Joyce Chopra facts for kids

Joyce Chopra (born October 27, 1936) is an American film director and producer. She is known for making both documentaries and movies for TV. She was married to writer Tom Cole until he passed away in 2009.

Joyce Chopra's Early Life and Career Beginnings

Joyce Chopra grew up in New York City. Her father was a lawyer and judge. Her mother's name was Tillie. Joyce was one of three children. She lived in the neighborhoods of Coney Island and Brighton Beach.

College and Starting a Music Club

Joyce went to Brandeis University in Massachusetts. After graduating, she opened a coffee house with her first husband, Amarjit Chopra. This coffee house quickly became a famous music club called Club 47. Many well-known musicians, like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, performed there. A film about the club, For the Love of the Music, was shown in 2012.

Beginning Her Film Journey with Documentaries

Joyce Chopra started making documentary films in 1963. Her film Joyce at 34 (released in 1974) became very well-known. This film showed how her pregnancy affected her career. It also showed her giving birth to her daughter, Sarah. This was the first time a birth was shown live on television. The film won an award called the American Film Festival Blue Ribbon. It explored how women balance having a family and a career.

Exploring Young Lives in Documentaries

Joyce Chopra also made a series of short documentaries.

• Matina Horner: Portrait of a Person (1973) was about Matina Horner, a college president.
• Girls at 12 (1975) looked at how young girls change as they become teenagers.
• Clorae and Albie (1976) followed two best friends in Boston. It showed how their lives began to change in different ways.

Moving into Fiction Films and TV Work

In the mid-1980s, Joyce Chopra started making fiction films. She worked with writer Tom Cole. One of their first projects was for PBS in 1982.

Award-Winning Feature Films

Her first full-length movie, Smooth Talk (1985), was a big success. It was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Director. It also won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival. The movie was based on a short story by Joyce Carol Oates. Tom Cole wrote the movie's script.

Her second feature film was The Lemon Sisters. She made this movie with actress Diane Keaton. The film was about the long-lasting friendships between three women. After The Lemon Sisters, Joyce Chopra began directing many television shows and movies made for TV.

Helping Young Filmmakers

Besides directing her own films, Joyce Chopra is part of an organization called BYKids. This group connects filmmakers with young people from around the world. Together, they create short documentaries. One example is My Beautiful Nicaragua. This film is about how climate change is harming coffee farms in Nicaragua.

Awards and Recognitions

Joyce Chopra has won several awards for her work:

• Smooth Talk: Grand Jury Prize at Sundance for Best Dramatic Feature (1985)
• Molly: An American Girl on the Homefront: Humanities Award
• That Our Children Will Not Die: American Film Festival Blue Ribbon Award
• Joyce at 34: American Film Festival Blue Ribbon Award
• Martha Clarke Light & Dark: A Dancer's Journal: American Film Festival Blue Ribbon Award
• Girls at Twelve: American Film Festival Blue Ribbon Award

Film and TV Projects

Joyce Chopra has directed many different types of films and TV shows.

Fiction Films

• Smooth Talk (1985)
• The Lemon Sisters (1990)

Documentary Films

• A Happy Mother's Day (1963)
• 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)

Movies Made for TV

• Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story (1991)
• Baby Snatcher (1992)
• The Danger of Love: The Carolyn Warmus Story (1992)
• The Disappearance of Nora (1993)
• Angel Falls (1993) TV Series
• The Corpse Had a Familiar Face (1994)
• Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan (1995)
• My Very Best Friend (1996)
• L.A. Johns (1997)
• Convictions (1997)
• Murder in a Small Town (1999)
• Replacing Dad (1999)
• The Lady in Question (1999)
• Rip Girls (2000)
• Blonde (2001)
• Hollywood Wives: The New Generation (2003)
• The Last Cowboy (2003)
• Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front (2006)

TV Series Episodes

• PBS American Playhouse Medal of Honor, Rag (1982)
• Everwood
• Crossing Jordan
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit