Courtney Hunt

The rigors of law school convinced Courtney Hunt that a legal career was not for her, so she returned to her first love, the cinema, and became a fiercely independent writer and director. Her debut feature, "Frozen River" (2008), took an unflinching look at the circumstances that drive two women - one white (Melissa Leo), one Native American (Misty Upham) - to risk their lives by smuggling illegal immigrants across the Canadian border. The self-financed project was the hit of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, and reaped critical accolades following its release to arthouse theaters later that year. Hunt's insistence on hard realism and biting drama helped to elevate her from relative unknown to an in-demand filmmaker with a unique perspective on women in film.