Kendrick, who has been in the entertainment industry for more than two decades (for which he received Tony and Oscar nominations). High society in 1998 and In the air (both 2009) did not take on the management tasks lightly. She was already hired as an actress and executive producer when the production ran into delays and ended up needing a new director. “I started having this thought that wouldn't go away: What if I let myself direct the film?” she says. “The more I tried to push it away, the more stubborn it remained. And the idea that someone else could do it was starting to break my heart.” Still, it seemed like there was a lot at stake. “I also realize that if I say something idiotic in front of the crew, it will be my own shame. And then there’s the question, ‘My God, do you all think this is the reason people don’t like women as leaders or directors?’ That was really scary.”

The thought brings Kendrick back to a phase in her career where she worked hard to be “more of a boy than the boys.” “When I talked to guys about films in my early 20s, I only referred to mob films and exploitation films,” she says. “I learned this language to make them take my opinions seriously.”

When Kendrick got the job as director Woman of the hourHowever, she refused to make the film too graphic or shocking – qualities that would impress the guys she used to date. This visual discipline is only part of what constitutes Woman of the hour look and feel like the work of a veteran. Additionally, Kendrick worked closely with her cinematographer Zach Kuperstein to develop a consistent visual language that made the female victims of Rodney's violence, some of whom are shown in flashbacks, feel like they were actually seen and not objectified. “We shot with lenses that had a lot of character,” says Kendrick. “I wanted the beauty of the film to come from the women, the setting and their performances. And I wanted to bring her into nature, into this beautiful environment, because we have very little time to get to know her. And I wanted the space they occupied to express the breadth and complexity of their lives beyond that one violent moment.”