Teresa Villaverde: Making Omelets without Eggs By Sharaf Rehman, MFA, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Communication University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA sharaf.rehman@utrgv.edu ABSTRACT Nearly 50 percent of the students graduating with degrees in film directing are women; nearly half of the film audiences around the globe are women; yet, women direct only 8 percent of the films. Like most other industries, men control by men the film industries. An opportunity to direct a film is hard to come by for men. It’s harder for women. However, when a woman breaks through the glass ceiling, the results are refreshingly satisfying bringing new perspectives on the female experience and interpersonal relationships. The purpose of this paper is to bring to focus the work of a Portuguese film director, Teresa Villaverde. Starting as an actor in À Flor do Mar /Hovering Over The Water(1986), and directing her first feature film, A Idade Maior (1991), she has directed more than a dozen films. For many of these, she has also doubled as writer, editor, cinematographer, and producer. Not only is she a prolific auteur director, her work has earned recognition at international film festivals. The paper describes her professional career and some of the themes she has tackled in her films, e.g., the homeless, the socially alienated, the economically unnecessary, the abused and the silenced. Working with small budgets, she has established herself among the most significant directors in Europe. Relying on existing interviews and reviews, the paper presents Villaverde as a role model for other women pursuing careers in cinema.