Jovanka Vuckovic

Birthday: 23 November 1975, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Birth Name: Jovanka Vuckovic

Jovanka Vuckovic is an award winning writer and filmmaker. Her university education was in Physical Anthropology. She had a 5 year stint as a visual effects artist, won a Gemini Award for Best Visual Effects, then moved on to edit the horror publication Rue Morgue Magazine for six and a half years. She has been twice-named one of the most influential women in horror, alongside Kathryn Bigelow and Mary Shelley, having put the fledgling Rue Morgue on the map under her stewardship. Her presence at the helm opened up the doors for more women to become involved in the horror genre. She is also the author of Zombies! An Illustrated History of the Undead, from St. Martin's Press (with an introduction by zombie godfather, George Romero).Vuckovic now writes and directs her own films. The first of which, the award-winning short The Captured Bird, is executive produced by genre film legend Guillermo del Toro. She has been an outspoken voice for gender equality and continues to raise the profile of women in film by writing and directing stories exclusively about women. In 2016 she executive produced and directed a segment for XX, the first ever all-female horror anthology from XYZ Films/Magnet Releasing and is currently working on a feature film adaptation of Clive Baker's Jacqueline Ess, as well as an original screenplay All My Heroes Are Dead, which will be produced by Darius Films in 2017. She is also in development on the feature documentary How We Die, with the producer of Blackfish, as well as a new television series for VICE's newly minted television channel Viceland. Show less «

When it comes to horror, women are more often seen than they are heard. In other words, people are m...Show more »

When it comes to horror, women are more often seen than they are heard. In other words, people are more familiar with scream queens than they are the contributions of women behind the scenes. Show less «

I'd like to attempt to make more thoughtful, artistic horror films and I don't feel that boobs and b...Show more »

I'd like to attempt to make more thoughtful, artistic horror films and I don't feel that boobs and blood are necessary components. Show less «

As I said, it's more often "personalities" that make an impact on the genre, historically. I'd have ...Show more »

As I said, it's more often "personalities" that make an impact on the genre, historically. I'd have to say the most significant woman in the history of horror would have to be Vampira (aka Maila Nurmi). She was the first television horror host-a sexy, empowered vamp in a tight black revealing dress-shrieking morbid jokes at viewers when The Vampira Show debuted in 1954s. Before her, almost every female in horror was a victim. Her show didn't last long, but the impression she left on the genre can still be felt today. She was a true trailblazer, the first horror host, the first goth pin-up, the inspiration for Forrest J. Ackerman's Vampirella character and she even allegedly dumped Marlon Brando for stepping on a trail of ants! The horror genre would not be the same without the contributions of this dark diva. Show less «

What isn't a boys club besides needlepoint and nursery school? Men dominate all arenas, not just the...Show more »

What isn't a boys club besides needlepoint and nursery school? Men dominate all arenas, not just the horror genre. Women were not encouraged to become involved in things like horror films, comic books and extreme sports. It's just not what women in polite society did. They were especially discouraged from being filmmakers because filmmaking is a technical art. This is how they ended up on screen instead of behind screens. We now live in an age where porn is mainstream so no one's really worried if women are watching horror movies any longer. Show less «

In the early 1970s, Gloria Steinem gave an address to the women of America in which she spoke about ...Show more »

In the early 1970s, Gloria Steinem gave an address to the women of America in which she spoke about a 'society in which there will be no roles other than those chosen or those earned.' We have yet to arrive at this utopia. Some still believe women aren't suited for the technical art of filmmaking. Even though Alice Guy-Blaché helped create narrative film as we know it today, people think women can't direct. Even though Ann Radcliffe helped define the Gothic fiction movement - the precursor to modern horror fiction - people think women can't write horror. Even though a woman wrote Frankenstein - arguably the first science fiction novel - people think women can't do sci-fi. There is this erroneous belief that women can't make monsters. But we made all of you, didn't we? Show less «

Up until the 1970s women were often portrayed as the hysterical, helpless victim. Then, all of a sud...Show more »

Up until the 1970s women were often portrayed as the hysterical, helpless victim. Then, all of a sudden, they started fighting back and the notion of the "final girl" began to emerge. This is a phrase coined by Carol Clover in her book Men, Women and Chainsaws. She observed this shift in the roles of women, particularly in slasher films, where the viewer identifies with the final girl toward the end of the film as she fights off the killer and ultimately lives to tell the story. Show less «

There are a handful of female horror directors who have made major motion pictures (Mary Harron, Mar...Show more »

There are a handful of female horror directors who have made major motion pictures (Mary Harron, Mary Lambert, Kathryn Bigelow, Antonia Bird, etc) but I'm not sure they "shaped" the genre just by making a few films. I mean, Doris Wishman was making exploitation films before Herschell Gordon Lewis ever picked up a camera but no one really knows who she is. Show less «

[on Alien's Ellen Ripley] Thank you, Ridley Scott for not changing the character after you cast a wo...Show more »

[on Alien's Ellen Ripley] Thank you, Ridley Scott for not changing the character after you cast a woman in the role. Show less «

Jovanka Vuckovic

Jovanka Vuckovic's FILMOGRAPHY

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