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Jen McGowan is an American filmmaker. At the 2014
South by Southwest Film Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...
, McGowan won the Gamechanger Award for ''Kelly & Cal'', her first feature film. McGowan is the creator of filmpowered.com, an international skill-sharing, networking and job resource for professional women in film and television.


Career

Jen McGowan began her career as a filmmaker when she received her BFA from
NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...
’s
Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...
. There she studied film and trained as an actor at the
Atlantic Theater Company The Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater company based in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1985 by playwright David Mamet, actor William H. Macy, and a group of acting students, the compan ...
with
David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...
,
William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He is a two-time Emmy Award and four-time Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award winner, and has been nominated for an Acade ...
, and
Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...
. During this period, McGowan worked with New York companies such as RSA/Black Dog, A Band Apart, Killer Films, and Propaganda. She worked on independent feature films, including the
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
-winning '' Boys Don't Cry''. McGowan received a grant from The Caucus Foundation for her thesis film, ''Confessions of a Late Bloomer'', which began its festival run at the
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
. McGowan then directed the short film ''Touch'', which won the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short at the 2010
Florida Film Festival The Florida Film Festival, produced by Enzian Theater in Maitland, Florida, is an annual international film festival. Overview The Festival includes narrative and documentary features and shorts, animation, midnight movies, and educational fo ...
, qualifying that film for Oscar Nomination. McGowan began development on ''Kelly & Cal'', her feature directorial debut, through the First Team project at
USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...
, which fostered projects for their alumni. Her second feature film, ''Rust Creek'', was distributed by IFC Midnightbr>
She has directed episodes of television for shows such as
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
, Star Trek: Discovery and
Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...
. She is an Icon member of the Alliance of Women Directors, a member of the Los Angeles chapter of Film Fatales, a Film Independent Fellow, and a member of the Television Academy. McGowan is a Co-Chair of the DGA Women's Steering Committee Squad Program dedicated to supporting mid-career DGA Women Director


''Kelly & Cal''

''Kelly & Cal'' stars
Juliette Lewis Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress, singer and musician. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark plots, themes and settings. Lewis gained prominence in American cinema during t ...
, Jonny Weston,
Cybill Shepherd Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress, singer and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama '' The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jef ...
, Margaret Colin and Josh Hopkins, and premiered at the
SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...
in Austin, Texas, in March 2014. The film tells the story of a
riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington, and the greater Pacific Northwest, and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement ...
turned housewife (Lewis) who strikes up an unlikely friendship with her 17-year-old neighbor (Weston). The film opened at SXSW to positive reviews from ''Variety'', ''The Wrap'' and other sites. It made best of the fest lists with ''Vogue'' and ''Variety''. Senior writer Karen Valby at ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' compared ''Kelly & Cal'' to the work of filmmakers
Nicole Holofcener Nicole Holofcener ( ; born March 22, 1960) is an American film and television director and screenwriter. She has directed seven feature films, including '' Walking and Talking'', '' Friends with Money'' and '' Enough Said'', as well as various t ...
and
Alexander Payne Constantine Alexander Payne (born February 10, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is noted for his satire, satirical depictions of contemporary American society. Payne has received List of awards and nominations rec ...
.


Rust Creek

Starring Hermione Corfield, stars as college student Sawyer who becomes lost while on a road trip and is hunted by criminals who believe her to be a witness to their crimes. As she's punished by the elements and fleeing her hunters, she is forced into an uneasy alliance with an enigmatic loner who has shadowy intentions. The film was given a date and date release b
IFC Midnight Films
Rust Creek spent more than a week on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
’s top ten movie
list


Glass Elevator

Glass Elevator (as Film Powered) was founded by McGowan, who explained, "I wanted to get to know more women so I could hire more women." In 2019, production studio Level Forward announced that it had acquired a 50% stake in the site and at
Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pl ...
2019, it was announced that FilmPowered was changing its name to Glass Elevator. , Glass Elevator hosts a network of over 3,000 vetted women.


Awards

*
SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
Gamechanger Award * Boulder International Film Festival Best New Filmmaker Award * The Caucus Foundation for Television Producers, Writers and Directors Grant * Alliance of Women Directors Breakout Star Award


Filmography


References


External links

* * * in '' Film Racket''
"Understanding Actors: Interview with Director Jen McGowan of Kelly & Cal"
in ''
Moviemaker ''MovieMaker'' is a magazine, website and podcast network focused on the art and business of filmmaking with a special emphasis on independent film and film festivals. The magazine is published on a quarterly basis, and is known for the annual l ...
''
"Will Female Filmmakers Ever Get A Fair Shake At Oscars?"
''
Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Jen American women film directors Film directors from California Living people American women film producers Film producers from California Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women