Donna Deitch

Donna Deitch (born June 8, 1945 in San Francisco, California) is an American film, television director and writer best known for her 1985 film Desert Hearts. The movie was the first feature film to depict a lesbian love story in a generally mainstream vein, with positive and respectful themes. 2Biography 3Career Donna Deitch segued from award-winning documentary filmmaker to producing and directing Desert Hearts, the landmark hit of the 1985 Telluride and Toronto International film festivals, and the 1986 Sundance Film Festival. The film was picked up for worldwide distribution by The Samuel Goldwyn Company. Shortly after seeing the film, Oprah Winfrey hired Deitch to direct the Emmy-nominated four-hour mini-series The Women of Brewster Place. Deitch directed four pilots subsequent to the success of Brewster Place, three of which were picked up for series, including Second Noah. She has directed numerous episodes of one-hour dramas including NYPD Blue, ER, Murder One, Law and Order: SVU, EZ Streets, The Visitor, Dragnet, Crossing Jordan, Heroes, Private Practice, and others. She directed the pilot episode of The N's, South of Nowhere. She directed Prison Stories: Women on the Inside for HBO; Showtime's The Devil's Arithmetic starring Kirsten Dunst and Brittany Murphy, and Common Ground, written by Terrence McNally, Paula Vogel, and Harvey Fierstein (also for Showtime). Deitch directed, photographed, and edited Angel On My Shoulder, a feature-length documentary about the experience of her best friend, actress Gwen Welles (Nashville), dying of cance