Eliza Hittman
Eliza Hittman (born December 9, 1979) is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer from New York City. She has won multiple awards for her film Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which include the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award—both for best screenplay.
Eliza Hittman

Montclair Film Festival · 0001-Beach_Rats-Frank_Schramm-Frank Schramm - 01 Beach Rats MFF 2017 fs · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Eliza Hittman
- Born
- 9 December 1979
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Education
- * Indiana University Bloomington
- Occupation
- Filmmaker
- Nationality
- United States.
- Known for
- It Felt Like Love, Beach Rats and Never Rarely Sometimes Always.
- Honours
- Guggenheim Fellowship.
- Languages
- English.
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Eliza Hittman (born December 9, 1979) is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer from New York City. She has won multiple awards for her film Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which include the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award—both for best screenplay.
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wikidata · Q18764127 · wikipedia · Eliza Hittman
In this article
Biography
Biography
Eliza Hittman studied at California Institute of the Arts and Edward R. Murrow High School. The recorded working language is English. Works named in the authority record are It Felt Like Love, Beach Rats and Never Rarely Sometimes Always. Distinctions recorded are Guggenheim Fellowship.

Film director Eliza Hittman at the Berlinale 2020
Harald Krichel
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Eliza Hittman • Born — 9 December 1979 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Education — * Indiana University Bloomington • California Institute of the Arts • Occupation — Filmmaker • Years Active — 2008–present
Early life
Early life
Hittman was born and raised in Flatbush, Brooklyn. She attended Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, where she was a theater buff. She graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 2001 with a BA in theater and drama, but later went on to study art and film, and in 2010 received her MFA from the School of Film/Video at California Institute of the Arts. Hittman is Jewish. In between the time of her BA and MFA, Hittman staged plays back in New York City. She didn’t see a future or career in theater. This jump to film is what ultimately led her to California Institute of the Arts. While at the California Institute of the arts, she met her partner Scott Cummings. They share a child, born circa 2014.
Career
Career
In 2010, Hittman wrote and directed a short film while in graduate school titled, Second Cousins Once Removed. This short film premiered at Oberhausen festival in Germany, and was the first film she ever submitted to any festival. Her short film Forever's Gonna Start Tonight premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was on Indiewire's "The Best of the Best" list. Hittman's first feature film, It Felt Like Love, premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and opened at the IFC Center in New York in March 2014. It has received positive reviews, with a score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was a Critic's Pick of both The New York Times and the Village Voice. She was named one of Filmmaker Magazines 25 New Faces of Indie Film in 2013. Her second film Beach Rats, starring Harris Dickinson, was selected for the 2015 Sundance Screenwriter's Lab, had its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2017, where she won the Directing Award and was acquired by Neon. The film had its international premier at Locarno in the Golden Leopard Competition. It also won the Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting, Outstanding Screenwriting in a U.S. Feature at Outfest, and the London Critics’ Circle Film Award for Young British/Irish Performer of the Year. Her third film, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, starring Sidney Flanigan, is about a teenager in rural Pennsylvania who travels to New York City with her cousin to access an abortion for an unwanted pregnancy. It premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Award for Neo-Realism. The film was also selected to compete for the Golden Bear in the main competition section at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival and won Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, the second most prestigious prize at the festival. The film was also nominated for seven Independent Spirit Awards as well as winning New York Critics Circle Awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actress. In a 2020 interview with FF2 Media, Hittman explains the balance she struck between documentary cinema vérité and narrative: "Planned Parenthood read drafts, gave me access to people to interview, and allowed us to shoot in their facility. It was a balance, I think, because obviously, I'm not a documentary filmmaker. The film is ultimately a character study. I really tried to absorb as much perspective and information as I could but then sort of shape it into a unique fictional story." As far as future work, in an interview from 2020, Hittman says she has "something simmering inside my head." Hittman served as director and executive producer of multiple episodes of the upcoming Peacock true crime miniseries A Friend of the Family based on the kidnapping of Jan Broberg. Hittman currently works at Pratt Institute as an assistant professor in the Film/Video Department for the School of Art.
Style and themes
Style and themes
Hittman has been noted to make films that surround teen sexuality and female hardships. Her first feature film It Felt Like Love centers on the sexual awakening of a young teenage girl, and her impatience to grow up. Her second film Beach Rats is a story that highlights the idea of masculinity in young men and their sexual interests. Her most recent film, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, follows a teenaged girl as she travels from Pennsylvania to New York City with her cousin in search of an abortion. In terms of visuals, Hittman’s camera work tends to frame the characters very closely, usually in long takes.
Filmography
Filmography
Short film • Year — Title — Director — Producer — Writer — Notes • 2010 — Second Cousins Once Removed • 2011 — Forever's Gonna Start Tonight • 2014 — Buffalo Juggalos — Documentary Short Feature film • Year — Title — Director — Writer — Producer • 2013 — It Felt Like Love • 2017 — Beach Rats • 2020 — Never Rarely Sometimes Always Television • Year — Title — Director — Executive Producer — Writer — Notes • 2018 — High Maintenance — 2 episodes • 2018 — 13 Reasons Why — 2 episodes • 2022 — A Friend of the Family — 2 episodes
Accolades
Accolades
In 2014, for It Felt Like Love, she was nominated for the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award, and for the John Cassavetes Spirit Award. With her sophomore film, Beach Rats, in 2017 Hittman won the Directing Award: Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival, Best Screenwriting in a U.S. Feature at Outfest, the Grand Jury Prize at the Independent Film Festival Boston, and the Future/Now Prize at the Montclair Film Festival. Beach Rats was nominated for several more awards during its premiere season. In 2017, Beach Rats premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where she won the Directing Award, and internationally premiered at Locarno in the Golden Leopard Competition and was the Centerpiece Film at New Directors / New Films. In 2018, it was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Male Lead at the Independent Spirit awards and a Breakthrough Actor Award for the Gothams Awards. Beach Rats was also the winner of the Best Narrative Film at the 2017 Independent Film Festival of Boston, the Best Feature Film at the 2017 Hamburg Film Festival, and the Outstanding Screenwriting in a U.S. Feature at the L.A. Outfest Awards.. This film was very accomplished in 2017. She was a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship for film-video in 2018. In 2020, Hittman was nominated for and won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay for Never Rarely Sometimes Always. She also won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay. In 2021, she was selected as Jury President for International competition section of 74th Locarno Film Festival held from 4 to 14 August.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Awards - New York Film Critics Circle - NYFCC.
- 2.'Nomadland' wins best picture at National Society of Film Critics awards. USA TODAY.
- 3.Mark, Morales. Murrow HS grad's first full-length film to be featured at Sundance with a little help from alumni. NY Daily News. January 17, 2013.
- 4.Stages. Indiana University.
- 5.Fraser, Paul. 24700. blog.calarts.edu. October 28, 2014.
- 6.Eliza Hittman Archives.
- 7.Eliza Hittman Gives Teaser of New Film. February 13, 2017.
- 8.Pilkington, Dante. Eliza Hittman Filmmaker Magazine. Filmmaker Magazine Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources. 2013-07-15.
- 9.Her Dark Materials. Vulture. April 4, 2020.
- 10.Interview of 'Second Cousins Once Removed'. March 17, 2020.
- 11.Forever's Gonna Start Tonight. Sundance Institute.
- 12.Katie, Walsh. Exclusive: Poster Premiere For Sundance Coming-Of-Age Drama 'It Felt Like Love'. Indiewire. January 19, 2013.
- 13.DeFore, John. It Felt Like Love: Sundance Review. The Hollywood Reporter. January 24, 2013.
- 14.It Felt Like Love. IFC Center.
- 15.It Felt Like Love (2014). Rotten Tomatoes. March 21, 2014.
- 16.Catsoulis, Jeannette. It Felt Like Love (2013). The New York Times. 2014.
- 17.Wilson, Chuck. It Felt Like Love: A Bracing Look at What Girls Want. Village Voice. December 1987.
- 18.Eliza Hittman. Filmmaker Magazine. July 15, 2013.
- 19.Sundance Institute Announces 12 Projects for 2015 January Screenwriters Lab. Sundance.
- 20.Pratt Institute. Eliza Hittman Assistant Professor. pratt.edu.
- 21.Beach Rats. Sundance Film Festival.
- 22.Hipes, Patrick. 'Beach Rats' Lands Deal With Neon At Sundance. Deadline Hollywood. January 28, 2017.
- 23.Pratt Institute. Eliza Hittman Assistant Professor. pratt.edu.
- 24.Hipes, Patrick. Sundance Film Festival Awards: 'Minari' Scores Double Top Honors – The Complete Winners List. Deadline. 2020-02-02.
- 25.Pratt Institute. Eliza Hittman Assistant Professor. pratt.edu.
- 26.Solzman, Danielle. Eliza Hittman talks Never Rarely Sometimes Always. FF2 Media. 2020-03-13.
- 27.Laffly, Tomris. Her Decision: Eliza Hittman on Her Observational, Intimate and Necessarily Political Never Rarely Sometimes Always Filmmaker Magazine. Filmmaker Magazine Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources. 2020-03-17.
- 28.Pratt Institute. Eliza Hittman Assistant Professor. pratt.edu.
- 29.Laffly, Tomris. Her Decision: Eliza Hittman on Her Observational, Intimate and Necessarily Political Never Rarely Sometimes Always Filmmaker Magazine. Filmmaker Magazine Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources. 2020-03-17.
- 30.Luers, Erik. Nominees Announced for 24th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards by IFP. IFP. October 23, 2014.
- 31.30th Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations Announced. Film Independent. November 25, 2014.
- 32.John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
- 33.Eliza Hittman. gf.org.
- 34.'Nomadland' wins best picture at National Society of Film Critics awards. USA TODAY.
- 35.Awards - New York Film Critics Circle - NYFCC.
- 36.74th Locarno Film Festival (Concorso Internazionale: Jury). Locarno Film Festival. July 3, 2021.
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