Joyce Chopra

Much of Chopra's work treats the themes of sexuality and sensuality of women. These films often focus on the transitional periods in women's lives. Smooth Talk is concerned with puberty; Joyce at 34 focuses on pregnancy; and The Lemon Sisters centers around new loves, lifestyles, and new career choices. Her other works — mostly documentary — focus on youth.

Chopra was born in New York City to Judge Abraham and Tillie Kalina. A few months after her graduation from Brandeis, she and a partner opened a European-style coffee house near Harvard Square at 47 Mt Auburn St., quickly turning it into a music club (Club 47) where everyone from Joan Baez to Bob Dylan performed. The Club was the subject of the 2012 film For the Love of the Music, shown at the Boston International Film Festival.

Her first narrative feature-length film, Smooth Talk (1985), was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director and won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival. The film is an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' 1966 short story, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?, and was adapted by Tom Cole.

Chopra transitioned into fiction film making around the mid-1980s after meeting and working with Tom Cole. One of their first collaborations was a PBS American Playhouse production Medal of Honor Rag in 1982.

Chopra's own film career began with documentary film making in 1963 and gained much recognition by feminist film scholars with her autobiographical documentary Joyce at 34 (1974). The film stars Chopra and examines the effect her pregnancy had on her film making career. The documentary received the American Film Festival Blue Ribbon award. The film explores the issues surrounding women when pursuing the creation of a family while also creating a professional career.

Joyce Chopra was born on October 27, 1936.