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Olivia Newman

Olivia Newman is an American film director and screenwriter born in Hoboken, New Jersey, best known for directing the coming-of-age drama First Match (2018), the mystery adaptation Where the Crawdads Sing (2022), and the upcoming adaptation Remarkably Bright Creatures (TBA). Newman holds a B.A. in and from and an M.F.A. in Film from . She began her career creating award-winning short films in the United States, , and , with her 2010 short serving as the basis for her feature directorial debut. That film, which follows a teenage girl from joining an all-boys high school wrestling team to reconnect with her estranged father, premiered at the (SXSW) Film Festival in 2018 and was subsequently acquired by for distribution. It received acclaim for its raw depiction of , family dynamics, and female empowerment in sports, earning an 85% approval rating on . In 2022, Newman made her studio feature debut with , directing the adaptation of ' bestselling novel about a young woman accused of murder in the marshes of . Starring , , and , the film grossed $144.3 million worldwide on a $24 million budget, marking a significant commercial success. Beyond features, Newman has directed episodes of television series including and Chicago P.D., expanding her work across both mediums.

Early life and education

Early life

Olivia Newman was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. She grew up in Hoboken as the youngest of five children in a family that emphasized creativity and artistic expression. Her parents, who met while serving in the Peace Corps, were open-minded, politically active, and musically inclined, creating an environment that nurtured her early interests in performance and storytelling. Her father, an avid hunter, took annual trips to Mississippi, bringing back venison for the family, which exposed her to elements of nature and self-reliance from a young age. Newman's childhood was marked by active involvement in theatre, particularly through school plays at The Hudson School, the institution founded and led by her mother, Suellen Newman, where she performed and developed a passion for narrative arts. These experiences, combined with the supportive family dynamic, laid the foundation for her artistic pursuits. During her junior year of high school, a year abroad in further broadened her perspective on culture and . This period of adolescence marked her shift from toward an emerging interest in film, which she would explore more formally in college. She graduated from The Hudson School in 1996.

Education

Olivia Newman earned a degree in and from . During her undergraduate years, she initially pursued studies, participating in college productions and building on her early interest in performance. However, exposure to film through a French cinema class shifted her focus toward screen storytelling, where she developed a particular admiration for directors like and . Newman later obtained a in Film from Columbia University School of the Arts, completing the program in 2012. Her graduate studies emphasized directing and screenwriting in a rigorous program that honed her narrative skills. Key experiences included working at Women Make Movies, a dedicated to the distribution of independent films by women filmmakers, which provided practical insights into the industry while she was enrolled. During her MFA, Newman developed early scripts and directed her first short film, (2010), a precursor to her later feature . This project, which explored themes of and , was produced as part of her graduate portfolio and later earned recognition, including a win in Columbia's Blue List competition in 2015. These academic endeavors solidified her transition from to .

Career

Early career and short films

Olivia Newman's early career began shortly after completing her MFA in film at , where she honed her skills through hands-on production work. Her debut short film, Blue-Eyed Mary (2009), explored the challenges faced by a developmentally challenged young woman over the course of one afternoon, marking her initial foray into narrative storytelling with a focus on personal growth and societal perceptions. The film premiered at the Women's Film Festival in 2010, earning recognition for its sensitive portrayal of vulnerability in a compact format. In 2010, while still at , Newman wrote and directed her breakthrough short , a poignant examination of wrestling and fractured family dynamics, centering on a 14-year-old girl in who joins an all-boys team to reconnect with her estranged father. This film garnered significant acclaim, winning Best Student Short at the 2012 Aspen Shortsfest and Best Short Film at the 2012 International , highlighting Newman's ability to weave emotional depth into sports-themed narratives within limited runtimes. Between 2010 and 2014, she expanded her international scope by producing additional shorts, including Petite Feet: Ballet Adventures with Liz (2010), which delved into the world of and personal ambition; these works were created across the , , and , showcasing her versatility in diverse cultural contexts. Newman's shorts collectively screened at prestigious venues such as the and Palm Springs International Shortsfest, affirming her innovative approach to short-form cinema and earning her early grants from organizations like the IFP/Durga Foundation and the Foundation. To build her professional network, she assisted at Women Make Movies, a nonprofit supporting women filmmakers, and became an alum of the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs, where she refined her projects through intensive workshops and mentorship. These experiences solidified her foundation in independent filmmaking before transitioning to larger-scale endeavors.

Television directing

Olivia Newman's television directing career began in the mid-2010s, where she honed her skills in high-stakes procedural dramas, demonstrating a command of tense pacing and character-driven narratives within episodic formats. Her work spans network and streaming platforms, showcasing versatility across action-oriented ensemble pieces and suspenseful adaptations. Newman's early television contributions include directing episodes of the "Chicago" franchise, starting with three episodes of Chicago Fire across seasons 7 and 8 in 2018 and 2019, where she captured the intense dynamics of firefighters and paramedics navigating life-threatening emergencies and interpersonal conflicts. She later helmed the season 7 episode "Mercy" of Chicago P.D. in 2020, focusing on the Intelligence Unit's pursuit of a serial killer, emphasizing procedural investigation and emotional toll on the team. These directorial efforts highlighted her ability to balance rapid action sequences with subtle ensemble interactions in the franchise's interconnected universe. Expanding into federal investigative procedurals, Newman directed an episode of FBI in season 2 (2020), contributing to the series' portrayal of the Field Office's high-pressure cases involving threats. Her direction underscored the procedural's blend of forensic detail and personal stakes for agents, aligning with the show's fast-paced format that demands precise tension-building in limited runtime. In 2019–2020, Newman directed an episode of USA Network's Dare Me (season 1), an adaptation of Megan Abbott's novel exploring the dark undercurrents of high school cheerleading, marked by psychological suspense and themes of loyalty and betrayal among young women. Her episode amplified the series' atmospheric tension through intimate character studies and shadowy visuals, distinguishing it from more action-heavy procedurals in her oeuvre. Newman's most recent television project as of 2023 is directing three episodes of the Apple TV+ miniseries The Last Thing He Told Me, adapted from Laura Dave's novel and starring Jennifer Garner as a woman unraveling her husband's mysterious disappearance. Serving also as co-executive producer, she infused the limited series with a cinematic intimacy, emphasizing emotional depth and thriller elements in a mother-stepdaughter relationship amid escalating danger. This work marked a shift toward prestige streaming adaptations, building on her procedural foundation while allowing greater narrative control.

Feature films

Newman's debut, First Match (2018), expanded her 2010 of the same name into a full-length drama that she wrote and directed. The story follows Monique "Mo" Allen, a teenage girl hardened by years in , who joins an all-boys wrestling team in Brooklyn's Brownsville neighborhood as a way to reconnect with her estranged father, recently released from prison. Premiering at in March 2018, where it won the Audience Award in the Narrative Feature Competition, the film was subsequently acquired by for worldwide distribution later that year. Key casting included newcomer Elvire Emanuelle in the lead role as Mo, supported by as her father and as her coach, emphasizing authentic portrayals of urban youth and familial bonds. In 2022, Newman directed , her first studio-backed feature and an adaptation of ' bestselling 2018 novel, produced by Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine. The screenplay by centers on Kya Clark, a young woman abandoned in the marshes of 1950s , who navigates isolation, , and a murder that tests her resilience. Newman collaborated closely with cinematographer Polly Morgan to capture the novel's evocative marshland setting, using and wide lenses to convey Kya's emotional solitude and connection to nature. Casting choices highlighted chemistry between leads as Kya and as her love interest Tate, alongside and , to underscore themes of outsider status and ecological intimacy. The film, released by , emphasized Newman's ability to blend visual poetry with narrative tension in a large-scale production. Newman's next project, the upcoming Netflix adaptation Remarkably Bright Creatures, announced in August 2024, sees her directing and co-writing the screenplay with John Whittington, based on Shelby Van Pelt's 2022 debut novel. The story explores an unlikely between , a grieving widow working as a night cleaner at a small-town aquarium, and Marcellus, a clever who aids in unraveling family secrets. stars as , with as her son, , and in supporting roles, allowing Newman to delve into themes of loss, curiosity, and intergenerational healing through whimsical yet poignant storytelling. Principal photography wrapped in May 2025, marking a continuation of Newman's focus on character-driven narratives with emotional depth.

Awards and nominations

For First Match

Olivia Newman's screenplay for First Match was selected as one of seven winners in the 2015 Columbia University School of the Arts Blue List competition, recognizing promising unproduced scripts by alumni. The film premiered at the 2018 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, where it achieved significant recognition as Newman's directorial debut. First Match won the Audience Award in the Narrative Feature category, highlighting its appeal to festival audiences. It also received the SXSW LUNA Gamechanger Award for Narrative Feature, an honor specifically for female directors of their first feature film, underscoring Newman's breakthrough in independent cinema. Additionally, the film was nominated for the Grand Jury Award in the Narrative Feature competition at SXSW, though it did not win. These accolades at SXSW marked a pivotal moment in Newman's career, affirming the film's impact on the independent festival circuit and paving the way for its subsequent Netflix release.

For Where the Crawdads Sing and other works

For her direction of the 2022 feature film Where the Crawdads Sing, Olivia Newman received industry recognition as one of only 10 women directing major theatrical releases that year among 111 total directors of the top-grossing films, according to the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative's analysis of gender representation behind the camera. This milestone highlighted her contribution to advancing female voices in studio filmmaking, with the adaptation noted for its lush visual storytelling and commercial success. Additionally, Newman was featured in IndieWire's 2022 list of 22 rising female filmmakers to watch, spotlighting her helming of the bestselling novel's screen adaptation as a breakthrough project. Newman's prior Sundance Institute fellowship from the Directors and Screenwriters Labs continued to influence her post- career, providing foundational support that enabled her work on and subsequent television projects, as evidenced by the institute's acknowledgment of her evolution into high-profile genre adaptations. In 2023, she directed three episodes of the Apple TV+ limited series , which earned for gender-balanced production, recognizing the inclusive hiring practices and creative leadership on the thriller series. The series also garnered a 2024 Astra TV Award nomination for supporting actor , underscoring the ensemble impact of Newman's directional contributions to the adaptation. By 2024, Newman's attachment to direct the adaptation of Remarkably Bright Creatures, starring and based on Shelby Van Pelt's , generated early industry buzz for its potential to blend literary drama with innovative storytelling, with wrapping in May 2025, though no formal awards or nominations had been announced as of 2025. These projects collectively positioned Newman among emerging female directors advancing diverse narratives in and television, with her work post-2022 contributing to broader discussions on gender equity in directing roles.

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