women Push Directors Guild for Better Parental Benefits
Taking leave can result in lost coverage, as one female director discovered after giving birth. Some 50 Hollywood women, among them Amy Schumer, Amy Poehler, Ava DuVernay, Greta Gerwig, Kerry Washington and Lena Waithe, have signed Dimmock’s open letter asking the Directors Guild to change its health benefits, which many filmmakers use, and allow new parents more time to meet the minimum earning requirement. For 2020, that is $35,875 — all of which must come from guild directing jobs.
"Women," Dimmock wrote in the letter, “are penalized for having children in a way that their male counterparts are not.”
Read the full article here!
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‘Birds of Prey’ Director Cathy Yan Discusses Making The Leap To Studio Film & Reveals the Crucial Advice Patty Jenkins Gave Her
Just months after Cathy Yan’s feature directing debut, Shanghai-set ensemble comedy DEAD PIGS, made a big splash at Sundance in 2018, the Chinese-born filmmaker landed a gig helming a giant studio franchise movie, the DC Comics adaptation BIRDS OF PREY. Going straight from indie buzz to a blockbuster budget has become an increasingly familiar career path for a hot new director — except for women of color like Yan.
How did you manage being handed the keys to this giant franchise movie?
I had such institutional support from the get go. But at the same time, every day, I remember being very concerned about, like, I’ve never done this before. I actually called up [“Wonder Woman” director] Patty Jenkins during prep and I’m like, “What am I doing?” [Laughs] She told me, “You’ve got to remember that no one knows this movie as much as you. That’s what makes you the director.” And that was really, really helpful.
Finally, four of the big superhero movies this year — “Birds of Prey,” “Black Widow,” “Wonder Woman 1984” and “Eternals” — are directed by women. What does that mean to you?
It’s pretty freaking amazing. Hopefully it does what we all hope it does, which is prove that female directors can do movies of scale. I remember when I was just starting off being told, “Actually, we’ve been looking for female directors, but there aren’t that many that want to do action movies.” I remember thinking, “I do! I love action movies.” Women are capable of this.
I also think that there’s a lot more to be done. It starts very, very early. I went to NYU film school and more than half of my grade was female. The desire to be directors is there. So what happens? It’s not enough to say we’ve got four women directing blockbuster movies. We have to make sure there’s a sustainable flow of new talent, too.
Read full interview here!
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