Kelly Reichardt  Kelly Reichardt (; born March 3, 1964) is an American screenwriter and film director. She is known for her minimalist-style films, many of which deal with working class characters in small, rural communities. She made her feature film debut with "River of Grass" (1994), and subsequently directed a series of films set and filmed in Oregon: the dramas "Old Joy" (2006) and "Wendy and Lucy" (2008); the Western "Meek's Cutoff" (2010); and the thriller "Night Moves" (2013). In 2016, Reichardt wrote and directed the Montana-set drama "Certain Women". Reichardt was born in 1964 and raised in Miami, Florida. She developed a passion for photography when she was young. Her parents were law enforcement officers who separated when she was young. She earned her MFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Aside from working as a director, she also makes money by teaching at several liberal arts colleges. Her debut film "River of Grass" was released in 1994. It was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards, as well as the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. It was named as one of the best films of 1995 by the "Boston Globe", "Film Comment", and "The Village Voice". Reichardt then had trouble making another feature film, saying "I had 10 years from the mid-1990s when I couldn’t get a movie made. It had a lot to do with being a woman. That’s definitely a factor in raising money. During that time, it was impossible to get anything going, so I just said, ‘Fuck you!’ and did Super 8 shorts instead." In 1999, she completed her sophomore feature, "Ode", based on Herman Raucher's novel "Ode to Billy Joe". Next, she made two short films, "Then a Year", made in 2001, and "Travis", which deals with the Iraq War, in 2004. In these two films, critics have noted that she makes clear her displeasure with the Bush administration and their handling of the Iraq War in a subtle manner that she often does. Most of her films are regarded by critics to be part of the minimalist movement in films. In 2006, she completed "Old Joy", based on a short story in Jon Raymond's collection "Livability". Daniel London and singer-songwriter Will Oldham portray two friends who reunite for a camping trip to the Cascades and Bagby Hot Springs, near Portland, Oregon.