Two very pedigreed daughters have ventured behind the camera, just like their famous director dads.

Alison Eastwood, daughter of two-time Oscar winner Clint, has the family weeper "Rails & Ties," which screened at the Hawaii International Film Festival. Kirsten Sheridan, daughter of two-time directing nominee Jim, has the romantic fable "August Rush."

Eastwood, 35, and Sheridan, 31, acknowledge that their family contacts have helped them. Eastwood's movie was released by Warner Bros., where her father had a long-standing relationship. But ultimately, she says, she had to prove herself. "It doesn't matter if I got my foot in the door," Eastwood says. "I still have to walk through on my own."

Sheridan calls her family connections "a blessing. A lot of this business is who you know and getting scripts to the right people."

Eastwood has modeled, posed in "Playboy," acted and run her own clothing line. Sheridan, meanwhile, co-wrote 2002's "In America" with her father and sister, and directed 2001's "Disco Pigs." "August Rush" is her first big-ticket release.

Sheridan says she soaked in ideas from her father. "Not being a control freak but being totally honest and open are what I learned from watching him."

Eastwood, on the other hand, concedes that it's tough living in the shadow of a legend.

"Being under the shadow of somebody else — I had to let that stuff go and forge ahead."