All through this month on Huffington Post UK, we're celebrating #AllWomenEverywhere.
Behind the scenes In the entertainment industry, more and more women are excelling in jobs traditionally given to men.
Here are just six women breaking new ground, and glass ceilings, and inspiring many others along the way with their passion, creativity and commitment...
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
DDA
Meru co-director Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi has been making waves in the film industry since 2003 when her debut film A Normal Life won Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival. Her second film, Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love, had rave reviews and won numerous awards including the Special Jury Prize at the Middle East International Film festival. In Meru, she co-directs alongside her husband Jimmy Chin. Elizabeth came on board to Meru post-expedition and is credited with pulling out the real human interest elements of the story. Meru has won the U.S. Audience Documentary Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It’s no surprise that Filmmaker Magazine named her one of their 25 New Faces of Independent Film back in 2005.
Jane Campion
DDA
After winning several awards for her short films which included Passionless Moments and A Girls Own Story, her first feature film Sweetie proved to be a success. Her big break came with The Piano which won three Academy Awards and saw Campion herself only the second female director to be nominated in the Best Director category. Following Bright Star in 2008, Campion has put her experience to good use directing TV drama Top of the Lake which received rave reviews when it premiered on BBC in 2013.
Sofia Coppola
DDA
Sofia Coppola became only the third female director to have been nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards, for her film Lost in Translation. She did miss out on the Best Director gong but picked up the award instead for Best Original Screenplay. Her other credits include The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette and Somewhere.
Ava DuVernay
DDA
A longtime filmmaker, Ava DuVernay has made a name for herself becoming the first African American female director to have a film nomination for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for her biopic Selma. Uproar at her not being nominated for Best Director for Selma followed - all the nominees were men - and resulted in a Barbie being made in her honour.
Nancy Meyers
DDA
With credits including What Women Want, It’s Complicated and The Holiday, Nancy Meyers is Queen of the Rom-Com. But Nancy hasn’t always been behind the camera, she has also written screenplays for some classics including Baby Boom, Father of the Bride and Private Benjamin which won her an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.
Kathryn Bigelow
DDA
With films such as Point Break, The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty under her belt, Kathryn Bigelow is considered one of the leading directors in the industry today. In 2010, she made history becoming the first ever female to win the Academy Award for Best Director for The Hurt Locker. The film also picked up the biggest prize for Best Picture that year too. Her last film Zero Dark Thirty also proved popular on the awards circuit, picking up a number of Academy Award nominations; its star Jessica Chastain won a Golden Globe for her performance.
'Meru' is out now in selected cinemas, on digital download and DVD and Blu-Ray.
Fans can find or create cinema screenings of MERU at: www.ourscreen.com/meru
HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today. Through features, video and blogs, we'll be exploring the issues facing women specific to their age, ethnicity, social status, sexuality and gender identity.
If you’d like to blog on our platform around these topics, email ukblogteam@huffingtonpost.com with a summary of who you are and what you’d like to blog about.
