What happened in the 1930‘s? Talkies! “Talkies” began, as well as formation of the fraternal organization of the Screen Writers Guild, which segregated the sexes and promoted men to be hired. While some women such as Frances Marion, Dorothy Arzner, Elinor Glyn, Anita Loos and a handful of other women continued to make their way creating scripts and stories, the writing was on the wall that would dictate the upcoming decades of females in film.
While the remainder of the 20th century saw a precipitous decline in women directors and writers, hope is not lost for the 21st century. With an increased awareness of the disparity between men and women in all categories of the film industry, we now see programs developing to encourage female filmmakers (Horizon Award) as well as strong women like writer/director/producer/actress Miranda Bailey who doesn’t allow gender to deter her. Bailey is the woman behind the curtain responsible for producing recent independent hit films such as Mike Birbiglia’s hilariously heartfelt “Don’t Think Twice,” the 2017 Sundance winner “Swiss Army Man,” and the highly anticipated Richard Gere film “Norman.”
Bailey, a mother of two and former high school ski racer from Colorado, spoke candidly with me about her inspiration and motivation as well as her perception of women in film. Bailey knew that she wanted to be a part of filmmaking at the ripe old age of 8. Her father took her to the set of “Little Miss Marker” and she recalled, “It was one of those powerful, spiritual moments, even though I was 8, where I just knew that’s what I was going to do the rest of my life.” Bailey went on to attend Skidmore College where she initially focused on acting, but she seemed drawn to writing and directing as well. Her professors attempted to guide her to choose just one focus, but Bailey stated, “It just wasn’t in my constitution to do just one of those things. So I just continued to do them all!”
Miranda Bailey, photo from NORMAN
Photo by Chris Saunders