Danielle Beverly

Cinematic Storyteller Danielle Beverly Joins UTA with Global Film Acclaim

In August 2025, acclaimed filmmaker Danielle Beverly joined the Department of Art & Art History at UTA to teach cinematic arts. Beverly began her career more than two decades ago in Chicago public television, contributing on landmark long-term projects, before founding her independent company, Petunia Productions, in 2005. Her films are recognized for their intimacy and visual poetry and have been supported by leading arts and media organizations.

Her most recent film, Qatar Stars (2023), continues to garner international attention. Following its screening on October 4 at the Shocking Pink Endorphins Women’s Sport Film Festival in Venice, Italy, the film will next be shown in Chișinău, Moldova at the COR Creative Industries Association in November 2025.

Presented at more than 20 festivals and film events worldwide, Qatar Stars is the first feature-length documentary about girls in Qatar. “It offers a textured observational story of girlhood in all its joys and growing pains, through intimate access to a multinational, girls-only rhythmic gymnastics school in Doha, led by a former Russian gymnast. Girls from Qatar, Lebanon, Egypt, Ukraine, and UK grow up onscreen over four years, changing from wiggly nine-year-olds to maturing teens who must navigate an evolving gendered world around them. The girls experience both triumphs and heartaches, to ultimately form an unbreakable bond. Meanwhile, exacting coach Tatiana undergoes her own unexpected professional and personal transformation that challenges her sense of strength and identity.”

Qatar Stars Trailer