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Joyce Chopra

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Joyce Chopra
Born
Joyce Ann Kalina

(1936-10-27) October 27, 1936 (age 89)
Queens, New York City, U.S.
Other namesJoyce Cole
EducationBrandeis University
Occupations
Spouse(s)
Amarjit Chopra
​
​
(m. 1961, divorced)​

​
​
(m. 1969; died 2009)​
Children1

Joyce Chopra (née Kalina; born October 27, 1936) is an American film and television director and documentary filmmaker.[1]

Early life and education

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Joyce Ann Kalina was born on October 27, 1936 in Queens, New York City to Abraham Kalina, a lawyer and future State Supreme Court Justice, and Tillie Kalina (née Ornstein), a teacher.[1][2][3][4][5] Chopra has two brothers and was raised in a Jewish family in Coney Island and Sea Gate.[4][6][7]

Chopra was educated at Abraham Lincoln High School, before studying Comparative Literature at Brandeis University.[6][8][9][10] Chopra graduated in 1957.[8]

Career

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Following graduation Chopra initially moved to New York to pursue acting, but later returned to Boston.[9] In January 1958, Chopra opened Club 47 with Paula Kelley.[10][11] The club was the subject of the 2012 film For the Love of the Music, shown at the Boston International Film Festival.[citation needed]

Her own film career began with documentary filmmaking in 1963 and gained much recognition by feminist film scholars with her autobiographical documentary Joyce at 34 (released 1974).[12] The film stars Chopra and examines the effect her pregnancy had on her filmmaking career; it also followed Chopra's labour with her daughter Sarah, as she became the first person to give birth live on television.[13] The documentary received the American Film Festival Blue Ribbon award. The film explores the issues surrounding women when pursuing the creation of a family while also creating a professional career.[citation needed]

Her next documentary project was a trilogy of short films. Matina Horner: Portrait of a Person (1973) focused on the titular professor and president of Radcliffe College, Girls at 12 (1975) examined the transition of young girls into teenagers, and Clorae and Albie (1976) examines the lives of two young black women in Boston who have been best friends since childhood but are starting to drift apart on different paths.[14]

Chopra transitioned into fiction film making around the mid-1980s after meeting and working with Tom Cole. One of their first collaborations was a PBS American Playhouse production Medal of Honor Rag[15] in 1982.

Her first narrative feature-length film, Smooth Talk (1985), was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director and won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival. The film is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' 1966 short story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", and was adapted by Tom Cole.[12]

Her second feature-length film, The Lemon Sisters, was made in conjunction with producer and star Diane Keaton. The film explores the long-term female friendships between Eloise (Keaton), Franki (Carol Kane) and Nola (Kathryn Grody). After The Lemon Sisters, Chopra turned to directing television, ranging from television dramas to made-for-TV movies.

In addition to directing her own films, Chopra is part of BYKids, a nonprofit pairing filmmakers with youth from around the world to create short documentaries. My Beautiful Nicaragua, a 24-minute documentary about the devastating effects of climate change on coffee production in Nicaragua.[citation needed]

Themes

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Much of Chopra's work treats the themes of sexuality and sensuality of women. These films often focus on the transitional periods in women's lives.[12] Girls at 12 and Smooth Talk are concerned with puberty; Joyce at 34 focuses on pregnancy; and The Lemon Sisters centers around new loves, lifestyles, and new career choices. Her other works — mostly documentaries — focus on youth.[16]

Personal life

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In 1961, Chopra married Amarjit Chopra.[3][17] The couple later divorced.[17]

Chopra married Tom Cole [18] in 1969. Together Chopra and Cole had one child.[18]

Filmography

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Fiction:

Documentary:

  • A Happy Mother's Day (1963) co-directed with Richard Leacock
  • Joyce at 34 (1974)
  • Girls at 12 (1975)
  • Clorae & Albie (1976)
  • That Our Children Will Not Die (1978)
  • Martha Clarke, Light and Dark (1981)
  • Music Lessons (1981)
  • Gramercy stories (2008)
  • Fire in Our Hearts (2012)

Made-for-TV movies:

TV series:

Publications

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  • Lady Director: Adventures in Hollywood, Television and Beyond, published by City Lights Books. 11/08/2022. ISBN 9780872868687.

Awards and nominations

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Award Year Category Nominated work Result Ref(s)
American Film Festival 1978 Blue Ribbon award That Our Children Would Not Die Won
Sundance Film Festival 1986 Grand Jury Prize Dramatic Smooth Talk Won [19]
Film Independent Spirit Awards Independent Spirit Award for Best Film Nominated [19]
Independent Spirit Award for Best Director Nominated [19]
Directors Guild of America 2006 Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front Nominated [20]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Chopra, Joyce". Library of Congress Name Authority File. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. August 5, 2025. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  2. ^ "Joyce A Kalina", Births Reported in 1936 – Borough of Queens, New York City: New York City Department of Health: 469, 1936
  3. ^ a b "Joyce Ann Kalina and Amarjit Chopra [Marriage Index]", New York City Clerk's Office; Index to Marriages; Brooklyn, New York City: New York City Municipal Archives, 1961
  4. ^ a b "Abraham I. Kalina, 69, Is Dead; A State Supreme Court Justice". New York Times. New York City. August 4, 1975. p. 22. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  5. ^ "Tillie Kalina in the 1940 United States Federal Census", Bureau of the Census; Sixteenth Census of the United States; New York, Washington, D.C.: National Archives: 1B, 1940
  6. ^ a b Denson, Charles (2021). "Oral History Archive: Joyce Chopra". Coney Island History Project. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  7. ^ Baron, Lawrence (2021). Greenspoon, Leonard J. (ed.). The Pioneering American Jewish Women Directors: From Elaine May to Claudia Weill. Purdue University Press. pp. 217–244. doi:10.2307/j.ctv2x00vfz.18. ISBN 978-1-61249-727-3. JSTOR j.ctv2x00vfz.18. Retrieved December 19, 2025. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  8. ^ a b "Class of 1957". Brandeis Magazine. Summer. Waltham, Massachusetts. 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Sachs, Kat (April 24, 2023). "Joyce Chopra: Memoirs of a Trailblazer". Notebook Feature. MUBI. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Collection: Joyce Chopra Collection". Harvard Film Archive. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Library, Harvard University. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  11. ^ Cohen, Ronald D. (2002). "The Kingston Trio and the Emerging Revival, 1958–1959". Rainbow Quest: The Folk Music Revival and American Society, 1940-1970. Amherst; Boston: University Massachusetts Press. pp. 125–156. ISBN 1558493484. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c Moore, Honor (February 23, 2021). "Smooth Talk: Girl Power". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  13. ^ Hogan, Michael (November 3, 2024). "This article is more than 4 months old 'I only realised it was the first lesbian kiss after it aired': the trailblazers who changed TV for ever". The Guardian. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  14. ^ Eder, Richard (November 1, 1975). "Screen: Joyce Chopra Trilogy Examines Women". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  15. ^ "Medal of Honor Rag", IMDb, retrieved June 18, 2020
  16. ^ "Mentors". bykids.org. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  17. ^ a b Chopra, Joyce (2022). Lady Director: Adventures in Hollywood, Television and Beyond. City Lights Books. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-87286-869-4.
  18. ^ a b Brody, Richard (March 16, 2016). "Joyce at 34". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  19. ^ a b c "Smooth Talk (1985) Awards & Festivals". MUBI. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
  20. ^ "An American Girl on the Home Front (2006) Awards & Festivals". MUBI. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
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