Half the Picture

June. 08,2018      
Rating:
7.2
Subscription
Rent / Buy
Subscription
Trailer Synopsis Cast

At a pivotal moment for gender equality in Hollywood, successful women directors tell the stories of their art, lives and careers. Having endured a long history of systemic discrimination, women filmmakers may be getting the first glimpse of a future that values their voices equally.

Rosanna Arquette as  Herself
Lena Dunham as  Herself
Sam Taylor-Johnson as  Herself
Ava DuVernay as  Herself
Mary Harron as  Herself
Jamie Babbit as  Herself
Joey Soloway as  Themself
Karyn Kusama as  Herself
Kasi Lemmons as  Herself
Catherine Hardwicke as  Herself

Similar titles

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids
Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids
Documentary depicting the lives of child prostitutes in the red light district of Songachi, Calcutta. Director Zana Briski went to photograph the prostitutes when she met and became friends with their children. Briski began giving photography lessons to the children and became aware that their photography might be a way for them to lead better lives.
Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids 2004
Wege Gottes
Wege Gottes
Wege Gottes 2007
The Virgin Suicides
Prime Video
The Virgin Suicides
A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents.
The Virgin Suicides 2000
Dig!
Dig!
A documentary on the once promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. The friendship between respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor, escalated into bitter rivalry as the Dandy Warhols garnered major international success while the Brian Jonestown Massacre imploded in a haze of drugs.
Dig! 2004
2 Days in Paris
Prime Video
2 Days in Paris
Marion and Jack try to rekindle their relationship with a visit to Paris, home of Marion's parents — and several of her ex-boyfriends.
2 Days in Paris 2007
In the Realms of the Unreal
In the Realms of the Unreal
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
In the Realms of the Unreal 2004
Marie Antoinette
Prime Video
Marie Antoinette
An Austrian teenager marries the Dauphin of France and becomes that country's queen following the death of King Louis XV in 1774. Years later, after a life of luxury and privilege, Marie Antoinette loses her head during the French Revolution.
Marie Antoinette 2006
Children of a Lesser God
Prime Video
Children of a Lesser God
Starting his new job as an instructor at a New England school for the deaf, James Leeds meets Sarah Norman, a young deaf woman who works at the school as a member of the custodial staff. In spite of Sarah's withdrawn emotional state, a romance slowly develops between the pair.
Children of a Lesser God 1986

Reviews

Sexyloutak
2018/06/08

Absolutely the worst movie.

... more
Gurlyndrobb
2018/06/09

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

... more
AshUnow
2018/06/10

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

... more
Erica Derrick
2018/06/11

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

... more
livinglifing
2018/06/12

Listen, I am all for equality in the workplace and anywhere else. It's not only the law, but it is fair. Black or white, man or woman, everyone has the right to be treated with respect and given opportunities to succeed. But, if audience appeal leans towards movies by men, what are studios supposed to do? They cant change the viewing habits and preferences of millions of people. If you want more women directing films, go out and convince the public to buy the product they are offering. It's a business. Ask yourself if you would throw away your livelihood to make a brief point? To be politically correct all the time. Everyone is comfortable going with the flow until it hits them in their own wallet. Stop crying and find a better way to achieve what you want...

... more
Red-125
2018/06/13

Half the Picture (2018) is a documentary directed by Amy Adrion. The problem discussed in this movie is that women direct only a small percentage of movies. Not only that, but this percentage is not getting larger. In fact, it may be getting smaller.The weakness of the film is that it's primarily a "talking head" documentary. We hear the same problematic story from woman after woman. Even if they direct a very successful film, their phone doesn't ring with calls from producers who want them to direct another film. The consensus is that most producers are men, and they just don't trust women to properly direct a movie.I knew about the grim prospects for women directors before I saw Half the Picture, but it was useful to get the facts first hand from the directors themselves.The problem I find with a movie like this is that nobody suggests any action, except maybe discrimination lawsuits. If someone in the audience wants to help change the situation, how would they do it?If you're a movie buff and/or a feminist, this film is well worth seeking out. We saw it on the large screen at Rochester's wonderful Little Theatre. It will work well on DVD.

... more
rosegrimes
2018/06/14

Excellent portrait of Hollywood's current state, relative to women directors.Entertaining and yet profound call for immediate change.A must see.

... more
JustCuriosity
2018/06/15

Half the Picture was well-received in its regional premiere (after screening at Sundance) at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. Anyone who has followed film will have noticed the phenomenon of how few films are directed by women. Whereas 20% of Congress is now women, there have only been a mere 5 women nominated for an Oscar for Best Director. The question is "Why?" The film is mostly a talking head film in which female directors, sometimes eloquently, sometimes humorously, tell their stories about trying to make it in the ultimate "old boy's club." It is a personal and inspiring film, but seems to lack a clear explanation and direction of why sexism has held on so long to the Director's Chair in supposedly liberal Hollywood. It touches on some interesting questions without clearly exploring them. It touches on the idea of how this affects the nature of the final films but doesn't really explain it in detail. It touches on an explanation rooted less in outright sexism and more in an institutional sexism that prevents women directors from accessing financing but doesn't really dig into the issue. It touches on the history of women in cinema without fully exploring the roots of sexism in Hollywood and in the studio system as a whole Rather than just speaking to female directors, the film could have benefited by speaking to more film historians, academics, and legal who study the financing of the industry. That sort of approach could have given it more grounded scholarly focus. Oddly, the film suffers in that in trying to give women directors a voice that it never interviews a single man who might have offered supportive insight or a broader context for the deeper institutional issues. Half the Picture is inspiring, charming, and entertaining and yet it lacks depth and its scattershot approach itself only tells half the story that it could have.

... more