Martha Stephens

Martha Stephens (born March 12, 1984) is an American film writer and director.^[1][2]

Martha Stephens
Born	(1984-03-12) March 12, 1984 (age 39) Huntington, West Virginia, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Writer, director, filmmaker
Years active	2009–present

Stephens was born in West Virginia and raised in eastern Kentucky.^[3] She graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, School of Filmmaking, where she concentrated in directing.^[4][5][6]

Stephens' first two feature films, Passenger Pigeons (2010) and Pilgrim Song (2012), premiered at the South by Southwest festival and received several awards.^[7][8] Her third film, Land Ho! (2014), which she co-directed with Aaron Katz, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival^[9] and was purchased for worldwide distribution by Sony Pictures Classics.^[10][11] At the 30th Independent Spirit Awards, Land Ho! was given the John Cassavetes Award for best feature film with a budget under $500,000.^[12] Her fourth feature film To the Stars, with Kara Hayward, Liana Liberato, Malin Åkerman, and Tony Hale starring, premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition.^[13] It was released on April 24, 2020, by Samuel Goldwyn Films.

References

1. [1] 2014-02-21 at the Wayback Machine Silverstein, Melissa. Sundance Women Directors: Meet Martha Stephens at Indiewire.com.
2. Eliot, Natalie. Filmmaker Interview: Martha Stephens. Oxford American Magazine. 6.12.2012.
3. [2] IMDB: Martha Stephens. Retrieved 2.9.2014.
4. Lane, Kim. Rock Candy: Q&A with Martha Stephens. Arkansas Times. 5.31.2012.
5. [3] Indiewire Staff. Meet the 2012 SXSW Filmmakers #2: Martha Stephens. Indiewire.com, 3.1.2012.
6. [4] Ryzik, Melena. Sundance: The Plastic Surgeon, The Actor, and a New Comedy Team. New York Times, retrieved 2.9.2014
7. Smirnoff, Marc. REPORT: Little Rock Film Festival. Oxford American Magazine. 6.8.2012.
8. [5]Land Ho! Description. Sundance.org. Retrieved 2.9.2014.
9. Filmmaker Staff. Land Ho! | Directors Aaron Katz, Martha Stephens. Filmmaker Magazine. 1.18.2014.
10. [6] Zakarin, Jordan. A Week With the Unlikely Breakout Stars of this year's Sundance at Buzzfeed.com. Retrieved 2.9.2014.
11. [7] Chang, Justin. Sundance Film Reviews: Land Ho! Variety, 1.21.2014.
12. "Independent Spirit Awards: 'Land Ho!' Wins John Cassavetes Award". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
13. McNary, Dave (June 6, 2018). "'To the Stars' Movie Casts Tony Hale, Malin Akerman". Variety. Retrieved June 25, 2018.

External links

• Martha Stephens at IMDb