SYNOPSIS Making Trouble USA, 2006, 85 mins. English Spotlight Women and Film Documentary Director: Rachel Talbot Four leading Jewish women comics get together at Katz’s Deli in New York to talk about their careers and the trailblazers who came before them, the result is enlightening, humorous, and touching. Over lunch, contemporary comediennes Judy Gold, Cory Kahaney, Jackie Hoffman and Jessica Kirson discuss the challenges of being funny women, how they were influenced by the continuum of Jewish women entertainers, and the traditions and mores that bind them. Their discussion is intercut with profiles of six exceptional performers. Featured are early comediennes Molly Picon, the iconic Yiddish theatre and screen star; Fanny Brice, the influential singer, actress and entertainer of Ziegfeld Follies fame; and Sophie Tucker, the racy international star of vaudeville, theater and film. In-depth profiles also shed new light on entertainer Joan Rivers, who fought her way to the top; the late, great comedienne Gilda Radner, of Saturday Night Live fame; and award-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein, best known for The Heidi Chronicles. Filmmaker Rachel Talbot intuitively tells their stories through photographs, archival footage, entertaining film clips and interviews. Making Trouble creates a new appreciation for the vital contributions of these daring, funny women to the  world of entertainment. Director Rachel Talbot produced (with Ken Bowser) Hollywood, DC (Bravo, 2000), about the relationship between Hollywood and politics, which aired the night before the 2000 presidential election; and Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (BBC/Trio, 2003). Talbot was the supervising producer on NBC's The First Five Years of Saturday Night Live (2005), and Saturday Night Live in the 1980s (NBC, 2005). Making Trouble marks her directing debut. Lauren Antler Jewish Women's Archive