The Cinematheque

New Restoration

“Something of an oral history of life working in film, featuring both humour and harsh realities.”

Kiva Reardon, Hot Docs

Decades before gender disparity in the film industry became a cultural talking point, Janis Cole and Holly Dale were sounding the alarm. Calling the Shots, the duo’s third feature documentary, gathers together a who’s who of the era’s leading female directors to speak about inspiration and aspirations, and the uphill battle for women in cinema. Among the trailblazing filmmakers profiled are Chantal Akerman, Martha Coolidge, Joyce Chopra, Penelope Spheeris, Margarethe von Trotta, Anne Wheeler, Sandy Wilson, and Agnès Varda—not to mention Lizzie Borden, whose Born in Flames and Working Girls also screen in this cycle. Compelling and clear-eyed, this elucidating, interview-focused documentary presents a veritable master class in negotiating the industry as a woman.