Kara Herold

Kara Herold’s films employ wit, thought-provoking storytelling, and dynamic visual assemblages to comment upon the uneasy intersections between feminist perspectives and dominant cultural expectations and institutions.  She has written, directed, and produced a broad variety of films, from short animations to award-winning documentaries. Bachelorette, 34, a humorous take on society’s obsession with marriage expressed through a mother-daughter relationship, premiered at the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam and played at the Documentary Fortnight at MoMA in New York in 2009.  Bachelorette, 34 is distributed by New Day Films.  Grrlyshow, about the girl ‘zine explosion in the ‘90s, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001, screened at many additional festivals, and is distributed by Women Make Movies.  Kara Herold's first feature comedy, 39½, premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival, and her new short film, The Callback, written in collaboration with Lisa McElroy, premiered at the Maryland Film Festival and screened internationally, including the Mill Valley Film Festival and Hof International Film Festival in Germany. She is currently working on a feature documentary, Mid-Film Crisis, for which she received a NYSCA grant in 2026. She is also working on a new short film, Live, Laugh, Give Up, also co-written with Lisa McElroy.

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Kara has won many additional awards and grants, including support from the New York State Council for the Arts,  San Francisco Arts Commission, Bay Area Video Coalition, Pacific Pioneer Fund, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Film Arts Foundation, and the Djerassi Resident Artists Program.