Two by Stephanie Rothman
The rare woman director working in second-wave exploitation, Stephanie Rothman (b. 1936) directed seven successful feature films, served as the vice president of an independent film company, and was the first woman to win the Directors Guild of America’s student filmmaking prize. Despite these career accomplishments, Rothman retired into relative obscurity. Two by Stephanie Rothman showcases her earliest work, made while under contract for Roger Corman's New World Pictures, to grapple with the past, present, and future of women’s filmmaking labor in Hollywood.
-
The Velvet Vampire
Directed by Stephanie Rothman | 80 mins | 1971
Directed by Roger Corman protégé Rothman and laced with an addictive psych score, this cult item remains endearing five decades after its initial release. Dune buggies, rattlesnakes and hippies aren’t common staples of your average vampire movie, but... -
The Student Nurses
Directed by Stephanie Rothman | 82 mins | 1970
Rothman’s debut feature—and first production under contract with Roger Corman’s New World Pictures— co-produced and co-written with her husband Charles Swartz. Working under the particular constraints of the Exploitation genre, Rothman deviously inte...
