Eliza Hittman

{{Infobox person

| name = Eliza Hittman

| image = Eliza Hittman-0549.jpg

| caption = Hittman at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|12|09}}

| birth_place = New York City, U.S.

| alma_mater = {{ubl|Indiana University Bloomington|California Institute of the Arts}}

| occupation = Filmmaker

| years_active = 2008–present

}}

Eliza Hittman (born December 9, 1979) is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer from New York City. She has won multiple awards for her film Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which include the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award—both for best screenplay.{{Cite web|title=Awards - New York Film Critics Circle - NYFCC|url=https://www.nyfcc.com/awards/|access-date=2021-12-07|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title='Nomadland' wins best picture at National Society of Film Critics awards|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2021/01/10/nomadland-wins-best-picture-national-society-of-film-critics-awards/6614729002/|access-date=2021-12-07|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US}}

Early life

Hittman was born and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn. She attended Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, where she was a theater buff.{{cite web|last1=Mark|first1=Morales|title=Murrow HS grad's first full-length film to be featured at Sundance with a little help from alumni|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/murrow-hs-grad-movie-featued-sundance-article-1.1241433|website=NY Daily News|date=January 17, 2013 |access-date=January 11, 2015}} She graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 2001 with a BA in theater and drama,{{cite web|title=Stages|url=http://www.indiana.edu/~thtr/docs/stagesFall05.pdf|website=Indiana University|access-date=January 11, 2015|archive-date=May 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525180512/http://www.indiana.edu/%7ethtr/docs/stagesFall05.pdf|url-status=dead}} but later went on to study art and film, and in 2010 received her MFA from the School of Film/Video at California Institute of the Arts.{{cite web|last1=Fraser|first1=Paul|title=24700|url=http://blog.calarts.edu/2014/10/28/calartian-eliza-hittmans-debut-feature-nominated-for-gotham-award/|website=blog.calarts.edu|date=October 28, 2014 |access-date=January 11, 2015}} Hittman is Jewish.{{Cite web|url=https://awiderbridge.org/tag/eliza-hittman/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127120413/https://awiderbridge.org/tag/eliza-hittman/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 27, 2022|title=Eliza Hittman Archives}}{{Cite web|url = https://awiderbridge.org/eliza-hittman-gives-teaser-of-new-film/|title = Eliza Hittman Gives Teaser of New Film|date = February 13, 2017|access-date = April 3, 2020|archive-date = August 15, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200815130338/https://awiderbridge.org/eliza-hittman-gives-teaser-of-new-film/|url-status = dead}}

In between the time of her BA and MFA, Hittman staged plays back in New York City. She didn’t see a future or career in theater. This jump to film is what ultimately led her to California Institute of the Arts.{{Cite web|last=Pilkington|first=Dante|date=2013-07-15|title=Eliza Hittman {{!}} Filmmaker Magazine|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/people/eliza-hittman/|access-date=2021-12-07|website=Filmmaker Magazine {{!}} Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources.|language=en-US}}

While at the California Institute of the arts, she met her partner Scott Cummings. They share a child, born circa 2014.{{cite web |title= Her Dark Materials |url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/04/filmmaker-eliza-hittman-on-never-rarely-sometimes-always.html|website=Vulture|date=April 4, 2020}}

Career

In 2010, Hittman wrote and directed a short film while in graduate school titled, Second Cousins Once Removed. This short film premiered at Oberhausen festival in Germany, and was the first film she ever submitted to any festival.{{cite web |title=Interview of 'Second Cousins Once Removed' |date=March 17, 2020|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/109357-her-decision/#.XpYm3S2ZNQI}}

Her short film Forever's Gonna Start Tonight premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival{{cite web|title=Forever's Gonna Start Tonight|url=http://history.sundance.org/films/6891/forevers_gonna_start_tonight|website=Sundance Institute|access-date=January 11, 2015}} and was on Indiewire's "The Best of the Best" list.{{cite web|last1=Katie|first1=Walsh|title=Exclusive: Poster Premiere For Sundance Coming-Of-Age Drama 'It Felt Like Love'|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/exclusive-poster-premiere-for-sundance-coming-of-age-drama-it-felt-like-love-20130119|website=Indiewire|date=January 19, 2013 |access-date=January 11, 2015}}

Hittman's first feature film, It Felt Like Love, premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival{{cite news |last1=DeFore |first1=John |title=It Felt Like Love: Sundance Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/felt-like-love-sundance-review-415297 |access-date=January 10, 2019 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=January 24, 2013}} and opened at the IFC Center in New York in March 2014.{{cite web|title=It Felt Like Love|url=http://www.ifccenter.com/films/it-felt-like-love/|website=IFC Center|access-date=January 11, 2015}} It has received positive reviews, with a score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.{{cite web|title=It Felt Like Love (2014)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/it_felt_like_love_2013/|website=Rotten Tomatoes|date=March 21, 2014 |access-date=January 11, 2015}} It was a Critic's Pick of both The New York Times{{cite web|last1=Catsoulis|first1=Jeannette|title=It Felt Like Love (2013)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/471314/It-Felt-Like-Love/overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321105322/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/471314/It-Felt-Like-Love/overview|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 21, 2014|department=Movies & TV Dept.|work=The New York Times|date=2014|access-date=January 11, 2015}} and the Village Voice.{{cite web|last1=Wilson|first1=Chuck|title=It Felt Like Love: A Bracing Look at What Girls Want|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2014-03-19/film/it-felt-like-love/full/|website=Village Voice|access-date=January 11, 2015}} She was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Indie Film in 2013.{{cite web|title=Eliza Hittman|url=http://filmmakermagazine.com/people/eliza-hittman/#.VLLfO76TSec|website=Filmmaker Magazine|date=July 15, 2013|access-date=January 11, 2015}}

Her second film Beach Rats, starring Harris Dickinson, was selected for the 2015 Sundance Screenwriter's Lab,{{cite web|title=Sundance Institute Announces 12 Projects for 2015 January Screenwriters Lab|url=http://www.sundance.org/blogs/news/sundance-institute-announces-12-projects-for-2015-january-screenwriters-lab|website=Sundance|access-date=January 11, 2015}} had its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2017, where she won the Directing Award{{cite web |title=Eliza Hittman Assistant Professor |url=https://www.pratt.edu/people/eliza-hittman/ |website=pratt.edu |publisher=Pratt Institute |access-date=13 March 2024}} and was acquired by Neon.{{cite web|url=https://www.sundance.org/projects/beach-rats|title=Beach Rats|website=Sundance Film Festival|access-date=January 30, 2017|archive-date=September 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911164304/http://www.sundance.org/projects/beach-rats|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/01/beach-rats-movie-sundance-neon-1201896660/|title='Beach Rats' Lands Deal With Neon At Sundance|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Patrick|last=Hipes|date=January 28, 2017|access-date=January 30, 2017}} The film had its international premier at Locarno in the Golden Leopard Competition. It also won the Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting, Outstanding Screenwriting in a U.S. Feature at Outfest, and the London Critics’ Circle Film Award for Young British/Irish Performer of the Year. {{cite web |title=Eliza Hittman Assistant Professor |url=https://www.pratt.edu/people/eliza-hittman/ |website=pratt.edu |publisher=Pratt Institute |access-date=13 March 2024}}

Her third film, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, starring Sidney Flanigan, is about a teenager in rural Pennsylvania who travels to New York City with her cousin to access an abortion for an unwanted pregnancy. It premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Award for Neo-Realism.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/02/sundance-film-festival-awards-2020-winners-1202848900/|title=Sundance Film Festival Awards: 'Minari' Scores Double Top Honors – The Complete Winners List|last=Hipes|first=Patrick|date=2020-02-02|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31}} The film was also selected to compete for the Golden Bear in the main competition section at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival and won Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, the second most prestigious prize at the festival. The film was also nominated for seven Independent Spirit Awards as well as winning New York Critics Circle Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actress.{{cite web |title=Eliza Hittman Assistant Professor |url=https://www.pratt.edu/people/eliza-hittman/ |website=pratt.edu |publisher=Pratt Institute |access-date=13 March 2024}} In a 2020 interview with FF2 Media, Hittman explains the balance she struck between documentary cinema vérité and narrative: "Planned Parenthood read drafts, gave me access to people to interview, and allowed us to shoot in their facility. It was a balance, I think, because obviously, I'm not a documentary filmmaker. The film is ultimately a character study. I really tried to absorb as much perspective and information as I could but then sort of shape it into a unique fictional story."{{Cite web|url=http://ff2media.com/blog/2020/03/13/eliza-hittman-talks-never-rarely-sometimes-always/|title=Eliza Hittman talks Never Rarely Sometimes Always|date=2020-03-13|website=FF2 Media|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-31}}

As far as future work, in an interview from 2020, Hittman says she has "something simmering inside my head."{{Cite web|last=Laffly|first=Tomris|date=2020-03-17|title=Her Decision: Eliza Hittman on Her Observational, Intimate and Necessarily Political Never Rarely Sometimes Always {{!}} Filmmaker Magazine|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/109357-her-decision/|access-date=2021-12-07|website=Filmmaker Magazine {{!}} Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources.|language=en-US}}

Hittman served as director and executive producer of multiple episodes of the upcoming Peacock true crime miniseries A Friend of the Family based on the kidnapping of Jan Broberg.

Hittman currently works at Pratt Institute as an assistant professor in the Film/Video Department for the School of Art.{{cite web |title=Eliza Hittman Assistant Professor |url=https://www.pratt.edu/people/eliza-hittman/ |website=pratt.edu |publisher=Pratt Institute |access-date=13 March 2024}}

Style and themes

Hittman has been noted to make films that surround teen sexuality and female hardships. Her first feature film It Felt Like Love has its plot embedded in the sexualization of a young teenage girl and how she navigates a world of predatory men. Her second film Beach Rats is a story that highlights the idea of masculinity in young men and their sexual interests. Her most recent film, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, follows a teenaged girl as she travels from Pennsylvania to New York City with her cousin in search of an abortion.

In terms of visuals, Hittman’s camera work tends to frame the characters very closely, usually in long takes.{{Cite web|last=Laffly|first=Tomris|date=2020-03-17|title=Her Decision: Eliza Hittman on Her Observational, Intimate and Necessarily Political Never Rarely Sometimes Always {{!}} Filmmaker Magazine|url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/109357-her-decision/|access-date=2021-12-07|website=Filmmaker Magazine {{!}} Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources.|language=en-US}}

Filmography

Short film

class="wikitable" ! Year ! Title ! Director ! Producer ! Writer ! Notes
2010	Second Cousins Once Removed	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}
2011	Forever's Gonna Start Tonight	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}
2014	Buffalo Juggalos	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	Documentary Short

Feature film

class="wikitable" ! Year ! Title ! Director ! Writer ! Producer
2013	It Felt Like Love	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}
2017	Beach Rats	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}
2020	Never Rarely Sometimes Always	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}

Television

class="wikitable" ! Year ! Title ! Director ! Executive Producer ! Writer ! Notes
2018	High Maintenance	{{yes}}	{{no}}	{{yes}}	2 episodes
2018	13 Reasons Why	{{yes}}	{{no}}	{{no}}	2 episodes
2022	A Friend of the Family	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	2 episodes

Accolades

In 2014, for It Felt Like Love, she was nominated for the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award,{{cite web|url=http://www.ifp.org/press/nominees-announced-for-24th-annual-gotham-independent-film-awards-by-ifp/#.WI9SBLGZPR0|title=Nominees Announced for 24th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards by IFP|website=IFP|first=Erik|last=Luers|date=October 23, 2014|access-date=January 30, 2017}} and for the John Cassavetes Spirit Award.{{cite web|url=https://www.filmindependent.org/press/press-releases/30th-film-independent-spirit-awards-nominations-announced/|title=30th Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced|website=Film Independent|date=November 25, 2014|access-date=January 30, 2017|archive-date=June 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613234402/https://www.filmindependent.org/press/press-releases/30th-film-independent-spirit-awards-nominations-announced/|url-status=dead}}

With her sophomore film, Beach Rats, in 2017 Hittman won the Directing Award: Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival, Best Screenwriting in a U.S. Feature at Outfest, the Grand Jury Prize at the Independent Film Festival Boston, and the Future/Now Prize at the Montclair Film Festival. Beach Rats was nominated for several more awards during its premiere season.

In 2017, Beach Rats premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where she won the Directing Award, and internationally premiered at Locarno in the Golden Leopard Competition and was the Centerpiece Film at New Directors / New Films. In 2018, it was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Male Lead at the Independent Spirit awards and a Breakthrough Actor Award for the Gothams Awards.{{cite web |title=John Simon Guggenheim Foundation |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/eliza-hittman/}}

Beach Rats was also the winner of the Best Narrative Film at the 2017 Independent Film Festival of Boston, the Best Feature Film at the 2017 Hamburg Film Festival, and the Outstanding Screenwriting in a U.S. Feature at the L.A. Outfest Awards.. This film was very accomplished in 2017.

She was a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship for film-video in 2018.{{cite web |title=Eliza Hittman |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/eliza-hittman/ |website=gf.org |access-date=January 10, 2019}}

In 2020, Hittman was nominated for and won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay for Never Rarely Sometimes Always. She also won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay.{{Cite web|title='Nomadland' wins best picture at National Society of Film Critics awards|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2021/01/10/nomadland-wins-best-picture-national-society-of-film-critics-awards/6614729002/|access-date=2021-12-07|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Awards - New York Film Critics Circle - NYFCC|url=https://www.nyfcc.com/awards/|access-date=2021-12-07|language=en-US}}

In 2021, she was selected as Jury President for International competition section of 74th Locarno Film Festival held from 4 to 14 August.{{Cite web|url=https://www.locarnofestival.ch/LFF/locarno-74/awards-and-juries/Jury-Concorso-Internazionale.html |title= 74th Locarno Film Festival (Concorso Internazionale: Jury) |website= Locarno Film Festival |date= July 3, 2021 |access-date= July 3, 2021|language=en}}