Barbra Streisand is back to being in back of the camera.

After a 16-year absence from directing, Streisand will be leading the new Cate Blanchett and Colin Firth film “Skinny and Cat.” The movie, which begins production in January 2013, is about an epic relationship between a photographer and author (as if a Hollywood relationship could be anything but “epic”).

But she may be a little out of practice. Babs’ most recent directorial effort was the 1996 film “The Mirror Has Two Faces,” and the last time we even saw her punim on-screen was in 2010’s “Little Fockers.”

Last we heard, Babs was busy auctioning off passes for a private performance at her Malibu home to benefit the Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. And it was quite a windfall for the Center; the Los Angeles Times reported that Streisand donated $10 million and helped raise another $12 million.

If only she had as much prowess raising money for her own projects. She told the LA Times that raising capital for “Skinny and Cat” isn’t as easy as she thought.

“This is hard to raise money for. I’m just in shock. Hollywood has changed so much. It’s [the film] about a woman ahead of her time. It’s just a fascinating story that is very relevant to today. I may have to pick up the phone again.”

Gosh… if only things were as easy as fundraising for non-profits!

J-Connection: Barbra Streisand is a good old-fashioned Brooklyn Jew. And don’t you forget it.