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WOMEN BEHIND THE LENS www.postmagazine.com 18 POST SEPTEMBER 2015 What are some of the biggest challenges working on this show? "Homeland needs to feel realistic and real. I don't think it's one of our challeng- es, I think it's one of our goals — to be sure that it has that kind of quality and it feels very grounded. "As for challenges, people think we have a huge budget to make this show, but we don't. So, that's always a chal- lenge to keep it very cinematic and have the location and environment be part of the story. And I think we do that well. "I also think, given how rich and lay- ered the story is, I think as a director one really has to know what the dollar scene is and what the 25 cent scene is. If you only have nine days to shoot your story, you really have to know what to focus your energy on. I think that's another challenge. Everything's important, but you have to decide what scenes turn your story in the most dramatic way." Can you talk about the "From A to B and Back Again" episode from 2014 that you were nominated for an Emmy? Why do you think that episode stood out? "We had some amazing episodes this year. One in particular that stands out for me was directed by Seith Mann and it was, "13 Hours in Islamabad." The episode I directed, "From A to B and Back Again," was a wonderful challenge. I think our whole season was pretty extraordinary and I'm proud of it. I'm proud of all the episodes. Those two are ones that really stood out for me. "In ['From A to B And Back Again'], Carrie sends a young Pakistani boy, played by Suraj Sharma from Life of Pi, to find his uncle in the tribal region and the story takes place in the ops room and on the ground. And there's a balance be- tween those two places and how to play the point of view — whose point of view do you play it in? What's going to land more emotionally? What's going to tell the story in the best way? At the end of that episode, [the boy] learns that Carrie has betrayed him and his uncle shoots him in the head. It's a really shocking and powerful moment. And, the whole point was that he was leading us to the terrorists and Carrie was going to take them out, but they have Saul [Mandy Patinkin] and the power balance shifts completely. And Carrie almost takes out her mentor. On a procedural level, that probably would have been the right call, but on an emotional level, that would have absolutely been the wrong call. For me as a director, it had such complicated emotional moments to deal with, and incredibly exciting. Especially the dream team of actors I get to work with." Why do you think the show resonates so well with both viewers and TV critics? "Well, thank you! I think because they're very complicated characters. Carrie Mathison is brilliant and flawed, and at times an emotional mess. At times, profound, and I think, always compelling. Claire Danes is a fearless and amazing actress to be working with. She will go right to the heart of what the truth is. So, I think that pulls people in. It certainly pulled me in. "I think her relationship with all the other characters — with Saul, played by Mandy Patinkin, the mentor you need to break away from and always keep coming back to in some way, because they changed your life forever. It has these compelling characters and I think the material is very provocative because it doesn't tell you how to think or feel, it allows the viewer to do that, both on a visceral level and an emotional level." Do you think there are additional challenges working as a woman in Hollywood? "If you were to ask me when I first start- ed directing, quite some time ago, if we would still be talking about this issue in 2015, I would have said 'absolutely not.' The fact that the statistics are the same as when I started directing 25 years ago is unacceptable. I don't think it's easy for anyone to be a director, male or female, but the playing field should be equal and it absolutely is not. "I'm very involved in mentoring wom- en. When I learned what the statistics were, I was horrified. And I thought, 'You know what, if the women working today don't grab the hand of the next gener- ation, what's going to change?' So I feel like that's something I'm very committed to. When you have statistics that are only 11 or 12 percent of what's directed on TV is by women, that's shameful. That should not be the case. "I certainly sat in a room and had some- one say, 'We hired a woman once and it didn't work. So we aren't going to hire another woman.' You would never say that about a man, because a man would be judged by his skillset. I think it's important that we equal those playing fields." —BY LINDA ROMANELLO Rose McGow Rose McGowan is well-known for her act- ing career, be it for her work in indie films, her portrayal of Paige Matthews in the WB series Charmed, or for her appear- ance in the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino feature Grindhouse. A self-pro- claimed student of the craft dating back to her childhood, she's also co-hosted the TCM show The Essentials, and serves on the board of the Film Noir Foundation. Recently, McGowan expanded into direct- ing with the short Dawn, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. Dawn tells a full story in 19 minutes. The short is set in the early 1960s, where a teenage girl rebels against her conservative parents, only to have her innocence and trust broken. Visitors to McGowan's YouTube channel can view the short in its entirety for free — her way of "promoting both art and thought." Here, the first-time director talks to Post about her experience and what she has planned for the future. Dawn captured a lot of attention at Sundance? "Being at Sundance and nominated as a director is a huge seal of approval, and one that you can't lobby for. The movie also qualified for the Oscars, which is wonder- ful. And Sundance chose it to screen in theaters, so they toured it around."