Game, set, Maggie

We've always loved Maggie Gyllenhaal for her intelligence, acting chops and girl-next door vibes. But the actress is ready to move on to bigger and better things - she's proven herself as a talented director and snagged an Oscar nomination for her first screenplay for a feature film.

- SANDRA PARMEE

IF you've read anything by Elena Ferrante, you'll know the pseudonymous Italian author is an expert at capturing the complexities of womanhood. This is exactly what drew Maggie Gyllenhaal to her writing. 'I never heard some of the things that she was writing about articulated before, and I found it really kind of stunning and shocking,' she says.

The famously reclusive author granted permission for the adaptation of The Lost Daughter on the basis that only Maggie could direct it. 'She said it had to be me, which I took as a real vote of confidence,' Maggie says. 'I needed that at the time.' It's evident that Ferrante made a prescient choice: Maggie has turned the author's third novel into a cinematic masterpiece. As a woman director, she is able to capture Leda's experience with unflinching honesty.

'Since there aren't nearly enough women directing, aspects of our experience aren't going to be expressed,' Maggie says. 'I mean, there are men who observe us very well but there are also going to be blind spots, so these personal experiences won't be expressed until women are the people making the movies.'

The Lost Daughter is not only Maggie's first film screenplay, but it's also her feature film directorial debut. The psychological drama centres on Leda, a middle-aged divorced mother who takes a solo vacation on a Greek island, where her interactions with fellow holidaymakers cause her to confront her difficult past. The film was released in select cinemas and on Netflix in the US in December 2021, and has been making waves ever since, winning Maggie the Directors Guild America Award for Best First-Time Feature and bagging Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Breakthrough Director and Outstanding Performance (for Olivia Colman) at the Gotham Awards. Maggie even received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay - an incredible feat considering this was her first attempt at screenwriting.