Eliza Hittman
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Eliza Hittman (born December 9, 1979) is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer from New York City. She has won multiple awards for her film ''
Never Rarely Sometimes Always ''Never Rarely Sometimes Always'' is a 2020 drama film written and directed by Eliza Hittman. It stars Sidney Flanigan (in her acting debut), Talia Ryder, Théodore Pellerin, Ryan Eggold and Sharon Van Etten. It had its world premiere at t ...
'', which include the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award—both for best screenplay.


Early life

Hittman was born and raised in
Flatbush, Brooklyn Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the north, ...
. She grew up with her father, an anthropologist, and her mother, a social worker. As she grew up she attended Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, where she was a theater buff. She graduated from
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...
in 2001 with a BA in theater and drama, but later went on to study art and film, and in 2010 received her MFA from the School of Film/Video at
California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
. Hittman is
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. In between the time of her BA and MFA, Hittman staged plays back in New York City. She didn’t see a future or career in theater. This is jump to film is what ultimately led her to
California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
. While at the California Institute of the arts, she met her partner Scott Cummings. They share a child, born circa 2014.


Career

In 2010, Hittman wrote and directed a short film while in grad school titled, ''Second Cousins Once Removed''. This short film premiered at Oberhausen festival in Germany, and was the first film she ever submitted to any festival. Her short film ''Forever's Gonna Start Tonight'' premiered at the
2011 Sundance Film Festival The 27th annual Sundance Film Festival took place from January 20, 2011 until January 30, 2011 in Park City, Utah, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah. The festival opened with five screenings, one from each c ...
and was on
Indiewire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
's "The Best of the Best" list. Hittman's first feature film, ''
It Felt Like Love ''It Felt Like Love'' is a 2013 independent drama film, the first feature film directed by Eliza Hittman. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was later acquired by Variance Films, receiving a limited theatrical release in March 2014. T ...
'', premiered at the
2013 Sundance Film Festival The 2013 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 17, 2013, until January 27, 2013, in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah. The festival had 1,830 volunteers. Films A r ...
and opened at the
IFC Center IFC Center is an art house movie theater in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City. Located at 323 Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) at West 3rd Street, it was formerly the Waverly Theater, an art house movie theater. IFC Center is ...
in New York in March 2014. It has received positive reviews, with a score of 84% on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
. It was a Critic's Pick of both ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and the ''
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
''. She was named one of ''
Filmmaker Magazine ''Filmmaker'' is a quarterly publication magazine covering issues relating to independent film. The magazine was founded in 1992 by Karol Martesko-Fenster, Scott Macaulay and Holly Willis. The magazine is now published by the IFP (Independent Film ...
s 25 New Faces of Indie Film in 2013. Her second film ''
Beach Rats ''Beach Rats'' is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by Eliza Hittman. It stars Harris Dickinson, Madeline Weinstein, and Kate Hodge. It was screened at the U.S. Dramatic Competition section of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and ...
'', was selected for the 2015 Sundance Screenwriter's Lab, had its world premiere at the
2017 Sundance Film Festival The 2017 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to January 29, 2017. The first lineup of competition films was announced November 30, 2016. Awards The following awards were presented: * Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic – ''I Don't Feel at ...
on January 23, 2017, and was acquired by
Neon Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton ...
. Her third film, ''
Never Rarely Sometimes Always ''Never Rarely Sometimes Always'' is a 2020 drama film written and directed by Eliza Hittman. It stars Sidney Flanigan (in her acting debut), Talia Ryder, Théodore Pellerin, Ryan Eggold and Sharon Van Etten. It had its world premiere at t ...
,'' is about a teenager in rural Pennsylvania who travels to New York City with her cousin to access an abortion for an unwanted pregnancy. It premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Award for Neo-Realism. The film was also selected to compete for the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...
in the main competition section at the
70th Berlin International Film Festival The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival heads, business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director C ...
and won
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize The Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (also Jury Grand Prix, Grand Prize of the Jury) is an award given by the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival to one of the feature films in competition. It is the runner-up to the Golden Bear prize an ...
, the second most prestigious prize at the festival. In a 2020 interview with FF2 Media, Hittman explains the balance she struck between documentary cinema vérité and narrative: "
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
read drafts, gave me access to people to interview, and allowed us to shoot in their facility. It was a balance, I think, because obviously, I'm not a documentary filmmaker. The film is ultimately a character study. I really tried to absorb as much perspective and information as I could but then sort of shape it into a unique fictional story." As far as future work, in an interview from 2020, Hittman says she has "something simmering inside my head." Hittman served as director and executive producer of multiple episodes of the upcoming Peacock true crime miniseries '' A Friend of the Family'' based on the kidnapping of
Jan Broberg Jan Broberg (July 31, 1962) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and kidnapping victim. As a child, Broberg was kidnapped on two occasions by a family friend, at ages twelve and fourteen. The experience has been documented in her mother Mary ...
.


Style and themes

Hittman has been noted to make films that surround teen sexuality and female hardships. Her first feature film ''It Felt Like Love'' has its plot embedded in the sexualization of a young teenage girl and how she navigates a world of predatory men. Her second film ''Beach Rats'' is a story that highlights the idea of masculinity in young men and their sexual interests. Her most recent film, ''Never Rarely Sometimes Always'', follows two girls on their struggle to get an abortion. In terms of visuals, Hittman’s camera work tends to frame the characters very closely, usually in long takes.


Filmography


Film


Television


Short films


Accolades

In 2014, for ''
It Felt Like Love ''It Felt Like Love'' is a 2013 independent drama film, the first feature film directed by Eliza Hittman. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was later acquired by Variance Films, receiving a limited theatrical release in March 2014. T ...
'', she was nominated for the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award, and for the John Cassavetes Spirit Award. With her sophomore film, ''
Beach Rats ''Beach Rats'' is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by Eliza Hittman. It stars Harris Dickinson, Madeline Weinstein, and Kate Hodge. It was screened at the U.S. Dramatic Competition section of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and ...
'', in 2017 Hittman won the Directing Award: Dramatic at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
, Best Screenwriting in a U.S. Feature at
Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...
, the Grand Jury Prize at the
Independent Film Festival Boston The Independent Film Festival Boston is a not for profit film festival in Boston, Massachusetts. History The Independent Film Festival Boston (also known as IFFBoston or IFFB) was created in 2003 by the non-profit organization the Independent ...
, and the Future/Now Prize at the
Montclair Film Festival Montclair Film is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit most well known for organizing the annual Montclair Film Festival (MFF) usually held in late April, early May in Montclair, New Jersey. The festival showcases new works from American and inter ...
. ''Beach Rats'' was nominated for several more awards during its premiere season. In 2017, Beach Rats premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where she won the Directing Award, and internationally premiered at Locarno in the Golden Leopard Competition and was the Centerpiece Film at New Directors / New Films. In 2018, it was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Male Lead at the Independent Spirit awards and a Breakthrough Actor Award for the Gothams Awards. ''Beach Rats'' was also the winner of the Best Narrative Film at the 2017 Independent Film Festival of Boston, the Best Feature Film at the 2017 Hamburg Film Festival, and the Outstanding Screenwriting in a U.S. Feature at the L.A. Outfest Awards.. This film was very accomplished in 2017. She was a recipient of a
Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
for film-video in 2018. In 2020, Hittman was nominated for and won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay for ''Never Rarely Sometimes Always''. She also won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay. In 2021, she was selected as Jury President for International competition section of
74th Locarno Film Festival The 74th annual Locarno Festival was held from 4 August to 14 August 2021 in Locarno, Switzerland. The opening film of the festival was '' Beckett'' by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, which had its world premiere on 4 August. The 74th edition of Loc ...
held from 4 to 14 August.


See also

*
List of female film and television directors This is a list of female film and television directors. Their works may include live action and/or animated features, shorts, documentaries, telemovies, TV programs, or videos. A * Jennifer Abbott (Canada) * Sarah Abbott (Canada * Jenni ...
*
List of LGBT-related films directed by women This is a list of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender-related films that were directed by women. LGBT-themed films directed by women – especially, but not exclusively, lesbian-themed movies – are an important and distinct subset of the gen ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hittman, Eliza American women film directors American women screenwriters Jewish American screenwriters California Institute of the Arts alumni Edward R. Murrow High School alumni Film directors from New York City Indiana University alumni Living people People from Flatbush, Brooklyn Screenwriters from New York (state) Sundance Film Festival award winners Writers from Brooklyn American television directors American women television directors 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American screenwriters 1979 births 21st-century American Jews