The films of Kathryn Bigelow attract enormous, cult-like followings and thoughtful critical response. Amy Taubin in The Village Voice referred to her first feature, The Loveless, as a “tour de force.” Roger Ebert, in the context of Point Break, called her a “gifted filmmaker.” In reviewing Strange Days, The New York Times dubbed her “furiously talented.” One of the few female directors to make a number of films with big movie stars, she has done so on traditionally male turf – offering more than a few violent, action-based, fullthrottle thrillers. Employing a consistent approach to character, visual style and narrative tone in her body of work, Bigelow operates from an auteurist position, and yet her films are generally marketed as genre flicks, without much reference to the director herself. Her most recent film, The Hurt Locker – a high-machismo war movie and psychosexual mind trip through male masochism – illustrates her multi-tiered filmmaking approach. This Mavericks presentation will see Bigelow in discussion of her latest work, her fruitful career and her experiences as a woman working within a particularly male-dominated industry.