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Every week I publish my Directed By Women Viewing Guide which features at least seven film picks from recently released films in theaters/VOD/streaming, repertory programming in Los Angles/New York City/Chicago, and deep cut older gems available to stream.
At the end of the month (or sometimes the beginning), I publish my monthly round-up of all my writing elsewhere on the internet and write about my favorite new-to-me watches (I regularly watch 1000+ new-to-me films a year and have the Letterboxd log to prove it).
I also publish film festival coverage, interviews, periodical reading recommendations (mostly film related), and long form reads about Silent Cinema, Classic Hollywood, and other film related topics that inspire me, like this deep dive into VHS trailers and commercials, why Hope Floats is an anti-capitalist masterpiece and how my own teenage near death medical experience was reflected in Last Christmas and The Remarkable Life of Ibelin.
Me? A writer? Sure, why not.
My name is Marya E. Gates and I am freelance film writer based in Chicago, where I live with my cat Miss Fanny Brawne, two guinea pigs named Smitty and Larry, and my partner
.A fifth generation California, since graduating from high school in my small, insular hometown in the Northstate, I have also studied and worked in Berkeley, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. A colleague of mine once described me as a “nomad.” I have a B.A. in Comparative Literature and French Literature from U.C. Berkeley, and also have an overpriced and underused M.F.A. in Film Production.
In 2010, I founded the movie holiday known as Noirvember, and in 2015, I spent the entire year watching nothing but films directed by women in a project called A Year With Women.
Before turning to writing full time, I worked in social media marketing and editorial for Warner Bros., Rotten Tomatoes, Turner Classic Movies, FilmStruck, and Netflix Film.
My first book Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors In Their Own Words is out now from Rizzoli and available at bookstores around the globe.
Although a generalist at heart, my areas of particular interest include female directors, film noir, and the silent film era. I have written on these subjects and more for RogerEbert.com, Letterboxd, The Playlist, Emmy Mag, Moviefone, Nerdist, Inverse, IGN, IndieWire, Reverse Shot, and Vulture. I also write a monthly interview column for RogerEbert.com called Female Filmmakers in Focus.
My favorite film is Gillian Armstrong’s Little Women (1994), and I particularly love the work of David Lynch, Jane Campion, Agnès Varda, Georges Méliès, Joan Crawford, Kay Francis, John Gilbert, Richard Gere, and Ethan Hawke.
Learn more about my book Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Filmmakers in Their Own Words
My first book Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors in Their Own Words, which features career-spanning interviews with the following filmmakers, is out now from Rizzoli and available at a bookstore near you!
Allison Anders
Gillian Armstrong
Lizzie Borden
Jane Campion
Martha Coolidge
Julie Dash
Josephine Decker
Cheryl Dunye
Bette Gordon
Marielle Heller
Miranda July
Karyn Kusama
Mary Lambert
Mira Nair
Sally Potter
Gina Prince-Bythewood
Isabel Sandoval
Susan Seidelman
Katt Shea
This space will be the best place to learn about film screenings and book signings coming soon to a city near you!
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You can always find me on Tumblr, BlueSky, Instagram, and Letterboxd.
