Profile:
Highlighting the most captivating people in the industry, expect to read stories from creatives and learn about aspects of the industry you never previously knew.
Athena Mandis’ journey into filmmaker: “It was like going to the moon with a pair of skis.”
Athena Mandis is an award-winning filmmaker and lecturer in Film Practice at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Her works include the short films Daughter and Losing Grace. She is currently working on her first feature - which she’s keeping details secretive on...
How to win a BAFTA: The journey from theatre to film
Tobi Kyeremateng is a BAFTA award-winning cultural producer, working across film, theatre, live events and community engagement. Her endeavours to showcase the experiences of Black British people across the diaspora has helped open up previously exclusionary spaces....
The UK’s largest documentary festival and its importance
With the Sheffield International Documentary Festival, colloquially known as Sheffield DocFest, about to begin on 12 June, DirectHer has talked to Mita Suri, the festival’s Film Programme Producer, for a deeper look behind the UK’s largest documentary festival and one...
When other cultures are your inspiration with Cadenza Zhao
Meet up-and-coming film director, Cadenza Zhao whose aim is to use her experiences growing up in different countries and cultures to make more diverse and multicultural movies that resonate with audiences. ‘In the polarised world of today, I aim to be a bridge between...
Joining a film club in your 20s might be the answer to finding new friends
The daunting prospect of making new friends as you grow older is an oft-discussed issue. For film fans, a film club may be the answer. Tasha Jagger founded Film Girls Galore, a budding female-only film club at a local independent cinema, Showroom Workstation in...
Animation and Equality: The struggles of young female directors
In L.A., 21-year-old Amarise Defranco has just completed her first short film, Lakay. The challenges Defranco has faced in her journey to this point are reflected in the experiences of another young animator, Rebecca Huang. These two women's experiences in an...
The Importance of Psychologists on Set
A Registered Practitioner Psychologist, an Educational Psychologist, chartered with the British Psychological Society (BPS), and an Associate Fellow with the BPS, needless to say, Kaireen Cullen's life has been go, go, go. Yet, amongst all of this, she has managed to...
See Her Behind The Lens: Women in Cinematography
A female cinematographer winning Oscar? “I'm all for dreaming big, but I like dreaming realistic.” A huge machine is standing there, cold and black. Snaking wires run down its body. It observes in silence with its deep pupil. People, objects, actions, lights, colours....
Breaking the Silence
In a world where the spotlight often overlooks diversity, here’s an inspiring story of one actress’s journey into the limelight A beautiful young girl enters University with all the hope in the world of furthering her career. She switches courses halfway to follow her...
