Biography
Openly gay filmmaker Donna Deitch made documentaries and shorts before releasing her independent feature film debut
Desert Hearts in 1985. After winning an honorable mention at Sundance, the romantic drama remains a lesbian cult classic and has inspired another generation of gay filmmakers. However, the film didn't open too many doors for Deitch in Hollywood, so she took her talents to television. In 1989, she directed the Emmy-nominated ABC miniseries
The Women of Brewster Place. Several TV movies and straight-to-video releases followed, including a segment in the TV anthology Prison Stories: Women on the Inside. She has directed episodes of
NYPD Blue,
ER,
Murder One, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 1997, she was met with festival acclaim for her documentary
Angel on My Shoulder, a story about actress
Gwen Welles' struggle with cancer. After making the Showtime movie
Common Ground, she directed the popular TV dramas
Judging Amy,
Crossing Jordan, and
Dragnet. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide