The room held about a hundred people, but double that many lined up. I wasn't surprised, just scared or maybe intimidated. Like when you feel called to do something that must be done right in the service of those you admire and those who admire them too. Late Saturday afternoon at New York, Comic Con is not a prime slot.
Most of the big announcements of summer movies or new television series have already happened, and anyone with a long ride home has their mind on leaving. But after the doors swung open, the room filled almost immediately with fans and filmmakers in training. They were here to give thanks and learn from two directors who broke new ground for women filmmakers nearly 40 years ago, and between them had made at least four movies that will outlive our grandchildren, have launched the careers of actors who are now world famous celebrities and have won enough awards to fill that room to capacity all over again.
My job was to moderate, which in this case meant to ask questions that led to stories about great movies from even greater careers, and then to encourage the audience to do the same. An unanswered question hung in the air like a curse. The first hand up during Q&A belonged to a charismatic film student in the sixth row.
She asked her heroes what could be done about the little progress women directors seemed to have made between their time in film school in the 1970s and hers director number one, nine movies and 35 years into a career said she had nothing to add to the discussion of a senseless problem that won't go away.
page one from Break the Frame: Conversations with Women Filmmakers by Kevin Smokler
Listen to Kevin Smokler read from page one of Break the Frame: Conversations with Women Filmmakers on Ep. 53 of the Page One Podcast.
Kevin Smokler knows how to command a room—and build tension from page one.
In Ep. 53 of the Page One Podcast, I flip the script and focus on his latest book, Break the Frame: Conversations with Women Filmmakers, published by Oxford Press as a series of interviews—rather than a singular narrative.
Why? Because this collection of unfiltered, intimate and often revolutionary conversations with 24 of the most successful American women behind the camera creates an intriguing, historic archive of names you may not even know yet, but whose work I guarantee you’ve likely seen, work that has shaped our entire culture.
That’s power. And I love that the power in this story is rooted in collaboration.
Filmmaking is the most collaborative storytelling medium—hence Kevin’s choice to render this book through Q&A and preserve the distinct voice of every creator in it.
Show Humility to Establish Trust
But let’s be honest, you may be wondering why is a man telling the story of these legendary women? Good question. First, Kevin is a filmmaker himself. And he owes his passion to many of the women he interviews. His dedication alone establishes the reverential tone: To the women who have shown me how. And why.
You reveal a lot when you start a book with an epigraph and a dedication. Kevin immediately disarms any doubters and quickly proceeds to the moment when it struck him. A late Saturday afternoon at Comic Con when history was made.
First Sentence Hook
”The room held about a hundred people, but double that many lined up.”
Kevin infuses the page with cinematic pacing and drops us into the moment.
He reveals a personal doubt in a very public event, establishing more trust with us. He positions himself as a reverent witness—humbly moderating a panel that is in the worst possible slot at New York Comic Con—the last afternoon panel after all the hype has been announced. So what’s left to celebrate? Is there any new news?
Apparently a whole lot as we keep reading.
Voice & Vulnerability
“I wasn’t surprised, just scared or maybe intimidated.”
Kevin’s honesty invites us to notice that this story isn’t just about the legendary women on the stage that day—it’s about a much larger story that nobody felt safe enough to discuss at length until he breaks the silence and addresses not just the biggest elephant in the room—but in the entire film industry.
Only 12% of films are made by women.
If your jaw just dropped, you’re not alone.
I was floored too. And flooded by questions.
Why? What’s keeping women away from this mighty storytelling medium?
How did these 24 women break the frame and transcend every limitation to create some of the most influential work of our times?
Why can’t I name them? Why can’t you? There’s a problem there.
Now that’s a story that kept Kevin Smokler busy for two years, and readers inclined to know.
How can Oscar award-winning filmmakers and those whose movies have received critical acclaim and major box office success like Amy Heckerling, Julie Dash, Mimi Leder, Jessica You, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Alice Wu and many more talented directors still be relatively ‘unknown’ to most of us?
Kevin wondered too, so he tackled the challenge of getting these women to earn his trust by bearing witness to their leadership, innovation and artistic brilliance.
A Chorus of Legacy
The paragraph that begins “They were here to give thanks…” delivers a mythic roll call of audience impact. Smokler doesn’t name the two directors. Instead, he positions them as a collective force—movies that will “outlive our grandchildren,” “actors who are now world-famous,” “awards enough to fill the room again.”
The effect is awe. Gravitas. Readers feel the weight of what these women have accomplished before we’re even told their names. And we’re not. On purpose.
The Question That Breaks the Frame:
Then the turn: a young film student dares to ask what still hasn’t changed.
“What could be done about the little progress women directors seemed to have made…”
The power of this line lies in how Smokler uses it as the real inciting incident of the scene—and call to write the book. This is not a Q&A. This is a reckoning.
Two Answers, One Silence
Smokler gives us contrast. One director shrugs off the question—“a senseless problem that won’t go away.” The fight is not hers alone and obviously something she’s had to accept. The other affirms the audience’s power—to support the work. But the most devastating detail? “Silence. No hands raised.”
A beat of emotional truth. The weight of this pervasive problem lands.
And then the pivot. Smokler breaks the frame of his own moderation.
He doesn’t ask the next question. He answers one—even though he knows it is not his job to answer. His job is to moderate while others ask the questions.
He proceeds because he knows his voice has power. His voice is addressing the awfully enormous elephant in the room—and the industry. He breaks the silence.
“We are here as fans… That is our power.”
This is the emotional spine of the page—and maybe the entire book.
Smokler reminds us that behind every frame is a choice. We don’t need permission to support women directors. We need participation. To choose to see their work, and maybe receive the incredible gift it is to our culture and our lives.
If you’re considering working on a collection of interviews—or if you’re considering writing book that is addressing a massive problem, start with the inciting moment that compelled you to spend months and years talking to your subjects.
It’s a wonderful way to frame a larger question, no pun intended.
How it works to hook us:
Start in media res. Smokler doesn’t ease into the moment—he launches us into the heat of it.
Use voice to disarm. Admitting fear draws the reader close, even in nonfiction. Who wants to listen to a know it all? Humility hooks us.
Show questions as turning points. The student’s query functions like a plot twist—it changes the energy in the room and reorients the narrative.
End with agency. The final paragraph reclaims power not just for women creators, but for audiences.
This is the kind of first page that earns trust—and turns a reader into a fan—not just of Kevin’s work, but of all the women filmmakers he interviews in this book.
What is achieved is profound. Kevin doesn’t just break the frame of traditional authorship—he steps into it, with humility and fierce love for the storytellers he interview—in this case some of the most legendary filmmakers of our time who’ve long been overlooked until now.
What he found, and what you’ll discover is that this is not a whoa-is-me story.
With its thoughtful and impactful introduction, Break the Frame illuminates not only the pioneering new ways these women captured story on film but how they masterfully turned obstacles into opportunities again and again. Episode 53 honors the resilience and brilliance of women leaders behind the camera and their powerful collaborations in storytelling. You might be blown away by what you thought you knew about your most favorite films—who made them and why.
How might this spark your own first page?
Were YOU hooked? I’m curious to know!
About Me:
I’ve been a private writing coach since 2005 and have taught in the MFA writing programs at the Academy of Art University, California College of the Arts, San Francisco State and Stanford Online Writers Studio. Please visit my website for all my books: hollylynnpayne.com including my recent work of historical fiction, Rose Girl: A Tale of Resilience and Rumi, a medieval, mystical thriller about a mysterious orphaned girl who posses the power to turn roses into rose oil and is mistaken for a saint for performing miracles.
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My latest work:
ROSE GIRL: A TALE OF RESILIENCE & RUMI A medieval, mystical thriller about Damascena, a mysterious orphaned girl who possesses the power to turn roses into rose oil and is mistaken as a saint for using it to heal people in 13th century Bulgaria—but she wants nothing to do with this power; she only wants to find her mother. Raised by a tyrannical monk who is deeply conflicted about his past, Damascena eventually escapes his captivity, finding refuge with a woodland hermit who teaches her how to grow roses to survive, a practice that makes her the target of admiration, exploitation and instigates a terrifying witch hunt. This is a haunting, hypnotic adventure about a girl who undergoes a profound personal transformation when she finally meets Rumi—who recognizes her as a spiritual master and initiates her into a secret dance that holds the key to her power.
Winner of a Kirkus starred Review
“Disarmingly powerful—a nuance story of female resilience that reaches across the ages.”
Editor’s Choice for The Historic Novel Society
“Riveting, gorgeous, engrossing! I raced to the end.”
Alka Joshi, NYT bestselling author of The Henna Artist
“A world of magic, mystery, poetry and above all, genuine love.”
Lee Kravetz, bestselling author of The Last Confessions of Sylvia P.