ALL POSTS
“Hidden Figures” STEM Contest Grand Prize Winners are Announced
“The Search for Hidden Figures” is officially over. According to Shadow and Act, the scholarship contest, inspired by the film “Hidden Figures,” awarded its two grand prizes to Joy Buolamwin...
Sundance 2017 Women Directors: Meet Sabaah Folayan — “Whose Streets?”
Sabaah Folayan is a storyteller and activist based in Brooklyn, New York. She was a lead organizer for The Millions March, one of the largest marches for racial justice in New York history. “Whose...
“Fun Home” Lyricist Lisa Kron Receives Kleban Prize for Musical Theater
Lisa Kron, who wrote the book and lyrics for the musical “Fun Home,” recently received the 2017 Kleban Prize, which includes $100,000, for writing in musical theater, the New York Times writes....
Sundance 2017 Women Directors: Meet Gillian Robespierre — “Landline”
Gillian Robespierre is a filmmaker born and raised in New York City. She graduated from the School of Visual Arts, Film and Video Program. Her first feature, “Obvious Child,” premiered at...
Trailer Watch: Kristi Jacobson’s “Solitary” Turns Critical Eye on Supermax Prisons
Most offenders remain in their cell 23 hours a day, seven days a week at Red Onion State Prison, a supermax prison built on an Appalachian mountaintop. An interviewee reveals this shocking fact in a...
Amy Poehler Buys Rights to YA Book About Teen Riot Grrrl
Amy Poehler in “Parks and Recreation” Amy Poehler is working to bring a feminist teen character to the big screen. Hers and Brooke Posch’s Paper Kite production banner has acquired the film...
Sundance 2017 Women Directors: Meet Kyoko Miyake — “Tokyo Idols”
Born in Japan, Kyoko Miyake studied history at Tokyo University and then moved to Britain to research the history of witchcraft at Oxford. Her film “Brakeless” won a Peabody Award after airing...
Upcoming BAM Exhibition Celebrates Black Women’s Cinema
Cinephiles, your February just became a whole lot busier. Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) recently announced its “One Way or Another: Black Women’s Cinema, 1970–1991” exhibition, which...
Exclusive: Chicken & Egg Pictures Announces Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Recipients
Chicken & Egg Pictures has announced the recipients of the second Breakthrough Filmmaker Award, which includes a $50,000 unrestricted grant and a year-long creative support and mentorship...
Sundance 2017 Women Directors: Meet Kirsten Tan — “Pop Aye”
Kirsten Tan is a writer, director, and cinematographer. Her work has screened at film fests across the world, including Singapore, Rotterdam, and Toronto. Tan has won numerous international awards,...
AFI Announces the 25 Female Directors Selected for Fox Filmmaker Lab
The American Film Institute (AFI) recently announced the 25 female directors selected for the 2017 Fox Filmmaker Lab, an initiative designed to increase the number of women directing major studio...
TCA Update: Lifetime and FX Make Strides Towards Gender Equality, Inclusivity
It’s TCA time again, when presidents and CEOs of major networks — who are mostly white men in their fifties or sixties — make bold, sweeping promises about how this is the year when...
“Hidden Figures” Screenwriter Sells Scripted Drama to E!
“Hidden Figures” co-writer Allison Schroeder is on a roll. The Golden Globe-nominated NASA drama earned the top spot at the box office this weekend (as it did last weekend), and now there is...
TruTV Picks Up Comedy Series Created by, Starring Amy Sedaris
Amy Sedaris is making your next favorite TV show. The actress and comedian has landed a 10-episode straight-to-series pickup from truTV for an untitled, half-hour comedy she created and stars in,...
“Heathers” Anthology Series Green Lit at TV Land
TV Land The “Heathers” reboot has officially been ordered to series at TV Land, The Hollywood Reporter confirms. The dark comedy will mark the network’s first hourlong original series. While...
“Shots Fired’s” First Season Features Equal Number of Male and Female Directors
In addition to bringing the Black Lives Matter movement to the mainstream media, Gina Prince-Bythewood is also working to bridge the gender gap. “Shots Fired,” the upcoming Fox event series...
Sundance 2017 Women Directors Preview: Films About Pioneers, Dancers, and Nuns
“Step” The Sundance Film Festival kicks off January 19, and like all major fests, the program is rather overwhelming. There are lots of options, and plenty of projects worth checking out. We’ve...
Trailer Watch: A Vegetarian Transforms into a Cannibal in Julia Ducournau’s “Raw”
It’s probably not a good idea to watch the Red Band trailer for Julia Ducournau’s “Raw” with a full stomach. The newly released spot for the horror film features absolutely no dialogue, but...
CIR Launches Glassbreaker Films for Female Documentary Filmmakers
The Center for Investigative Reporting has announced the launch of Glassbreaker Films, a new film studio “intended to support and empower women in documentary filmmaking.” Glassbreaker Films was...
Amber Tamblyn’s Directorial Debut “Paint it Black” Acquired for Spring Release
Amber Tamblyn’s directorial debut, “Paint it Black” has been acquired by Imagination Worldwide for a release this April. The film premiered at the 2016 LA Film Festival. Based on the cult...
Tessa Thompson and Lily James Team Up for Nia DaCosta’s “Little Woods”
Tessa Thompson and Lily James have signed on to topline “Little Woods,” Nia DaCosta’s feature directorial debut. The two actresses will play sisters in the indie film,...
Gugu Mbatha-Raw Set to Star in Julia Hart’s “Fast Color”
Gugu Mbatha- Raw (“Belle,” “Beyond the Lights”) is set to star in the thriller “Fast Color,” Variety reports. “Miss Stevens” director Julia Hart is set to helm, with a screenplay she...
Weekly Update for January 13: Women Centric, Directed, and Written Films Playing Near You
“Claire in Motion” Films About Women Opening This Week Claire in Motion — Written and Directed by Annie J. Howell and Lisa Robinson (Also Available on VOD) Three weeks after Claire’s...
Maren Ade and Sandra Hüller Discuss Nudity and Feminism in Oscar Favorite “Toni Erdmann”
“Toni Erdman” is one of the most lauded films of 2016. It was won many critics awards and was named best film of the year by multiple international critics associations, including Sight &...
Kate Mara Iraq War Biopic Helmed by “Blackfish” Director Gets a Release Date
We’re one step closer to seeing Kate Mara in action on the front line. “Megan Leavey” has been acquired by Bleecker Street, Deadline reports. Mara plays a marine corporal in the biopic, which...
Trailer Watch: “The Lure” Makes Mermaids Frightening Again
Mermaids have always been frightening creatures of mythology, and now, Polish director Agnieszka Smoczynska’s “The Lure” brings back the horror lost to Disney princesses, with an added fun,...
Taraji P. Henson Set to Play Hit Woman in “Proud Mary”
Taraji P. Henson has her next movie role lined up. According to Deadline, Henson is set to star in “Proud Mary,” for Screen Gems. She’s previously acted for the company in “No Good Deed”...
Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Acquires Heidi Saman’s Award-Winning Debut “Namour”
Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY has announced its fifteenth film acquisition. The independent distribution company has snagged “Namour,” Egyptian-American filmmaker Heidi Saman’s first feature. The...
Trailer Watch: Women Will Make You Scream with Horror Anthology “XX”
Horror anthology film “XX” is a breath of fresh air in the male-dominated genre: The feature utilizes an all-female directing team. A new trailer has been released for the project, and the...
“Cameraperson,” “Hooligan Sparrow,” and “Making a Murderer” Win at Cinema Eye
Kirsten Johnson’s “Cameraperson” topped the Cinema Eye Honors last night, taking home three awards: Outstanding Cinematography for Johnson, Outstanding Editing for Nels Bangerter, and...
New York Jewish Film Festival 2017 Lineup is 50 Percent Female-Directed
The Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Jewish Museum kicked off the 26th Annual New York Jewish Film Festival yesterday and half of the lineup is directed by women. The NYJFF is one of the...
Lisa Robinson and Annie J. Howell on Identity, Loss, and Growth in “Claire in Motion”
Lisa Robinson and Annie J. Howell’s s debut feature, “Small, Beautifully Moving Parts,” premiered at SXSW in 2011 and went on to play over thirty festivals. Awards include the Alfred P. Sloan...
Trailer Watch: Gemma Arterton Joins the Movie Biz in Lone Scherfig’s “Their Finest”
The movie business isn’t all glitz and glamour, a fact made painfully clear in a newly released trailer for “An Education” director Lone Scherfig’s latest film, “Their Finest.” In it, we...
“Good Girls Revolt” Unable to Find New Network After Cancellation
Sadly, “Good Girls Revolt” won’t be coming back. After Amazon cancelled the show at the end of Season 1, its creators tried desperately to find a new home for the historical series. But, as...
2016 Celluloid Ceiling Study Shows Us That Women Still Aren’t Making Progress
Jennifer Yuh Nelson, co-director of “Kung Fu Panda 3,” 2016’s highest-grossing film with a woman director: channelAPA — Asian American Entertainment/ YouTube We here at Women and...
Hasbro Launching New Female Toy Character with Digital Series
Toy maker Hasbro is launching a new female character. As The Hollywood Reporter writes, the company will introduce Hanazuki, “a girl gifted with powers that are tied to her many moods.” The toy...
Natalie Portman Says Ashton Kutcher Was Paid 3x More on “No Strings Attached”
Sexism strikes again. During an interview with Marie Claire UK, Oscar winner and “Jackie” star Natalie Portman revealed that her “No Strings Attached” co-star, Ashton Kutcher, was paid...
Regina King Lands Deal at ABC
Emmy winner Regina King has landed a two-year deal with ABC studios for her production company Royal Ties, Shadow and Act reports. She runs the company with her sister, Reina King, whose official...
Kitty Genovese Doc “The Witness” Getting Narrative Treatment
The documentary “The Witness,” which follows the story of the murder of Kitty Genovese, is getting the narrative film treatment, Deadline reports. Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and Pamela...
How Kristi Zea Pays Tribute to a Genius Painter in “Everybody Knows… Elizabeth Murray”
“Everybody Knows… Elizabeth Murray” is Kristi Zea’s documentary directorial debut. She’s a two-time Oscar-nominated production designer and producer. Her narrative directorial debut,...
2017 Bitch List Highlights Diverse Scripts That Pass the Bechdel Test
The annual Bitch List, which works to highlight unproduced feature film and television screenplays that pass the Bechdel Test, has just been released. For those not in the know, the Bechdel Test was...
Trailer Watch: Riley Keough & Jena Malone are BFFs in So Yong Kim’s “Lovesong”
If and when the line between platonic and romantic gets blurred, it’s unlikely that a friendship will ever be the same. A trailer for So Yong Kim’s “Lovesong” has been released, and it hints...
Why the Abortion Story Line on “Degrassi: Next Class” is So Groundbreaking
Guest post by Kelly Martinez “Yesterday, I was pregnant and now I’m not. And I’d like to talk about it. There’s so many things I wanna do in high school and being a mom is not one of them....
Lena Waithe’s “The Chi” Set for Showtime
Showtime has ordered Lena Waithe’s hour-long Chicago-set drama “The Chi” to series, Shadow and Act writes. The project was redevelopped and recast after a pilot was ordered in...
Trailer Watch: Diane Lockhart Bounces Back in “The Good Fight”
“Good Wife” fans, rejoice: it’s nearly time to be reunited with the inimitable Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski), and a new trailer for the series’ long-awaited spinoff, “The Good...
Series Based on Cosmopolitan Magazine Greenlit by Freeform
If you’re concerned about the fate of “Good Girls Revolt” in the wake of its Amazon cancellation, you may find some solace in the fact that another series led by female journalists is coming...
Jackie Collins’ Lucky Santangelo Books Being Adapted Into Film Trilogy
Jackie Collin’s beloved character Lucky Santangelo is coming to the big screen. As Deadline reports, the 10-novel series has been acquired by Universal Pictures with the hope of making a trilogy...
Athena Film Festival Announces its 2017 Lineup: “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Fits,” & More
The Athena Film Festival has released its seventh annual lineup. The 2017 edition of the fest, which is dedicated to celebrating female leaders in the real life and the fictional world, will feature...
Trailer Watch: Hannah Remains Highly Opinionated in “Girls’” Final Season
“I don’t give a shit about anything, yet I simultaneously have opinions about everything,” Hannah (Lena Dunham) tells her potential employer in a newly released trailer for “Girls’”...
Hope Dickson Leach’s “The Levelling” Acquired By Monterey Media
Hope Dickson Leach’s debut feature film “The Levelling” has been acquired by Monterey Media. The film premiered at TIFF back in September. Set in Somerset, England, “The Levelling” follows...
“Casual” Adds More Female Directors
Hulu’s “Casual” is getting more female directors. According to TVGuide.com, series creator Zander Lehmann said at the Television Critics Association winter TV previews that the show is looking...