Martha R. Cotton

Martha Cotton started her directing career in journalism, covering the influx of Haitian refugees to Florida; the demise of the family farm, and the Olympics. Her work was nationally recognized by her peers, earning her several Emmys and Emmy nominations; two Columbia DuPont awards, and a Robert F. Kennedy Foundation Award, among other national and international accolades. Under the tutelage of Oscar-winning director Jon Avnet, she began the transition to entertainment on UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. That led to other major studio films, such as VOLCANO, ENEMY OF HE STATE, and THE NEGOTIATOR, where she worked alongside filmmakers to enhance the storytelling of their films. She was accepted to the American Film Institute's prestigious Directing Workshop for Women. Her short, GLORY GIRL, won the award for Creative Excellence at the Telluride Indiefest, which qualified it for Oscar consideration. Her short film 1 ZER0, shot entirely on an iPhone, premiered at the Cairo Mobile Film Festival in 2016, and went on to Cannes. She has also developed series and miniseries at cable networks in the interim; spent a stint as a development executive, and even taught film to students from other countries. She is active at the Directors Guild of America, where she was selected for the Directors Development Initiative. At the Producers Guild of America, she co-chaired the formation and launch of the Women's Impact Network. She also mentors for the PGA's Diversity Committee, which not only runs an annual workshop for talented diverse storytellers, but produces the Media Access Awards. In 2017 she oversaw the launch of the first of the multi-guild women's mixers, designed to introduce talented women to each other, and to hiring industry executives. The first event was hosted by Netflix.