Enticed by her husband to write novels under his name, a young woman confronts the status quo by fighting to be recognized for her talents in Director Wash Westmoreland’s new biographical drama, Colette.
Set in the dawn of the 20th Century, Westmoreland’s film tells the story of Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley), a talented young writer who moves from her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris after she weds a writer known commonly as “Willy” (Dominic West). Convinced by Willy to ghostwrite for him, she pens a bestselling semi-autobiographical novel that becomes a cultural sensation and spawns sequels. But her fight to regain creative ownership drives her to overcome societal constraints and challenge gender roles.
Following the DGA membership screening in New York on September 16, Westmoreland sat down with Director Scott McGehee (What Maisie Knew) to discuss the making of Colette. Westmoreland also discussed the film in a conversation moderated by Director Kimberly Peirce (Six) following the DGA membership screening in Los Angeles on September 16.
In addition to Colette, Westmoreland’s credits include the feature films Still Alice and The Last of Robin Hood; and episodes of the series Z: The Beginning of Everything. He and co-director Richard Glatzer earned a Humanitas Prize and won the 2006 Sundance Film Festival Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for their feature Quinceañera. Westmoreland has been a DGA member since 2012.
You can listen to Westmoreland's Q&A by clicking the podcast episode embedded below. You can find more DGA podcast episodes here.