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Claudia Weill

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Claudia Weill
Weill in 2015
Born1947 (age 76–77)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materHarvard University
Occupation(s)Film, television and theatre director, film instructor
SpouseWalter S. Teller
Children2

Claudia Weill is an American film director best known for her film Girlfriends (1978), starring Melanie Mayron, Christopher Guest, Bob Balaban and Eli Wallach, made independently and sold to Warner Brothers after multiple awards at Cannes, Filmex and Sundance. Girlfriends would be one of 82 films made by a female director to compete at Cannes.[1] In 2019, Girlfriends was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2]

It's My Turn (1980 for Columbia Pictures)—with Jill Clayburgh, Michael Douglas, and Charles Grodin—won her the Donatello, or International Oscar for best new director.

Earlier work includes 30 films for Sesame Street, freelancing as a camerawoman, and numerous documentaries, notably The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir, a documentary about the first women's delegation to China in 1973, headed by Shirley MacLaine, nominated for an Academy Award and released theatrically and on PBS.

Early life and education

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In 1947, Weill was born in New York City. Weill's family was Jewish.[3][4][5] In 1969, Weill graduated from Harvard University.[6]

Career

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Weill moved to Los Angeles in 1986. Weill began directing TV episodes of The Twilight Zone, Thirtysomething, My So-Called Life, Once and Again, Chicago Hope, and numerous pilots. More recently, she directed an episode of Girls for HBO.

As a theater director (Williamstown, The O’Neill, Sundance, ACT, Empty Space and in New York at MTC, the Public, and Circle Rep), she won the Drama Desk's Best Director Award for the premiere of Donald Margulies’ Found a Peanut produced by Joe Papp at the Public Theater in 1984.

She directed The Belle of Belfast by Nate Rufus Edelman at EST and the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York, Twelfth Night for Antaeus, the West Coast Premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner Doubt by John Patrick Shanley (with Linda Hunt) at the Pasadena Playhouse, Memory House, End Days, Tape, numerous workshops of Modern Orthodox, Adam Baum and the Jew Movie (Goldfarb), The Parents' Evening by Bathsheba Doran at the Vineyard Playhouse, and Huck and Holden by Rajiv Joseph at the Black Dahlia, among others.

In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Weill's name and picture.[7]

After selling Girlfriends to Warner Brothers, Columbia Pictures hired Weill to direct 1980's film It's My Turn. Weill was the female boss of an all male crew.[8] It was during this time that Weill experienced sexism and sexual harassment from producer Ray Stark. He also interfered with her vision of the film. Due to this she directed no more feature films.[9]

Weill has taught directing for film, television and/or theater, as well as Directing for Writers[10] at Harvard, Juilliard, Cal Arts, USC Graduate School of Cinema Studies, Columbia, The New School and Sarah Lawrence College. She mentors playwrights and directors.[11]

She has served as a juror with Elvis Mitchell for the Nashville Film Festival and directed several of the Game Changers films for the Directors Guild of America 75th Anniversary.[10] Weill serves on the Directors' Executive Committee for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She is the third woman to be admitted into the committee as a director in 1980[12] after Dorothy Arzner and Ida Lupino.

Filmography

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Films

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This is a partial list of films credited as director:

Personal life

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In 1985, Weill married Walter S. Teller. They have two sons, Sam Teller and Eli Teller.

References

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  1. ^ Myers, Victoria (May 30, 2018). "Claudia Weill on Directing Theatre, Film, and Television". The Interval. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  2. ^ Chow, Andrew R. (December 11, 2019). "See the 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry, From Purple Rain to Clerks". Time. New York, NY. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  3. ^ Norwood, Stephen Harlan (2008). Encyclopedia of American Jewish History, Volume 1. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781851096381. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  4. ^ Foster, Gwendolyn Audrey (1995). Women Film Directors: An International Bio-critical Dictionary. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780313289729. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  5. ^ ICA: "About Girlfriends: Jemma Desai in conversation with Claudia Weill" by Jemma Desai 17 Apr 2014
  6. ^ Dooley, Megan (August 14, 2009). "From Big Screen to Small Stage, Claudia Weill Keeps it Real". The Vineyard Gazette. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  7. ^ Wulf, Steve (March 23, 2015). "Supersisters: Original Roster". Espn.go.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  8. ^ Godfrey, Alex (July 20, 2021). "Claudia Weill on 1970s Hollywood Sleaze". The Guardian. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  9. ^ Press, Joy (March 1, 2021). "Promising Young Women". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Claudia Weill". Playing on Air. n.d. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  11. ^ "Claudia Weill". sarahlawrence.edu. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  12. ^ "Claudia Weill". Ensemble Studio Theatre. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  13. ^ "Interview with Claudia Weill". rogerebert.com. October 20, 1980. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
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