Joyce Chopra

Joyce Chopra (née Kalina; born October 27, 1936) is an American director.

Joyce Chopra
Born
Joyce Kalina

(1936-10-27) October 27, 1936
New York City
EducationBrandeis University
Occupation(s)Film director, producer
Spouse(s)
Amarjit Chopra
​
​
(m. 1963, divorced)​

Tom Cole (1969-2009; his death)

She was married to American stage and screenwriter Tom Cole until his death on February 23, 2009.

Life and career

Chopra was one of three siblings born in New York City to Abraham, a lawyer and judge, and Tillie (née Ornstein) Kalina, and raised in the Coney Island and Brighton Beach neighborhoods.[1][2]

Chopra graduated from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. A few months after her graduation, she and a partner (her first husband Amarjit Chopra, an Indian whom she married in 1963)[3] opened a European-style coffee house near Harvard Square at 47 Mt. Auburn Street, quickly turning it into a music club (Club 47) where everyone from Joan Baez to Bob Dylan performed. The club was the subject of the 2012 film For the Love of the Music, shown at the Boston International Film Festival.

Her own film career began with documentary filmmaking in 1963 and gained much recognition by feminist film scholars with her autobiographical documentary Joyce at 34 (released 1974).[4] The film stars Chopra and examines the effect her pregnancy had on her filmmaking career. The documentary received the American Film Festival Blue Ribbon award. The film explores the issues surrounding women when pursuing the creation of a family while also creating a professional career.

Her next documentary project was a trilogy of short films. Matina Horner: Portrait of a Person (1973) focused on the titular professor and president of Radcliffe College, Girls at 12 (1975) examined the transition of young girls into teenagers, and Clorae and Albie (1976) examines the lives of two young black women in Boston who have been best friends since childhood but are starting to drift apart on different paths.[5]

Chopra transitioned into fiction film making around the mid-1980s after meeting and working with Tom Cole. One of their first collaborations was a PBS American Playhouse production Medal of Honor Rag[6] in 1982.

Her first narrative feature-length film, Smooth Talk (1985), was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director and won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival. The film is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' 1966 short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", and was adapted by Tom Cole.[4]

Her second feature-length film, The Lemon Sisters, was made in conjunction with producer and star Diane Keaton. The film explores the long-term female friendships between Eloise (Keaton), Franki (Carol Kane) and Nola (Kathryn Grody). After The Lemon Sisters, Chopra turned to directing television, ranging from television dramas to made-for-TV movies.

In addition to directing her own films, Chopra is part of BYKids, a nonprofit pairing filmmakers with youth from around the world to create short documentaries. My Beautiful Nicaragua, a 24-minute documentary about the devastating effects of climate change on coffee production in Nicaragua.

Awards
  • Smooth Talk: Grand Jury Prize at Sundance for Best Dramatic Feature (1985)[7]
  • Molly: An American Girl on the Homefront: Humanities Award
  • That Our Children Will Not Die: American Film Festival Blue Ribbon Award
  • Joyce at 34: American Film Festival Blue Ribbon Award
  • Martha Clarke Light & Dark: A Dancer's Journal: American Film Festival Blue Ribbon Award
  • Girls at Twelve: American Film Festival Blue Ribbon Award

Nominations

Themes

Much of Chopra's work treats the themes of sexuality and sensuality of women. These films often focus on the transitional periods in women's lives.[4] Girls at 12 and Smooth Talk are concerned with puberty; Joyce at 34 focuses on pregnancy; and The Lemon Sisters centers around new loves, lifestyles, and new career choices. Her other works — mostly documentaries — focus on youth.[9]

Filmography

Fiction:

Documentary:

  • A Happy Mother's Day (1963) co-directed with Richard Leacock
  • Joyce at 34 (1974)
  • Girls at 12 (1975)
  • Clorae & Albie (1976)
  • That Our Children Will Not Die (1978)
  • Martha Clarke, Light and Dark (1981)
  • Gramercy stories (2008)
  • Fire in Our Hearts (2012)

Made-for-TV movies:

TV series:

Publications
  • Lady Director: Adventures in Hollywood, Television and Beyond, published by City Lights Books. 11/08/2022. ISBN 9780872868687.

References
  1. Profile, Coneyislandhistory.org. Accessed August 21, 2022.
  2. Judge Abraham Kalina obituary, nytimes.com. Accessed August 21, 2022.
  3. Chopra, Joyce (2022). Lady Director: Adventures in Hollywood, Television and Beyond. City Lights Books. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-87286-869-4.
  4. Moore, Honor (February 23, 2021). "Smooth Talk: Girl Power". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  5. Eder, Richard (November 1, 1975). "Screen: Joyce Chopra Trilogy Examines Women". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  6. "Medal of Honor Rag", IMDb, retrieved June 18, 2020
  7. "Smooth Talk (1985) - Awards". The New York Times. June 2020. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012.
  8. "About Us". Gramercy Stories. Archived from the original on April 11, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  9. "Mentors". bykids.org. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
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