Gender equity in Hollywood with director Rachel Feldman

A Q&A about being a woman in a male-dominated space

Rachel Feldman is a seasoned, award-winning director best known for her work in series television. Her feature film directorial debut with the film, LILLY, was released in May. Feldman’s film was designated “Best in Fest” at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival, and was given the “Stand-Up Award” at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival by the Anti-Defamation League.

Feldman’s other award-winning short films have been broadcast on HBO, PBS and Showtime, produced on grants from The Jerome Foundation, NYSCA, AFI, Kodak and Panavision. She is a former chair of the DGA Women’s Steering Committee and an activist for gender parity in the film industry.

You knew at a young age that you wanted to make movies. How did that desire show up early in life for you?

My mother was a movie lover of the films of her generation, the golden age of Hollywood. She knew the director’s filmography, she knew about costume designers and cinematographers. She wanted me to see these beloved movies but when I was a kid the only time they were programmed was the middle of the night, so she woke me up and we watched them together. I loved it! I loved those big emotional faces. Barbara Stanwyck, now that’s a movie star! So initially I thought I wanted to be an actor. We lived in the Bronx, near enough to the city, and thus began the years of my mother schlepping me into the city for auditions. I’m not sure I was such a great actor but I knew my lines and hit my marks. I worked a lot. Being dependable is a great quality in a child actor. I did mostly commercials and a few dramatic series for about 8 years and I loved it, but as I transitioned into adolescence, the allure of boys was more compelling.

I was deep into drawing and began studying painting, photography, and printmaking. Then I began writing and it all began to make sense, the acting, drawing, telling stories…I wanted to be a filmmaker.

Tell us more about LILLY, your feature film directorial debut. What was the impetus for the film and what can viewers expect from it?

My goal was always to make movies, but when I received my MFA from NYU in directing only .05 percent of the films and television made in Hollywood were directed by women. It took over a decade, but eventually Steven Bochco hired me to direct my first episode of television with “Doogie Howser,” then David E. Kelley followed with “Picket Fences” and over the years, in between raising two children, I’ve directed some wonderful episodes of series drama. But directing feature films was always my goal. Until fairly recently there was a huge divide between directing television and features, and although I continued to write screenplays that were optioned, I was not given the opportunity to direct them.

When I saw Lilly Ledbetter speak at the DNC on television in 2008, I felt in my bones that I was the filmmaker to bring Lilly’s story to the screen. Her personal journey laid out organically into a fabulous plot, her character was remarkable, and the themes were profound, coalescing my own personal, political and professional points of view.

Over the course of five years I optioned the award-winning screenplay for LILLY to five different, well-known producers, none of whom managed to set it up. I had promised Lilly Ledbetter I would get this made, no matter what, so at that point I joined forces with a producer who knew how to raise independent financing and we were on our way.

Viewers can expect an emotional roller coast of suspense, heartbreak and euphoria. My intention was not to make a political film but to make entertainment about an extraordinary woman with a beautiful love story at its center. I believe LILLY is an inspirational movie that engenders hope for the future and spreads the idea that every single one of us can make a difference.

How did your previous experience in the industry prepare you for directing your first feature?

I’ve been directing for over 30 years. The job is pretty much the same no matter the format. What’s the scene about and what’s the most effective way to communicate that to an audience—with camera, lighting, costume, performance, blocking, sets and all the elements a director has to work with? But in television, as a director for hire, you work in an environment that’s been set up by a showrunner and that person has hired other highly-skilled department heads so that when you walk into the job as a “visitor” you’re surrounded by an excellent, well-oiled machine.

When you direct a feature film, the director is responsible for hiring her own team along with the support of her producer, and every new hire contributes to the tenor of the family you’re building. It was the greatest joy to fly high, to hire folks I bonded with, hire actors I responded to, to see my written words come to life. I was extraordinarily lucky to have joined forces with spectacular producers and truly our team created miracle after miracle.

I’ve had the great privilege to work with many brilliant actors on many different sets but going out to the actors from my own vision of a character that I’ve written, and then getting to work with actors like Patricia Clarkson, John Benjamin Hickey and Thomas Sadoski, was a delight in a whole new way. What special humans these actors are!

I’m incredibly grateful for those years directing television and I hope to have many more, but directing a movie is very special and I’m so lucky to have achieved this dream.

Your career began at a time when less than 1 percent of directors were women. How did you navigate the challenges of being a director at a time when so few women were in the industry?

I swam upstream and swallowed a lot of water. I’m very lucky to have a great family, a husband who has always supported my dream, even when it made our life financially challenging, together we crafted a sweet, hand-made life of joy and creativity with our two amazing children. The industry has always been tough on outsiders. Most people in our business don’t know how to judge talent, so success is very much measured by who vetted you before, what you’ve already done, but if you can’t get in the door employment opportunities become an ongoing cycle of rejection. Having family and friends who fill out one’s life is how I navigate.

Things are much better now, particularly since #MeToo and #TimesUp and especially in television where there were mandates to hire directors who were not necessarily white men with decades of experience.

As with many things in life, community also plays a big part of survival. Joining forces with other women going through the same experiences, mentoring other directors, becoming an outspoken voice for change, all of these things are enormously helpful.

What draws you to certain projects as a director? Is there a common theme in the stories you choose?

Even before I was conscious of it, I’ve always been drawn to stories about girls and women. “The female gaze” is not something I needed to be told existed, it was my perception of the world, so female characters and a woman or girl’s point of view is something I’m naturally drawn to.

Thematically, I’m attracted to stories that dig into hard truths—whether they’re psychological or social—characters that are challenged by the status quo interest me. And in terms of genre, I’ve written musicals, romance, thrillers and would next like to direct a universe that calls for a bold, cinematic palate.

You’ve been a vocal advocate for gender equity in Hollywood. How has Hollywood changed for directors, especially women, since you started? What still needs to change?

My personal soapbox is about the role of actors in opening doors for new directors. If the magnificent Patricia Clarkson had not agreed to play LILLY, the film would not have been made. I was extremely lucky in that a revered actor introduced me to her agent. Without that single point of entry, and without the highly unusual openness of Ms. Clarkson to work with a “non-celebrity” director, who has made that choice many times before, the project would have stalled.

There are reasons the gatekeepers, agents and managers, protect their clients from outsiders bombarding them with inappropriate or mediocre material, so we must build a better system of access. Women writers, directors and producers need to collaborate with actors to design material together—but it’s got to start with the actors to make this happen.

You've said, "I believe in the power of story to affect culture." How do you make sure that your body of work reflects that belief?

When I began directing television, during the casting process, when every actor that was brought in to play a doctor or lawyer was a white male, I asked for women of different races to be considered. When young girls came on set wearing short skirts and lipstick I sent them back and asked wardrobe to bring them back looking like a kid. When I directed a horror film and it was scripted for the boyfriend to hit his wife and call her a “bitch,” I called in the producer and writer and we re-wrote the scene so they could have an argument that didn’t succumb to physical or verbal violence. Those are small choices directors can make, but every filmmaker, every artist in my opinion should consider the messages they are sending out to the world. Media is perhaps the most seductive influence on culture and if we create stories that question behavior, we can affect hearts and minds all over the world. I love provocative, unconventional stories, I’m not suggesting we Pollyanna over anything, I’m advocating for evaluating the ramifications of what we put out into the universe. We storytellers have a big responsibility.

Connect with Rachel: Website | TED Talk | Instagram

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