Kitty Green is an Australian film director, editor, producer, and screenwriter. The majority of her projects have been documentaries, while two have been narrative-driven stories. Green produced, directed, wrote, and edited the 2019 film The Assistant.[1][2][3][4][5] Her work often portrays heavy topics such as unsolved murders and politics.

Kitty Green
Born
Alma materVictorian College of the Arts
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, Director, Editor
Notable workUkraine Is Not a Brothel (2013)
Casting JonBenet (2017)
The Assistant (2019)

Early life and education edit

Kitty Green attended the Victorian College of the Arts, where she studied film and television. While attending the Victorian College of the Arts, Green made a short film entitled Spilt that was premiered at the Brisbane International Film Festival and screened at festivals internationally, earning a few awards in the process.[6] Soon after her graduation, Green began work at ABC on 'Art Nation' and 'Artscape'.[6] Green also traveled around Europe and described herself as "crashing on couches" during the beginning of her career.[7] She later went to work on a film entitled Van Diemen's Land in 2009, but only in the camera and electrical department, specifically in charge of stills.[8] A few years later she went on to work on her first documentary Ukraine is Not a Brothel, spending a year in her grandmother's native home, Ukraine.[9] During the filming she was arrested by the KGB and faced what she described as "a ferocious media circus" when the film released.[10] She and two other protesters were forcefully taken and abducted by officers, and were held in a KGB office for lengthy interrogations. Green's friends and family were highly concerned about her disappearance, and say she is extremely lucky to have come out of the situation safely.[1]

Her film Ukraine Is Not A Brothel focuses on the Ukrainian feminist movement "Femen". The film won an AACTA award for Best Australian Feature Documentary. She also won an award for her short film The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul for Best Non-Fiction Short Film at the Sundance Film Festival.

Later on in 2017 Green moved to the United States to work on her documentary Casting JonBenét and currently resides there.[7]

Career edit

Soon after graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts, Green went on to work at ABC on 'Art Nation' and 'Artscape' where she shot, edited, and produced documentary content for national broadcast.[6] Later on she worked on Van Diemen's Land (2009) in the camera and electrical department.[8]

Green directed the following documentaries:

She also helped on the documentary Austin to Boston as an editor in 2014.[8]

Green also directed The Assistant, a film about an assistant in the film industry who is faced with a moral dilemma in relation to the #MeToo movement.[11]

Her feature film The Royal Hotel was released in 2023, to critical acclaim.[12]

Filmography edit

While it is unclear when Green released it, she did make a student film entitled Spilt.[6]

Year Film Director Producer Writer Editor
2013 Ukraine is not a Brothel Yes Yes Yes Yes
2014 Austin to Boston No No No Yes
2015 The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul Yes Yes Yes Yes
2017 Casting JonBenet Yes Yes Yes No
2019 The Assistant Yes Yes Yes Yes
2023 The Royal Hotel Yes No Yes No

Awards and nominations edit

Green did receive a few awards for her student film Spilt but an official list of nominations and awards are not currently available for this film.[6]

Green won an AACTA award for Best Australian Feature Documentary for the documentary film Ukraine Is Not A Brothel.[13]

Green also won Best Non-Fiction Short Film at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015 for the short film The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul.[13]

Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards
Year Award Category Nominated Work Result
2015 AACTA Award Best Feature Length Documentary Ukraine Is Not a Brothel Won
2015 AACTA Award Best Direction in a Documentary Ukraine Is Not a Brothel Nominated
2015 AACTA Award Best Editing in a Documentary Ukraine Is Not a Brothel Nominated
2017 AACTA Award Best Feature Length Documentary Casting JonBenet Won
2017 AACTA Award Best Direction in a Documentary Casting JonBenet Nominated
Cinema Eye Honors Awards, US
Year Award Category Nominated Work Result
2016 Cinema Eye Honors Award Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul Nominated
2018 Cinema Eye Honors Award Outstanding Achievement in Direction Casting JonBenet Nominated
Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2013 Venice Film Festival Special Mention Ukraine is Not a Brothel Won
2013 London Film Festival Grierson Award Nominated
2014 SXSW Film Festival Audience Award Nominated
2014 Bushwick Film Festival Best Documentary Feature Won
2015 AFI Fest Grand Jury Prize The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul Nominated
2015 Berlin International Film Festival Crystal Bear Nominated
2015 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Grand Jury Prize Nominated
Short Film Jury Prize Won
2017 Grand Jury Prize Casting JonBenet Nominated
2021 Independent Spirit Awards Best First Screenplay The Assistant Nominated

References edit

  1. ^ a b Q 2020-02-03, CBC radio , Interview with Kitty Green.
  2. ^ Interviewer Name: Folkenflik, David. "Director Kitty Green On Her New Film, 'The Assistant'". NPR.org. Retrieved 3 February 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. ^ CBC News (3 February 2020). "Kitty Green's new film The Assistant will make you see sexual misconduct in Hollywood in a whole new way". CBC News.
  4. ^ Culture; Movies (6 February 2020). "Writer/director Kitty Green on her of-the-moment film The Assistant | National Post". National Post. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  5. ^ Phillips, Michael. "In 'The Assistant,' filmmaker Kitty Green stays just outside the room where it happens. For a reason". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Kitty Green". FILM PLATFORM - Educational Rights and Screening Licenses. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b Macnab, Geoffrey (17 April 2020). "Kitty Green on Making a Film for the Post-Weinstein World with The Assistant". Financial Times – via ProQuest.
  8. ^ a b c "Kitty Green". IMDb. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Kitty Green". www.jmcacademy.edu.au. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Ukraine Is Not a Brothel: A documentary on revolutionaries". Vimeo Blog. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  11. ^ Powell, Pamela (6 February 2020). "Director Kitty Green breaks down moral complexities of 'The Assistant': "We know what's going on behind that door"". FF2 Media. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  12. ^ https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a44997005/julia-garner-royal-hotel-100-rotten-tomatoes/
  13. ^ a b "Casting JonBenet". www.berlinale.de. 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2020.


External links edit