Judy Irola facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Judy Irola
Born	Judith Carol Irola (1943-11-23)November 23, 1943 Fresno, California, U.S.
Died	February 21, 2021(2021-02-21) (aged 77) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Cinematographer

Judy Irola (born Judith Carol Irola; November 23, 1943 – February 21, 2021) was an American filmmaker. She worked as a cinematographer, which means she was in charge of the camera and lighting for movies. She also produced and directed films.

Judy Irola was a pioneer for women in film. She was only the third woman to join the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). This is a very important group for people who work with cameras in movies. She also led the cinematography department at the USC School of Cinematic Arts for 15 years. There, she held a special teaching position called the Conrad Hall Chair in Cinematography.

Irola helped start a branch of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET) in San Francisco in 1969. This was a union for people working in broadcasting. In 1972, she also helped create Cine Manifest, a group of filmmakers.

Early Life and Adventures

Judy Irola was born on November 23, 1943, in a countryside area of Fresno, California. Her parents, Barbara and Johnny Irola, were sheep farmers. Her grandparents had moved to the United States from the Basque region of Spain in 1917.

Judy had two younger sisters, Jeanne and Barbara Jo. They often went to Saturday movies at their local theater. Later in 2014, Judy made a short documentary called The Sheepherder's Daughters. It showed what their childhood on the farm was like.

Judy left college to learn secretarial skills at a business school. She then used these skills for jobs in London and Seville. In 1965, she joined the Peace Corps. This is a program where Americans volunteer to help people in other countries. After three months of training, she spent two years in Niger, a country in Africa. There, she helped improve water and sanitation, build schools, and teach about health. She later made a documentary about this time called Niger '66: A Peace Corps Diary (2010).

After her time in Niger, Irola returned to San Francisco. She started working in the offices of KQED-TV, a television station. She began helping out in their film department on weekends. Eventually, they hired her as a full-time camera person.

Career in Film

While working at KQED-TV, Judy Irola helped create a local branch of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET). She started as a shop-steward, which is like a representative for workers. Later, she became the branch's President.

In 1972, KQED-TV closed its film department. So, Irola and other filmmakers started Cine Manifest. This was a film collective, a group of people who worked together to make movies. Judy was the only woman in the group. They made documentaries and public service announcements for groups like Amnesty International. They also made two feature films, which are longer movies.

Irola later made a documentary about this group called Cine Manifest (2006). She was the cinematographer for Northern Lights, their first feature film. This movie won a special award called the Caméra d'Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. People praised her camera work, with one critic comparing it to the famous photographer Dorothea Lange.

Working in New York City

After Northern Lights, Irola left Cine Manifest and moved to New York City. She shared an apartment with other filmmakers, Sandi Sissel and Joan Churchill. It was difficult for her to join the main film union there, the IATSE. The other union, NABET, only covered people who shot commercials.

Despite this, she filmed stories and documentaries for popular TV shows like 60 Minutes and 20/20. She also worked for the BBC and other international channels.

She started working with Tom Schiller, a writer for Saturday Night Live. Together, they made eight short films for SNL. These included La Dolce Gilda with Gilda Radner and Don’t Look Back in Anger with John Belushi. She also began filming smaller independent movies.

In 1986, she was the cinematographer for Working Girls, directed by Lizzie Borden. The film received good reviews for its cinematography and did well at the box office. However, the IATSE union noticed she had worked on the film without their union card. They fined her, but she fought back and eventually gained permission to work, though she still couldn't officially join them.

Moving to Los Angeles

In 1989, after the challenges with the union, Irola moved to Los Angeles. There, she filmed Lifestories for NBC television. She also worked on many "films of the week" for ABC and NBC.

In 1993, she worked on the feature film Ambush of Ghosts with director Everett Lewis. Her excellent camera work earned her the Award for Excellence in Cinematography at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. In the same year, she became a professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

In 1995, Judy Irola was nominated to join the ASC by other famous cinematographers. She became only the third woman to be accepted into this important association. Because she was a well-known female cinematographer, people often asked for her opinions about the film industry. She was featured in the book Women Behind the Camera - Conversations with Camerawomen (1997) and the documentary Cinematographer Style (2005).

Irola became a professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1992. By 1999, she was chosen to lead the cinematography department. She held this important position until she retired in 2018. From 2005, she also held the Conrad Hall Chair in Cinematography and Color Timing. This was a special teaching role supported by famous directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

Later Life and Passing

Judy Irola passed away on February 21, 2021, in Los Angeles. She was 77 years old and died from problems related to COVID-19.

Awards and Recognition

Judy Irola received many awards for her work:

• Caméra d'Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival for Northern Lights
• Excellence in Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival 1993 for An Ambush of Ghosts
• Women in Film Kodak Vision Award 1997
• Women’s International Film & Television Showcase Foundation Cinematographer Award 2009
• Women’s International Film & Television Showcase Cinematographer Award 2012
• Nat Tiffen Award for Excellence in Cinematography Education 2014

Film and Television Work

Here are some of the films and TV shows Judy Irola worked on:

As a cinematographer (camera and lighting):

• Song of the Canary (1978)
• Northern Lights (1978)
• Controlling Interest: The World of the Multinational Corporation (1978)
• Saturday Night Live: Schiller’s Reel (1978) – She filmed eight short films for this, including La Dolce Gilda and Don’t Look Back in Anger with John Belushi.
• The Wobblies (1979)
• The Free Voice of Labor: The Jewish Anarchists (1979)
• The Willmar 8 (1980)
• Fundi: The Ella Baker Story (1981)
• Anarchism in America (1981)
• In the King of Prussia (1982)
• Vietnam: A Television History (1983)
• Working Girls (1986)
• The Uncompromising Revolution/Fidel at 60 (1988)
• Lifestories (1991) – A 9-part TV series for PBS.
• The Man Who Tried To Buy Hollywood: Giancarlo Parretti (1991) – This film won First Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
• The Glamorous Days of The Adlon Hotel (1995) – This film won First Prize at the Bavarian Film Festival.

As a director:

• Cine Manifest (2006) – A documentary about the film collective she co-founded.
• Niger '66: A Peace Corps Diary (2010) – A documentary about her time in the Peace Corps.
• The Sheepherder's Daughters (2014) – A short documentary about her childhood.

See also

In Spanish: Judy Irola para niños