Film Fatales: Independent Women Directors

Film Fatales comprises 33 interview-based profiles of women in independent film. Most of those included are directors, but there are also three distributors and a producer; more than half of the women are lesbians. Filmmaker Judith Redding and writer Victoria Brownworth (Too Queer: Essays from a Radical Life) are interested in showing how diverse women's filmmaking is. The book is divided into sections on documentary, narrative, and experimental film, and includes not only North Americans and Europeans but also a number of women from the filmmaking capital of the world: India. The type of work examined ranges from films with titles such as Superdyke and Women I Love by the goddess of experimental queer film, Barbara Hammer, to more mainstream movies such as Jane Campion's The Piano and Marleen Gorris's Antonia's Line. For those who prefer to view films from the comfort of their homes, the filmography at the back of the book has a handy listing of what's available on home video.