Film Independent announces Directors Close-Up panellists

Film independent’s 2021 Directors Close-Up to feature Spirit Award nominees Radha Blank, Lee Isaac Chung, Emerald Fennell, Emily V. Gordon, Eliza Hittman, Steve McQueen, Kumail Nanjiani, Kelly Reichardt, Chloé Zhao, and more.

As an official part of the month-long ramp-up to the 22 April Spirit Awards ceremony, the upcoming online panel series features in-depth discussions with the most celebrated filmmakers of the past year. As previously announced, 100% of this year’s DCU panelists will be 2021 Spirit Award nominees–a first in the history of the long-running program.

The DCU offers creators and enthusiasts of TV and film a unique opportunity to hear acclaimed filmmakers discussing specific aspects of their craft in-depth. The series will take place every Wednesday over the course of two months, featuring the Spirit Award nominated directors and creators from indie film, documentary and television—all streamed directly to viewers’ laptop, living room or mobile device. View the entire schedule, as well as how to attend here.

Discussing their work across separate panels will be:

Alex Thompson (director, Saint Frances)

Alexander Nanau (director, Collective)

Alice Wu (writer/director, The Half of It)

Andy Siara (writer, Palm Springs)

Anna Winger (creator, Unorthodox)

Chaitanya Tamhane (writer/director, The Disciple)

Channing Godfrey Peoples (writer/director, Miss Juneteenth)

Chloé Zhao (writer/director/editor, Nomadland)

Christine Clusiau (co-director, Immigration Nation)

Darius Marder (co-writer/director, Sound of Metal)

Edson Oda (writer/director, Nine Days)

Eliza Hittman (writer/director, Never Rarely Sometimes Always)

Emerald Fennell (writer/director, Promising Young Woman)

Emily V. Gordon (creator, Little America)

Garrett Bradley (director, Time)

Heidi Ewing (co-director, Love Fraud and co-writer/director, I Carry You With Me)

Isabel Sandoval (writer/director, Lingua Franca)
James LeBrecht (co-director, Crip Camp)

James Sweeney (writer, Straight Up)

Jasmila Žbanić (writer/director, Quo Vadis, Aida?)

Juliano Dornelles (co-writer/co-director, Bacurau)

Kelly O’Sullivan (writer/actor, Saint Frances)

Kelly Reichardt (writer/director, First Cow)

Kirsten Johnson (director, Dick Johnson is Dead)

Kitty Green (writer/director, The Assistant)

Kleber Mendonça Filho (co-writer/co-director, Bacurau)

Kumail Nanjiani (creator, Little America)

Lee Eisenberg (creator, Little America)

Lee Isaac Chung (writer/director, Minari)

Lili Horvát (writer/director, Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time)

Maite Alberdi (writer/director The Mole Agent)

Maro Chermayeff (director Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children)

Merawi Gerima (writer/director, Residue)
Mike Makowsky (writer, Bad Education)

Nicole Newnham (co-director, Crip Camp)

Noah Hutton (writer, Lapsis)

Patricia Vidal Delgado (writer/director, La Leyenda Negra)

Peter LoGreco (executive producer/director, We’re Here)

Rachel Grady (co-director, Love Fraud)

Radha Blank (writer/director/actor, The Forty-Year-Old Version)

Robert Machoian (writer/director, The Killing of Two Lovers)

Sam Pollard (director, Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children)

Shaul Schwarz (co-director, Immigration Nation)

Steve James (director, City So Real)

Steve McQueen (creator/director, Small Axe)

Additional participants to be announced.

“This year’s Directors Close Up encompasses everything Film Independent stands for: a confluence of emerging talent with veteran filmmakers,” says María Raquel Bozzi, Film Independent’s senior director of education and international initiatives, adding that this year’s DCU panelists are “Creating the most provocative, imaginative, and inclusive stories in film and TV on a global scale.”

Past DCU panelists have included Sean Baker, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris, Guillermo Del Toro, Lena Dunham, Ava DuVernay, Greta Gerwig, Nicole Holofcener, Barry Jenkins, Richard Linklater, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Issa Rae, Josh & Benny Safdie, Justin Simien, Joey Soloway, Denis Villeneuve, Benh Zeitlin and many more.

Passes are available now at filmindependent.org/programs/directors-close-up to the general public, and Film Independent Members save 50%. Film Independent Arts Circle and Filmmaker Pro Members to attend for free.